Baked Bacon & Eggs

May 8, 2013November 22, 2015 Kim

Are you looking for an easy and delicious Mother’s Day breakfast or brunch idea? This Baked Bacon & Eggs makes a large casserole dish full of cheese-y scrambled eggs, topped with bacon. They are probably the best eggs I’ve ever had!

I’ve never thought about cooking eggs in the oven, except as part of a breakfast casserole (which we are quite fond of as evidenced by this, this and this!) – but these are basically scrambled eggs baked in the oven! Convenience…I love it. I originally got the idea from when she posted her family’s recipe for ‘Christmas Eggs’. I decided I would make them for one of our many breakfast suppers. However, as per usual, I didn’t bother to read all of the instructions prior to making the dish. I realized I was supposed to let the egg mixture sit overnight. Oops. Time for plan B – I Googled baked eggs and found another recipe at that did not require sitting overnight. I kind of merged the 2 recipes and came out with a delicious dinner, that did not require sitting overnight!

Baked Bacon & Eggs

1 dozen eggs (I like Eggland’s Best)

1/2 cup milk (I use skim)

4 oz. plain yogurt (or sour cream)

1 package pre-cooked bacon (or about 10 slices regular or turkey bacon)

1 cup shredded cheese (your preference, I used a blend of cheddar and Monterey)

salt and pepper – to taste

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. (I omitted the salt since I was adding cheese and bacon.)

-In a large skillet, cook the eggs until set, but not cooked through (Side note – OR you can place your egg mixture into a greased 9×13 pan and place in oven, stirring occasionally so they cook evenly, until done. Approx. 15-30 mins. I opted to pre-cook mine.)

-Remove from the heat and allow eggs to cool. (I stuck mine in the fridge for a few minutes.)

-while eggs are cooling, cook bacon in microwave (if using the pre-cooked). Once done, crumble and set aside.

-When eggs are cool, stir in the yogurt (or sour cream if using).

-Spread the egg mixture into a greased/sprayed 9×13 dish.

-Top with crumbled bacon and cheese.

-Bake for 15-20 minutes until eggs are fully cooked and cheese is nice and melted.

I served ours with grits and biscuits. Delicious! I thought I would have leftovers since it was a dozen eggs for a family of 5 (and Mr. Three will not eat eggs), but nope…that casserole dish was wiped clean!

I’m linking this recipe up with (Wednesday) , , , , , , , , (Thursday) ,, , , , , (Friday) , , , , , ,, , , , ,, (Saturday) , , , (Sunday) and

This recipe was featured at:

Breakfast Pizza

April 11, 2013November 22, 2015 Kim

The other day I mentioned a breakfast pizza in my brunch post (don’t forget to enter the giveaway!) and thought I would share the recipe today. It’s so easy, and can be made pretty quick depending on the ingredients you choose. I am finding that you can put pretty much anything on a pizza crust and it’s going to be a hit! (Remember my macaroni and cheese pizza?!)

This is one of those meals that can be for breakfast, lunch or dinner (and brunch, of course). I went with the basics of bacon, egg and cheese, but the topping options are pretty much endless. I originally got the idea from Pinterest, and the pin was from the blog . I used my favorite store-bought crust, b/c I didn’t have time to make homemade pizza dough, and baked my bacon, which was a first for me. I highly recommend it if you hate dealing with popping, messy grease from regular bacon. I haven’t tried this with turkey bacon yet.

Breakfast Pizza

pizza crust of choice

2-4 oz. cream cheese (optional, but recommended)

4-6 eggs (depending on the size of your pizza crust)

6 slices of bacon (or topping of choice); cooked and crumbled

1-2 cups shredded cheese (depending on your preference)

salt and pepper (to taste)

As you can see, this recipe is so versatile that this is just a guide. I made 2 large pizzas, so I doubled my quantities on everything (the above is for one). Next time, I will use more cream cheese (I only had 2 oz for 2 pizzas) or I will try using sausage gravy as my ‘sauce’!

