Friends that are Family and Artichoke Frittata

Jason and I struggled with going back home to Louisiana over Easter a few weeks ago. Easter in Louisiana means crawfish boils with our families and dying eggs with the cousins then hunting them, and me and my sisters acting silly and breaking out to hysterics in Easter mass. But when the busy weekends add up with travels and events, the thought of making one more drive seems more daunting than exciting. So we pulled the plug sadly and did what we knew we had to and that was to tell our family that we would be staying put here in Houston. Thankfully we see them so much more so they understood and let us off the hook!

We knew it was meant to be when we were invited to a crawfish boil here in Houston on Good Friday. See?? God knows our hearts desires!:) Collins loved being on the farm getting dirty and we loved eating crawfish with Houston friends.  We even gave a few crawfish peeling lessons:)

On Saturday we got to play with our sweet friends and let the babies dye Easter eggs together. It was just like we wanted to do in Louisiana! These two were a mess after the dying process was done. All Collins wanted to do was eat the eggs...

On Sunday, we got to attend church service at our home church and then off to Gabe's for Easter brunch, as well as a birthday party to celebrate her precious Ryan's first birthday and an easter egg hunt, too.  It was a perfect way to spend the day.....

 So in the end, we spent Easter weekend doing the things that mean the most on a sacred weekend but with friends that feel like family. Isn't God good like that? And Easter Sunday with a 16 month old was so much fun. While the Easter bunny did not bring much at all, the few things that were there (sand toys and 2 books) were waiting for her and she knew right away that those things were for her. She threw down her little sippy cup of milk and ran right over to her new treats.

For Easter brunch, Gabe told me to bring nothing but I had to bring something. This girl can't show up empty handed:) So knowing we would be in church on Sunday morning, I made an artichoke frittata that was so easy to prep ahead and pop into the oven before we left. And it was delicious!

Artichoke Frittata

2 cans of artichoke hearts, quartered

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup EVOO

12 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper

lemon wedges for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400. In a bowl, toss the artichokes with the flour to coat.

In a skillet, heat the EVOO, over medium high heat. Add the artichokes and fry until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, cheese, parsley and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over the artichokes and cook until just set. 

Transfer the fritatta to the oven and bake until set and golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool, then slice into quarters and serve with lemon wedges 

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Ringing in the New Year....as Parents...

If you have a little one or multiple little ones, chances are that you rang in the new year with those sweet cherub within a 20 foot radius. Like we did. I mean, who can find babysitters on this night? No one. And then there is that part of you as a mom that wants to be with your family to be together as you ring in a new year. So the best compromise??? Ring in the new year with best friends and their baby.  Head over to their house, let them play all over the place...

 This may just be the cutest picture of the night! 

set up the pack in play, bathe those babies and put them to bed so the parents can feel a bit foot lose for the rest of the night. Which is exactly what we did....thank you Mary Rachel and David!  We had plenty of food and drinks and more friends join us. Mary Rachel made amazing party foods and I added in my aunt's famous Powdered Sugar Pecan Balls. There are addicting and have been a love of mine since the first time I ever tasted one. A few glasses of wine, martinis and champagne later along with the dance station on Pandora on t.v. made for our own fun party.

Who even needs a kid free and fancy fun night out? However, some of us ended the night strong at 2AM and some not feeling so well....the fun was too much...like my husband.

And so our nice little family brunch that I had planned for  New Years Day was moved to 8:00pm New Years Night to let some time pass before someone could even think about food;) I made Easy Bruschetta, Nut Crusted French Toast, Spiced Apples, Mushroom Hash and with Poached Eggs (my first time to poach ANYTHING!) Although a late brunch, it was still an amazing New Years NIGHT brunch and someone even took her very first steps...

a perfect way to ring in the new year.

Pecan Powdered Sugar Balls
(passed down by my Aunt Gay, Momou's oldest daughter)

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
ground pecans
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 370. Blend butter, sugars and add flour and salt gradually. Add vanilla and mix well. Stir in pecans. Chill 1 hour. Roll into balls. Bake on cookie sheet for 18 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar while hot!
So incredibly easy and addicting!

Feta Bruschetta
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup frozen chopped onion, thawed
1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 cup tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 package water crackers
Garnish: crumbled feta cheese

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tender. Add spinach, peppers, italian seasoning, and salt; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until all liquid has evaporated. Stir in pine nuts. Spoon about 1 tablespoon spinach mixture onto each cracker. Garnish with crumbled feta. 

Mushroom Hash with Poached Eggs

2 potatoes, cooked and diced

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)

12 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced then

2 tsp salt

2 tsp rosemary leaves

freshly ground pepper

1/3 cups heavy cream

1 tbsp white vinegar

4 large eggs

Toss diced potatoes with 1 tbsp melted butter. In a large skillet, melt remaining butter over medium heat, add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add pepper, mushrooms and seasonings. Cook until the onions are soft and golden. Add potatoes and heavy cream and heat until cream is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm. 

