Domestic Goddess (Beautiful Breakfast Casserole)

l hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  Here at Casa de la Swan we were busy with getting a fence built around our back yard, which was my husband and father-in-laws responsibility since they have a Y chromosome.

As the more delicate sex my mother-in-law and I made sure they stayed fed and hydrated.  I also have to use up a giant bag of spinach I bought at Costco so I made a big batch of spinach and feta turkey burgers on Friday night, and yesterday I gently adapted THIS recipe for a breakfast casserole that my FiL and I aggressively polished off.

Beautiful Breakfast Bake

I preheated my oven to 425º.  Start with about 3 cups of thawed frozen hash browns.  Get as much moisture off them as you can.  Mix the browns with 1/4 cup (half a stick) melted butter and a little s&p (ahhh, Push It) and press into a greased baking dish.  Bake for 20-25 until golden brown and "crusty".

While the crust bakes gather the rest of your ingredients... six large eggs, 2 cups of fresh spinach, 6 slices of cooked bacon, and sone chopped green onions.  If you are partial to things like mushrooms, peppers or any other veggies feel free to prep them.  I also skipped the heavy cream in the recipe, and instead combined 1/2 cup milk (1%) and 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt for a tangier substitute.  It was great.  Beat your eggs with your "cream" and add a dash of s&p (Push It Real Good) and maybe a sprinkle of garlic powder it it tickles your fancy.

Once your crust is baked remove it from the oven and drop heat to 350º.  I started my layer of toppings with the spinach, then dropped the bacon and green onions on top.  Pour your egg & "cream" mixture over top and sprinkle a couple handfuls of shredded mozzarella over the top.  Bake another 20-25 minutes until set.  I broiled mine on low for about 5 minutes to get a lovely brown crust on top.  Let the casserole cool slightly before serving.

Elora looooooves spinach, so she loved this casserole and ended up eating her brothers.  I love that she will eat something because she knows it's healthy, rather than turning her nose up at it.

I also ended up crafting some skirt dresses this weekend, which are super cute.  Elora is wearing hers as a dress in the photo below, and the matching dress/skirt I made for myself is long and hides my (hopefully shrinking) gut a bit.

Aaaaaaaaand, the fence got finished yesterday, so it was a successful crafting weekend all around!!

Breakfast is Dead (Homemade Instant Oatmeal)

I don't really believe that breakfast is dead, but when the weather gets warmer it becomes harder and harder for me to force some breakfast into me in the morning.  Yogurt is an iffy choice, I have to have something a little crunchy with my yogurt, otherwise the texture is a total turn off.  I'm partial to oatmeal, but having to remember to buy the boxes at the store regularly isn't my strong suit so I decided to find a recipe to make my own packets of instant oatmeal.  I found several on the interwebs, but kind of fudged my own and was happy with the results.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

6 cups quick oats (3 cups pulsed in the food processor until broken down)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dry milk powder
2-3 tsp ground cinnamon (I prefer a lot, but add/subtract to your taste)
1 tsp salt
optional: dried fruit (cranberries are great) or sliced nuts

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix to combine, put in 1/2 cup measurements into snack bags.  Mix with about 1/4 - 1/2 cup boiling water to serve.

I had my little kitchen testers try it out this morning, and they both heartily approved of the results!!!  Look at those faces, eating a healthy bowl of homemade oatmeal with no unknown fillers and the perfect amount of salt/sugar..... I have 18 bags to take to work, too, so I'm set for at least 3 weeks of breakfast!

Last Minute Dinners (Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers)

I am the queen of last minute dinner plans.  I love to entertain on the fly, give me less than 48 hours notice and I will come up with something good, which is kind of the opposite of what happens when we plan ahead.  With too much time to think I typically find myself slightly riddled with anxiety about whether what I plan to make will be just right for my guests.  With less than 24 hours it's a make-or-break decision that rarely disappoints.

Saturday nights in Casa de la Swan can end up one of two ways: cereal for dinner due to sheer laziness, or something scrumptious if the moons have aligned just right and given me guests to cook for, which was the case last night.  The kids and I joined Morgan and her nieces Nadia and Nina for swimming at the YMCA, then decided to get together for dinner later in the afternoon.  I had seen these amazing looking burgers on Foodie with Family, and as soon as I mentioned them to Morgan she was instantly in agreement that these would be the perfect Saturday night dinner for our crowd.  If you want the full recipe click on over to FWF, and try anything you see because I can guarantee everything she makes is fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mixed up all the ingredients (minus the roasted garlic, mine had all started sprouting when I went to roast it so I used an awesome homemade garlic powder my mom gave me), I slightly froze the patties after forming them, and I followed her explicit instructions on slapping them on the grill and not touching them for several minutes, and they turned out BOMB DIGGITY.  Like, seriously bomb diggity.  Juicy, flavorful, the spinach and feta adding just the right flavors to a typically dry burger experience.  I didn't get pictures of us devouring them, but please rest assured that many moans were made over the flavor explosion in our mouths.