holiday menu series: part 1

Today we are starting a new series of holiday menus. These are designed to give you ideas for entertaining your people throughout the month, or maybe you need a dish for a potluck. These are recipes that we use all of the time and all of our guests have loved. 

Good Morning

Today I give you the gift of breakfast. And a lot of calories. 

I always make a big breakfast when we have overnight guests. I plan like a week in advance. I love it. They love it. We eat, we drink lattes, we eat some more. It's good ya'll. 

1. Overnight French Toast Casserole 

photo from http://thepioneerwoman.com

This is pretty much on the top of my list. Mostly because it is SO easy. The great thing about this is it takes less than 10 minuets to put together and then you pull it out and bake it in the morning. The other great thing about this casserole is that you can pretty much put any thing in it. I have made lemon/blueberry, cinnamon, pumpkin, apple w/ pecans, the list goes on . I have tried several versions, but The Pioneer Woman's recipe has my heart. She's the greatest. 

You can get it here....

2. Jalapeno Popper Egg Bake

photo from www.inspiredreamer.com

Jalapenos, cheese, cream cheese, bacon. I don't need to say anything else. 

Find it here.....

3. Breakfast Casserole

photo from www.lemon-sugar.com

This breakfast casserole is definitely one of our favorites. It has eggs, milk, sausage, Smoked Gouda and a puff pastry crust. You can play with this recipe too. I have used different kinds of cheeses, herbs and spices. If you want to make it extra amazing, serve it with green chili on top. Divine. 

1 sheet of Puff Pastry

1 roll of breakfast sausage (turkey or pork) 

              or

1/2 cup of crumbled bacon 

4 eggs 

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup smoked Gouda 

Thaw puff pastry. On a slightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry so that it will fit in a 9x11 baker, making sure there is enough puff pastry to go half way up the sides of the baker. Prepare baker with cooking spray and place rolled out puff pastry in the bottom and up the sides. Bake at 350 for 5 minuets. You do not want it to be cooked all the way through, just slightly. Cook and crumble breakfast sausage. Whisk together eggs, milk and cheese. Pour sausage on the bottom of the puff pastry. Pour egg mixture over sausage. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until egg is set. Serve warm. 

Note: You can use crescent rolls instead of the puff pastry. But, trust me it's definitely not as good. 

Cheers to an amazing start to the day! Your guests will thank you.  

Blessings, 

Dainele 

Next week: Appetizers!