Fill a large, wide saucepan with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat so water is barely simmering. Add vinegar. Break one egg at a time into a small dish, then slide it into the pan by dipping the dish into the water. Cook until yolks are just set, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs and drain on paper towel. Congratulations...you just poached an egg!

Top each plate of hash with a poached egg.

Nut Crusted Fresh Toast with Vanilla Maple Syrup
6 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 coarsely ground whole almonds
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 loaf thick white bread (about 9 slices)
1 stick butter, plus additional for topping

Preheat oven to 200. Place a baking sheet in oven to warm. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk until blended; set aside Combine brown sugar, nuts and bread crumbs.
Dup a slice of bread in egg mixture and allow excess to drip off. Lay bread on nut mixture, then flip to coat both sides. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt about 1 tbsp. butter without allowing it to brown. Cook french toast until golden on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to let nuts brown. Place on baking sheet in oven and continue with remaining slices. Continue with the rest of the bread slices, adding more butter as needed. 

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Celebrating the Upcoming Superman and a Dear Friend

The day I went back to work last year from my maternity leave, my sweet friend Courtney came to check on me before school started and found me all teary. She gave me a big, sweet hug and then shared a little secret to cheer me up. She had just found out that she was pregnant. Well that dried my tears quickly because who can cry when you find out that another precious little angel will arrive and that I also would't be alone in my teacher/momma world anymore! I would have a partner in crime to ride this ride with me.

See, Courtney is a triple blessing in my life. I work with her not only at the same school but we teach  Kindergarten together too. We attend not only the same church but we are also in the same Sunday School class. So we see each other 6/7 days and sometimes every single day of the week if we happen to to be together on Saturday . And now she is expecting her baby boy and he will go to the same babysitter that Collins goes to come January. Needless to say, I enjoy Courtney's  friendship and I love having her around so much. We are pretty much stuck together whether she likes it or not;) And I may or may not have recently prayed that I hope she goes into labor at school. Don't worry, she already knows about this prayer. I just feel that it would make for lots of excitement down in Kindergarten land. Although it would probably create havoc with all our Kinder babies. I can just see those sweethearts going berserk with excitement. Okay, so maybe not the best idea...

So of course I had to join in when Courtney's baby shower was being planned! Not to mention she helped plan two showers for me, one at our school and for our Sunday School class. Again, bless her little heart. So time to shower some baby love on her!

Our very creative friends and fellow co-hosts were more than creative. Courtney's husband loves Superman so this theme just took off. Everything was covered in Red, Yellow and Blue, ceiling to floor. Courtney was glowing and and baby Ross received so many goodies.

We ate ourselves silly. The food was amazing and we couldn't stop eating. Well, okay, I couldn't. Enjoy! And can't wait to see Collins and Baby Ross grow up together. We already know they will be the best of friends and although he isn't here yet, he is already on Collins's first birthday party list:)

I made my favorite breakfast dish, Sweet Bacon Breakfast Casserole.It feeds so many and it is a nice change from the egg and sausage casserole that is the usual breakfast casserole (although that one rocks my world too!) But it is the sweet Hawaiin bread that makes this dish to die for. Not the healthiest thing but I swear that I took out all of the calories before I served it like any good hostess would do. And the best part is that you make this the day before so it will be easy to pop right in the oven the next morning.

Sweet Bacon Breakfast Casserole

1 (16oz) Hawaiian bread loaf, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

2 cups finally shredded Mexican four cheese blend

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

8 large eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried mustard

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Arrange bread cubes in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon. 

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, mustard and worcestershire sauce. Pour over prepared dish; press low bread to soak up liquid. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Let stand 30 minutes before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minute or until set and golden. Serve with salsa if preferred.
EASIEST THING EVER!

Chocolate Drizzled Pecan Tarts 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1 large egg

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. powdered sugar

1 tbsp. melted chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese and flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

3. Shape cream cheese mixture into 24 1 inch balls and press into ungreased mini muffin plans. Set aside. (I added foil liners into the muffin pans for the tarts to bake in)

4. In a large bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar, dark corn syrup, egg, butter and vanilla. Spoon 1 tsp. of pecan mixture into each cup.

5. Bake for 25 minutes; cool.

6. Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with melted chocolate. 

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Girls Coupon Brunch & Spicy Breakfast Pizzas

So while I am used to teaching little 5 year olds, I am not used to teaching my friends. I should say "teaching" lightly because technically, I sat on an ottoman in front of a close group of friends and shared with them about my couponing tips while stuffing my face with yummy breakfast food. But seriously, I kind of taught a coupon class:) It was alot much fun and I had to apologize in advance for my excitement over the issue.