Heat oven to required temp for your pizza…I think mine was 425. I pre-baked my crust for abt 7 minutes.
While the crust is baking, scramble your eggs. Add salt and pepper as desired – just remember that if you are using bacon, it’s going to add a lot of salt. (I just used pepper.)
When the crust has finished baking, remove from oven and add your cream cheese. Cover crust as you would with pizza sauce. You can add any seasonings you like as well.
Add scrambled eggs on top of the cream cheese, place bacon or other toppings on top of eggs, top the whole pizza pie with cheese.
Pop back into the oven until cheese is nice and melted and crust has completely cooked. This took about another 7 minutes for me.

This was something everyone enjoyed, and it was so easy, I’m sure I will make it again soon.

I’m linking up today with (Thursday) , , , , , (Friday) , , , , , ,, , , , ,, (Saturday) , , , , (Sunday) and , and

Loaded Baked Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

January 14, 2013November 22, 2015 Kim

You may have seen this one floating around Pinterest. I have had it pinned for a while, but I had kind of dismissed it since it contained the words “buffalo chicken”. Those of you that read my blog regularly know that my family can’t take any heat, whereas I love some schpice. However, I decided to take a closer look at the recipe and realized I could make a couple of simple changes and make it work. I just reduced the hot sauce, added in a ranch type dip, and cut back the green onion a bit. Wowza! This was GOOD!

Loaded Baked Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

adapted from

my changes are in italics

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

8-10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 t. salt

1 T. fresh ground pepper

1 T. paprika

1 1/2 T. garlic powder

3 T. buffalo wing sauce

3 T. Loaded Baked Potato Dip*

*Could use Ranch dip or salad dressing in the place of the dip I used or skip it altogether and use 6 T. hot sauce. Depends on the level of heat you like. Or, you could use all ranch or other sauce in the place of the hot sauce.

Topping:

2 cups cheese of choice (I used 1 1/2 c. reduced fat sharp cheddar and 1/2 cup Gorgonzola)

1/2-3/4 cup real bacon bits

1/2 cup diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. (It’s gotta be hot to cook those taters!) In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, buffalo sauce and dip/dressing. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Pour potatoes into a sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish, reserving as much sauce as possible for the chicken. (There will not be a lot left, but should be enough to coat the chicken). Bake the potatoes at 500 degrees for 45-50 mins, stirring every 10-15 mins (I did 15), until potatoes are cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the chicken to the bowl with the remaining sauce. Stir to coat. Once potatoes are done, remove from oven and lower oven temp to 400 degrees. Add the chicken to the top of the cooked potatoes. (I know, raw chicken on top of cooked potatoes seems a little weird, but it all heats back up and cooks through.) Cover raw chicken with cheese, bacon bits and green onions in an even layer. Place assembled casserole in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

You can serve this with extra hot sauce, ranch or blue cheese dressing if desired. I topped mine with a little extra wing sauce, and some plain yogurt (instead of sour cream), and additional green onions.

Verdict? Fantastic! This is like combining my favorite appetizers into one glorious dish – loaded potato skins and buffalo wings! The recipe can be adapted to suit your family’s taste buds, and would be great to serve for a crowd on game day. It seems like there is some big football game coming up sometime soon? You know, the one with all the cool commercials 😉 The only drawback is the time it takes to cut up all the potatoes and chicken, but that could be easily done ahead of time. My plan is to pre-cook some chicken breasts, chop them up, and freeze for when I make this again, and this recipe is definitely a keeper and will be made again!

