Cheddar Sausage Breakfast Bake / $8, family, Easy, 2hours prep

Ingredients

1TB     butter

½ lb    ground sausage

1          red pepper, diced

1          green pepper, diced

1 bunch green onion, thinly sliced
¼ C     flour

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

6          eggs

¾ C     ricotta cheese

2 C      shredded cheddar cheese

Seasonings

Cracked Pepper generous
Onion Powder generous

Garlic Powder generous
Pinch of Cayenne

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 2-quart shallow baking dish.

Brown sausage

Melt butter in a medium skillet over moderate heat and cook green onions, red pepper, and green pepper until softened. Remove from heat

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl.

Beat eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and doubled in volume.

Reduce speed to low and gently mix in flour mixture, scallions, *both* cheeses, sausage, peppers, and green onions.

Pour into baking dish and bake until puffed and set and top is golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Prepare From Frozen

Allow to completely thaw and bake as directed above.

Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches / $8, family / Easy / 1.5 hours prep

Ingredients

1          12 count package Kings Hawaiian Rolls

12       slices swiss cheese

16oz    thin sliced ham

½ C      butter melted

½ tsp ground mustard

1 tsp   onion powder)

2 TB     worcheshire sauce

Directions

Slice all of the rolls in half and place the bottom halves in a 9x13 baking dish.

Place ham and cheese on the bottom of the sliced rolls. Cover with the top half of roll.

Mix together the remaining five ingredients in a small bowl and spoon over the tops of the sandwiches.

Let sit overnight or a couple of hours.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for 15 minutes or until warmed through and the cheese is gooey and melty.

To Freeze

Spray pan and place 9 sandwiches inside. Make a “pan” out of foil, spray, and place additional 3 sandwiches inside. Cover completely with foil.

Make From Frozen

Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake as directed above.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 can (15 OUNCES) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dried
• 1 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
• 1 package (21) egg roll wrappers
• **1 egg beaten for sealing egg roll (can substitute water)

1. In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Place ~1/4 cup mixture in the center of one egg roll wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling. Fold sides toward center over filling and continue to roll tightly to seal (see directions on egg roll wrapper). Using your finger, moisten remaining corner with egg. Repeat.
2. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush tops of egg rolls lightly with olive oil. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown. Turn them halfway through baking.
3. Serve warm with salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream, ranch,  or cilantro cream sauce

(Optional: Chop 2 chicken breasts into small cubes, saute with a tablespoon of oil and some salt and pepper, and add to the mix of egg roll filling.)

Cilantro cream sauce

• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 (7oz) can tomatillo sauce or salsa (same thing, different companies label them different)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2-4 jalapenos, seeded (or leave the seeds in for extra heat)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• the juice of half a lime

Combine all the ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a jar with a tight fitting seal, and refrigerate for up to 1-2 weeks. 

For Freezer Club. Prepare Egg Rolls as directed. Freeze. To cook from freezer, place frozen rolls on a baking sheet, brush olive oil on top, cook at 425 for 10-15 minutes flipping halfway through. I am still testing to see if the sauce freezes well or not I will update at the end of my experiment!

Chicken Parmesean Meatballs

1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup Pecorino (or Parm)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 egg, whisked
zest of half a lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 14-ounce can pizza sauce or marina
about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella in slices or about 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella.

Preheat oven to 400°F, setting rack to upper third part of oven. In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together first 11 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be somewhere between golf and tennis) and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove meatballs from oven, spoon some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden.  Heat remaining sauce in a small saucepan. Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce

For Freezer Club: Bake for initial 15 minutes then freeze. To prepare from freezer: transferred the frozen meatballs to the fridge in the morning, then heat them up in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes and proceed with the broiling step with sauce and cheese.