One of my friends from my sunday school class immediately jumped on the couponing topic after I blogged about it last. Before I knew it, we had a date set for our very own sunday school brunch where I would give coupon advice. My friend who eagerly wanted to learn and offered her home to host was my start student! She tried out couponing that week prior to our brunch and texted me late one night about her savings. Ummm...I could not have have been prouder! Since our brunch together, I have learned that there have been other friends who are hitting the stores with coupons in hand and I LOVE that they share their successes with me. 

Not only did I make breakfast pizzas (and even the low-er fat version:) but I also offered a few more tips about couponing that I did not have enough room to share in my previous blog. I promised I would type up the extra notes so I figured I would do so here in my blog and with the recipe for breakfast pizzas. Enjoy!

If you are behind and need a coupon 101, see my earlier blog posts to catch up. Here are the extra notes...

*Where can you get coupons? EVERYWHERE! Newspapers, magazines, product website, coupon websites, on a product at the grocery store and in the grocery store. Another place for great coupons is your doctors/dentist office. Collins's pediatrician's office always has awesome coupons waiting for us mommas to grab them.Also, if there is an item that you like such as Wholly Guac, check their website! Most will offer coupons and you can stock up so print as many as you can!

*This may sound a bit too much and yes, it technically is butttttt I would suggest organizing coupons by aisle. It will make your trip so much faster. And with a baby now, I do not have the leisure time to just play around in the grocery store! I would much rather spend my leisure time in a mall somewhere but that doesn't seem to happen much either. 

*Once you start stocking up on more and more coupons, the greater chance you will have that you a coupon for your favorite items on sale.

*Once you stock up on foods (because you are buying them on sale, NOT when you need them), you can make a menu based off of what you have and feeding your family doesn't seem to break your bank anymore. And I to make fun and fancy foods, so rest assured that I can even make fun menus that will include the things I stock up on. 

*Coupons are not just for dry food and cereals. You can still watch your store to see when their produce and meats go on sale and buy, but then you can freeze it! We had a huge discussion about being able to freeze fruits and veggies. So yes, you can!

*You can even buy toys and baby products on a great deal. This momma has brought Collins a few pretty neat and rather costly toys at practically nothing because there will be a manufacturers coupon paired with a store coupon definitely makes it budget friendly. Jason laughs because I will come home randomly with toys for Collins that I bought for a steal.  

I bought the above precious Fisher Price toy that Collins loves to play with for $15 when it was regularly $40! I had a $15 off coupon for Target and a $10 off coupon for Fisher Price. Proud momma here! Notice my child bouncing to the beat in the video. She just might have her momma's moves;) (Video may not show if you do not have the right updates. It does't show up on my IPAD. I am lazy and hate installing new updates)

And this adorable, famous little dog? $5 from Target when it should have been $25! Similar scenario: $10 off manufacturer's coupon and $10 off Target coupon. Why didn't I buy more???? They could have been tossed in as part of a baby shower or birthday gift? I hope this doesn't sound at all cheap. I am frugal. Big difference. I love nice things and will spare no cost over those things that mean the most. 

And as far as these little breakfast pizzas go, they were so stinking easy and good! 

Spicy Breakfast Pizzas

1 (16oz) package spicy pork sausage ( I used reduced fat. You could even use turkey sausage and season it yourself)

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (I used fat free)

1 bag of seasoning blend (found in the freezer section by veggies)

*Seasoning blend is made up of what we call the "trinity" in Louisiana: chopped Onions, bell peppers and celery. It truly is a gift to cooks instead of having to buy these things and chop them ourselves!

6 English muffins (I used whole wheat), split

Garnish: chopped red and green peppers 

In a large skillet, combine sausage and seasoning blend. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until sausage is browned and crumbly. Drain sausage mixture. Reduce heat to medium low. Return sausage mixture to skillet. Add cream cheese to skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cream cheese is melted and combined with sausage. Spread on split muffin halves. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Hello! Best part of this recipe for this mom!!). Take out pizza 30 minutes prior to cooking and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Enjoy!

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Cupid's Cake Magic

The question is: Is it a dessert or is it breakfast? Who cares! It is delicious enough for both. And no this isn't a Valentine's recipe. It just has a cute little name with a nice ring...Cupid's Cake Magic. But then again, you sure could serve it to that someone special on the official day of love.

I made this little magic cake for breakfast for our Sunday School class. And it received great reviews. It could be served with tea, coffee or for dessert with a nice cold class of milk. The crunchy topping really tops the cake. The pun is intended:)

Cupid's Cake Magic

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup soft butter
1 egg
1 cup milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a square 9-inch cake pan. Combine dry ingredients. Add butter or margarine, egg, and milk. Beat hard for two minutes. Pour into pan. Cover with Crunchy Topping (recipe follows) and bake for 40 minutes.
YIELD: 9 to 12 servings

Crunchy Topping

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons soft butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Mix all ingredients together with a fork.

How much easier could this recipe be? Just mix and bake until golden! You could have this cake whipped up so easily for this upcoming Easter morning. No one will even care about their Easter candy with this around! Okay, well so maybe I will eat both this AND my Cadbury Eggs....

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