I am linking this recipe up at (Monday) , , ,, , , , , , (Tuesday) , , , , , , (Wednesday) , , , , (Thursday), , (Friday) , , , , , , , , , , , (Saturday) , , (Sunday) ; (Ingredient Spotlight: Bacon),

Bacon Green Beans {for a crowd}

December 11, 2012November 24, 2015 Kim

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans are one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Why? Because bacon makes everything better. Just a fact, Jack. I wanted to recreate the flavor of the bacon wrapped green beans, but without all the… wrapping of the bacon around the green beans. Uhmmm, maybe I’m a wee bit lazy? Seriously, I wanted to have green beans that would feed a bunch of folks, would be easy to travel with, and easy to heat up once I got there. Oh! And quick and easy to make. Very important little detail there.

Okay, so they won’t be winning any awards for being the prettiest dish around, but when you have bacon and brown sugar together…you really can’t go wrong.

Convenience.

Bacon Green Beans

1 large can cut green beans, drained

1 15 oz can green beans, drained

1 large can whole potatoes, drained

1 package real bacon bits (I used the ‘no nitrates or nitrites added’)

2/3 cup unpacked dark brown sugar (can use light as well)

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place drained green beans & potatoes in a 9×13 inch baking pan.
Sprinkle package of bacon bits over green beans/potatoes.
Combine the brown sugar, melted butter, soy sauce, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Pour over the green beans, potatoes and bacon.
Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes, depending on how “done” you like your beans. (I don’t like mine to get all limp and wrinkled, so I only did about 30 minutes.)
Stir and serve!

Verdict? Bacon is the bomb. These are tasty, yet simple to throw together, and a 9×13 pan full of green beans feeds quite a few people! If you want to cut down on the sodium, you can rinse your canned veggies before using. (or buy unsalted….if you find them palatable. I don’t.) Or you can go all out and use fresh green beans (a.k.a. snap beans if you’re from around here – just adjust your cook time accordingly). You can also use low sodium soy sauce and unsalted butter. There is a lot of bacon in these, so that could be scaled back, as well as the sugar, without a noticeable difference I think.

I’m linking up over at , , , , , , , (Ingredient Spotlight: Bacon), ,

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

July 14, 2011November 19, 2015 Kim

Leave it to me to take something healthy and ruin it. Not that adding bacon is ruining it, it’s just that whole pesky eating in moderation thing. Which my husband did not practice when eating these. It’s not my fault…I have all these green beans coming in from the garden, and posted Green Bean Bacon Bundles. What’s a girl to do? Well, make some bacon wrapped green beans of course…

Green Bean Bacon Bundles
from
makes about 10-12 bundles *I made 14

1 pound fresh green beans

10-12 slices of thick-cut bacon *I used regular bacon

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 cloves of garlic, minced *I only used one

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

Wash and thoroughly dry green beans, then season with salt and pepper. Bundle together about 5-8 green beans – this will depend on your size of beans and the amount of beans you get for one pound. Bundle together as many as you’d like! Using a slice of bacon, wrap it around the center of the beans to hold it together. Lay the bundle bacon seam side down in the baking dish to hold it together. Repeat with remaining beans.

Heat a small saucepan over low heat. Add butter, brown sugar and garlic and whisk until melted and combined. Using a pastry brush, brush the mixture over top of each green bean bundle. Cover the bundles with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 (it took more like 25 minutes for me to get the bacon somewhat crisp, and I still ended up putting it under the broiler for a minute) minutes more, just until bacon gets crispy.

Verdict? Bacon makes everything delicious. Even vegetables.

The only thing for me is that I baked them in a casserole dish, and the beans cooked in all that grease. Which may be the point, but the green beans absorb a lot of that grease, which obviously is not good for you. I think when (when, not if) I make them again, I’ll cook them in a roasting pan, with the wire rack, so the beans still get the juices of the bacon while it’s cooking, but a majority will drip down into the pan. That should also get the bacon crispier without having to broil it. (b/c I almost always burn everything I put under the broiler – see 1st pic)

These were definitely a winner with the hubs, not so much with the kids. But as you may have noticed, my kids don’t like anything!

