After a long time wish-washing back and forth, I've decided to make this blog friends-only. The sad truth is that, in this day and age, sharing your life online can be a personal and professional liability, and I've grown tired of fretting over if and when someone who shouldn't be reading this will discover it and make my life difficult as a result. Hence, the whole thing is now going behind a Friends-Only wall.

Obviously, if you're reading this on your LJ friends list, this has no impact on you. To the best of my knowledge, everyone who reads this with any regularity is already on my friends list and thus should experience no service interruption. If this isn't the case, well, you need only create an LJ account and request to be added.

I don't really like doing this, but I think it's the best choice for me right now.

Toodles,
Dan



xkcd.com

Here's where I'll be sharing some of my favorite recipes! Mmmm, food...

Breakfast

Hearty Breakfast Potato Pizza

icanhasbreakfastcheezburger casserole

Crockpot

Cranberry Apple Crockpot Chicken

Honey Mustard Crockpot Chicken

Soups

Sausage & Tortellini Tomato Soup

Sausage & Tortellini Tomato Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1 package (4-6 links) sweet Italian sausage
1 lb frozen tortellini
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 32 oz carton Trader Joe's Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup*
dash garlic cloves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop your sausage links into bite-sized pieces. Brown in wok with washed mushrooms and garlic cloves.
2. When sausage is thoroughly browned, drain off grease and pour soup over meat & mushrooms. Set on low heat to simmer, stirring occasionally.
3. Prepare tortellini per package directions. When finished, drain, then pour into wok. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes, being careful that tortellini doesn't disintegrate.
4. Serve hot.

*I really cannot emphasize enough the value of using this soup. It is cheap, creamy, and absolutely delicious, particularly in this recipe.

Sausage & Tortellini Tomato Soup This is amazingly delicious and very hearty!

INGREDIENTS:
4-8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
12 oz dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
dash black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Chop chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Add to crockpot.
2. Pour mustard over chicken pieces.
3. Drizzle honey over chicken and mustard.
4. Mix thoroughly until chicken is well-coated.
5. Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours. Allow to cool for approximately 1 hour in crockpot to let honey mustard sauce re-thicken.

NOTES:
This is very tasty served over black beans and rice.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground beef (pork or turkey works fine)
1 package thick-cut bacon
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 package steak-cut frozen french fries
4 eggs
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded cheeses, to taste
dash black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare steak fries according to package directions. When done, distribute evenly across bottom of 13x9 bake pan.
2. Brown ground meat. Drain and add tomato soup (do not add water, just use the condensed soup). Simmer 10 minutes. Distribute mixture over steak fries.
3. Combine eggs and ricotta cheese until well-blended. Stir in pepper.
4. Spread 1 cup shredded cheeses over meat sauce and fries. Pour egg and cheese over this, top with remaining shredded cheeses.
5. Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes.
6. Prepare bacon separately. Chop into small pieces and use to top dish after it has finished baking.

NOTES:
Use whatever shredded cheeses you prefer. I, as usual for a breakfast dish, recommend cheddar or some kind of cheddar mix. Obviously, there is a lot of room for other ingredients in this dish. Mushrooms, peppers, and salsa are all distinct possibilities.

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breast halves
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 can apple pie filling
dash garlic salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp water
2 tsp butter


DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken breasts in crock pot. Add ingredients in order listed. I recommend slicing the butter up into small slivers and placing pieces evenly across the top of the other ingredients. Cook for 6 hours. Goes well with mashed potatoes.

NOTES:

While this tastes great, I'm personally disappointed that the chicken didn't absorb more of the flavor. When I next make this, I'm going to try chopping the chicken up into small pieces. If I end up liking this result better, I'll update this recipe to reflect the change. If you try it yourself, let me know how it goes!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs hash browns
10 eggs
1 cup chopped green onions
1 lb chopped ham
2 cups shredded cheeses*
16 oz favorite salsa
dash pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

1. Prepare the hash browns as you choose. Fry them, bake them, doesn't matter. When finished, spread hash browns evening in bottom of 13x9 bake pan.

2. Pour salsa evenly over hash browns.

3. Break eggs into large bowl, blend well. Stir in pepper, green onions, cheese, and ham. Poor over salsa and hash browns, being sure to spread ingredients evenly.

4. Bake for approximately 45 minutes.

*I use pre-shredded Mexican cheese mixes with a dash of Parmesan. You can obviously use just about any cheese you'd like.

NOTES:

Obviously, just like a pizza, you can "top" this dish with a massive variety of ingredients. Diced peppers and mushrooms would be obvious choices. Sausage could also easily be substituted for the ham.