Breakfast Crown Experiment

Okay, I'm not much of a cook ... but due to my now long enjoyed freedom with the husband being the chief cook, I have fun trying new dishes. I love our ladies group the CKW Fellowship that meets on 2nd Saturdays of each month. Because it's a breakfast, we have delightful eats each occasion. Not particularly confident in my skills, I'm not one to experiment on the unsuspecting; I broke my rule this time with this googled gourmet find.

Now, in reality, it was two recipes - the Santa Fe Breakfast Ring and the bacon, egg and cheese wreath. These two recipes gave me a lot of ideas. I went to the store and purchased:

• parchment paper (Reynolds actually carries a one side aluminum, one side parchment), 
• eggs, 
• pepper jack cheese (but I had some regular shredded cheese at home)
• Pillsbury crescent roll package
• Farmer John link sausage package
• frozen hash browns with red and green pepper package
• Philadelphia garlic flavor cooking sauce (because the market didn't have the Santa Fe flavor called out in the Santa Fe recipe)

I had about an hour before I needed to leave for our Fellowship, so I cooked the sausage in small pieces, drained and set to the side. I scrambled the eggs and separate cooked the hashbrowns. I mixed the hashbrowns, eggs, and sausage, and real bacon bits (I had in the house) with half of the garlic flavor cooking sauce. I would have added onion, but didn't have any - my list failed to make it to my phone.

I took a pizza plate with the parchment paper on it and placed the crescent pieces in a circle. I sprinkled it with a bit of mesquite seasoning. I placed the shredded cheese (I would have preferred to use the pepper jack, but didn't want to take the time to shred it) around the circle. Atop that I placed the mix around in a circle. I placed more cheese around the circle. I then placed the ends of the crescent pieces up over these ingredients and sprinkled a final dash of cheese across the top.

I followed the directions to place it in an oven pre-heated to 375 for the required time.

I was punctual!
The ladies loved it!
The crowning glory was the message for the special ladies that come together every 2nd Saturday for this time of fellowship. Jesus was there! He has always been there and is!

However if you like this breakfast idea, there is so much room to play with this recipe. My guys at home don't like cheese, so I probably will remove that for their concoctions except for some pieces designated for me - definitely trying the pepper jack. One could add fresh sliced mushrooms. I even thought of pepperoni. I think having fresh salsa with it is also a very good idea.

As a googling gourmet, this was a fun dish to prepare. Enjoy your variations! Use the links to determine amounts and for pictures that take you step-by-step; I did.

rudimentary in ruidoso

We had a few days to ourselves before those Rodriguezes arrived ;-). They would be leaving for our parts Sunday around midnight and arriving near noon Monday. We just really enjoyed the time basking in our surroundings and each other's company. As I mentioned we had certain creature comforts of home - so the guys were playing their games y estudié el español. We brought a lot as we are in the habit of doing. We found the local store nearby - a Walmart - with everything else we would need. Amusingly enough, we made at least one trip every day - guess we're not used to not being at home; there was always something we thought we could use.

Oddly enough, I became very domestic - I made breakfast nearly every morning - hashbrowns, eggs, bacon and sausage - and kept the kitchen cleaned up. I walked around the facilities. I went over to the clubhouse every now and then to make sure all was right with the world on facebook and mobwars and the hubbi did some banking. But we also had cellular wireless connection which could be used right there in our accommodations.

The first day I had a headache - symptomatic of high altitude as we were 7000 ft up; after 24 hours I adjusted. We watched movies - The Mist (the book by Stephen King) - without the youngest; he was playing his games. What an intense (and I mean that in the most intense way imaginable) movie! I was pacing the floor and wondered how anyone could have sat through the amped up atmosphere of a theatre with that movie. It still was a great look at the human psyche under extreme circumstances.

By the time the Rodriguezes joined us we had regrouped from our long drive, were relaxed and acclimated. It would take them about a day and half to achieve the same. We had lovely weather - nice and warm fresh air slightly thin on oxygen. In the evening it cooled quite a bit and we cuddled up in our quarters by the fireplace - every day closer to Thanksgiving was a little cooler.