Since I’ve been blogging for a year now, I thought it would be fun to look back on previous posts. Fun for me anyway 🙂 So…
Last year’s Post: Healthy Choices (and ongoing struggle fo’ sho’)

I’m linking it up with , , Mouthwatering Monday @ , , Just Something I Whipped Up @ , at It’s a Blog Party, at All the Small Stuff, , @ 33 Shades of Green, @ For The Love Of Blogs, , , , ,, for Fat Camp Fridays, (currently being held at ), , , , , for Savory Sunday; (Ingredient Spotlight: Bacon!), ,

hump day hankerin’

July 15, 2010June 10, 2016 Kim

On Tuesday I made a quick stop at grocery store. It’s pretty awesome compared to the grocery stores near my house, so I was like a kid in a candy store. Even my 9 year old was thoroughly impressed – but, she was a kid in a candy store…with the huge display of candies, chocolate covered goodies, etc. I picked up just a few items (and lunch) but they have sparked some serious cravings. And the best thing to do for cravings is SATISFY them – otherwise, you’ll obsess over them, consuming everything else in the house and still will be left with that unfulfilled yearning, that gnawing sense of NEED in the pit of your stomach…..oh….sorry, got carried away. That’s probably just me that OBSESSES over things. So anyway, back to my purchases. I picked up this lovely jewel –

I don’t even like tomatoes, but this one was so pretty i had to have it. I’ve got tomatoes on the brain b/c mine are not growing in the garden. Well, they are growing, but not very big, and not turning red. And then the stupid birds are pecking at them. I want red freakin’ tomatoes. See, that obsession thing again. I did get my first, perfect, red cherry tomato today – so I’m feeling a little less over the top about them not growing. Once again, I digress.

I found this gorgeous tomato and bought it thinking it would go into a pasta recipe I saw. (Which now I can’t find, otherwise I’d share). However, after looking at this tomato and my sister mentioning BLT’s, all I could think about was piling some bacon on this bad boy. So much so that I caved and made a special trip to the store with Mr. Two to get everything I would need for a mac daddy BLT. I should also mention that I have never eaten a BLT before. But I had a hankerin’. I’m pretty sure this is another Southern-ism

I guess I had a BLOT – since I added onion!

don’t ask me why it’s blurry in the middle

and can you believe my local grocery store ONLY had iceburg lettuce…that’s it! ugh!

Neither shot can do this sandwich justice. All I can say is….OH YEAH! It was that good.

And then I did something really mean…I hid the bacon so my husband wouldn’t eat it all, so that I can have another sandwich later. hmmm, better keep that quiet.

This was another purchase. It’s not nearly as pretty as the tomato, but for some reason I wanted it. It’s called ‘Morning Mix’, and is full of healthy sh…um, stuff. Oats (obviously), cinnamon covered raisins and apples, sunflower seeds, etc., etc. It looked very….healthy. So I bought it. and don’t know what to do with it. I’ve mixed it in some yogurt – that was good. I took some, mixed it with almond butter and mini chocolate chips for a snack – that was the bomb. But this morning, I really wanted MUFFINS!! So what did I do? I made muffins.

and added some mix to the tops of half. YUM. I made (again). Made my usual changes – 1/2 white flour, 1/2 wheat, made it “egg-free”, added a little extra lemon juice since I didn’t have any zest, and threw in a half of a peach I had left in the fridge.

I am also not a huge fan of peaches (surprise, surprise) so I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out.

but the combination of blueberry, lemon and peach worked. They were deee–licious. Unless you’re Mr. Two, who took one bite and pushed it away “not good”. I said “it IS good, it’s yummy and good for you, take a bite”. He said “NOOOOOO, no good”. and he ate Cheerios. and I ate his muffin.

Baked Bacon & Eggs

Breakfast Pizza

Loaded Baked Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Bacon Green Beans

Green Bean Bacon Bundles from makes about 10-12 bundles *I made 14

Green Bean Bacon Bundles
from
makes about 10-12 bundles *I made 14