When they arrived, we watched a few more movies - Traitor, Hulk, Taken and Wall-E (the hubbi and I still have yet to watch this one). We played a few games - Carcassonne, Mille Bornes, and Spouse-ology. We enjoyed all the movie selections as well as the games. The Rodriguezes and the Normans tied in Spouse-ology. It was a lot of fun testing the strength of our marriages in this competition. The youngest learned and quickly grasped Milles Bornes, a game our family has played 3 generations now. We introduced the Rodriguezes to the intracacies of Carcassone on the initial level while indicating how enhanced it can become. The winner was undetermined, as we moved pieces off the board before it could clearly be determined.

That's pretty much it for the day-to-day activities. We made a couple of extracurricular outings - and those are yet to come!

TX trippin' two-step

You know you're on vacation when you have nary a worry. The husband and I are relaxed and loving it; we walked into town to Blockbuster and used his Christmas coupon to buy 4/$20 DVDs - we got The Last Mimsy, Facing the Giants, plus two others. We racked up 10,000 steps in that trip. We saw two snowmen, a horse grazing, a voting area surrounded by democratic candidate signs - mostly Barak, and one republican one with mostly McCain. Here, the caucuses were called the 'Texas Two-Step! At the end of the day, HRC won TX, OH, not Vermont but also RI (the difference between them remains about the same) and McCain clinched his party's nomination. And the battles rage on.



The husband and I familiarized ourselves more with Catan, but the eldest and SIM gave Canaan to the youngest for his February birthday. We played that today - it has nuances that are quite enjoyable, but that version can end rather quickly. I received the Jane Austen collection and an ornament that identifies the eldest as my favorite! She's been holding our gifts hostage until we got here ;-)

She and I went over to Mardel Christian - a very comprehensive and inexpensive store. I spent $11 on 4 books. The husband barbequed ribs and chicken at the end of the day; now every one has retired (except me) in preparation for tomorrow's trek to Lackland AFB in San Antonio to visit the giant. He probably won't have time for us until Friday evening - so, there'll be sights to see. Although it was a nice sunny day; tomorrow is expected to threaten snow once again. Since we are traveling south, I am not sure what we will encounter. But God is in charge and we are excited. We have reservations for the Travelodge Suites with a kitchenette. The eldest has made spaghetti and we have snacks for the road - can you say Roadtrip!

She's been playing Scrabulous on Facebook. I haven't looked at Scrabble online in ages; I was immediately re-hooked. Signed myself up outside of Facebook so I can enjoy in the future. This vacation 4 days in has been filled with fullness of family and fun = what a blessing. Going to get some shut-eye myself. C'ya!

super nachos bowl recipe

I'm not good on amounts so gauge your ingredients.

Ingredients:

• chicken - I used boneless chicken breast
• tortilla chips - buy a party bag and you'll have some left over
• frijoles (refried beans) - I used 16 oz. You can buy spicy or not, fat free or not - you choose
• velveeta cheese - recommend the mexican flavor, or regular or 2% milk - 1 or 2 of the smaller package - or a mix (just like I did the beans)
• one jar of salsa - at least 8 oz.
  
• For additional toppings, you may want: sour cream, guacamole (don't buy the cheap slimy looking ones), serano peppers (tip - never wipe your eyes after touching them) sliced if you want to be able to find them or diced or olive (I abhor those and don't use them myself)

Preparation: The meat - I did this the night before and then stored in a baggy overnight. Slice up and stir fry the chicken (with a little olive or canola oil). Season as you choose - I used garlic powder and cilantro. You can also use taco seasonings. Just monitor your flavoring - you don't want everything spicy flavored. The key is to enjoy the unique tastes of things.
The cheese - melt it or cut in small squares for spreading.
The spread - use the largest microwavable plate you have and cover the bottom with chips. Proceed to layer the rest of the items (excluding the salsa, guac and cream - these do better not being microwaved). Alternate chicken, dollups of beans, cheese either poured or pieces spread, and the optional pepper slices, and then repeat the layering process until you reach a reasonable microwavable height.
The melt - then heat in the microwave in the oven until you see the cheese and beans soft and sizzling.
The presentation - you should have a mountain of chips that can be selected covered in the toppings. You can add dollops of the sour cream and guacamole, or you can provide individual dishes of those that can be applied according to individual taste.
The alternative - you can make individual servings creating saucers of the layered items to be microwaved and handed out. This is easier for individual eating, but takes more time serving. There's a lot of room for creativity.

Hope you enjoy. It was a rave at our superbowl party.

Released just in time for the pro-bowl the basketball all star weekend. ;-) Enjoy!