Breakfast Casserole

I first had this casserole at a Christmas Party at my son's school. Instead of the usual afternoon parties, they have a big breakfast party and invite the family. A few families brought variations on this casserole, but this one was my favorite. I've since made it for visiting family and it's always been popular.  I usually use freshly shredded potatoes, though I have bought frozen hash browns when I've been crunched for time. The original recipe didn't call for baking the potato 'crust' separately, but I found I like the potatoes to be a bit crunchy.  This recipe is for a 9 x 13 inch pan, which is quite large for just us, but it keeps and reheats well, so is nice to have for quick breakfasts on busy mornings, which will again be the theme around here in a few days. It can also be halved easily. I also think it lends itself well to variation. One option I plan to try is use jack cheese instead of cheddar, and add green chili.  Sausage and Egg Casserole 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage 3 cups shredded potatoes, well rinsed and drained 1/4 cup melted butter, 12 ounces mild Cheddar cheese, shredded 1/2 cup finely diced onion 1 16 ounce container cottage cheese 6 large eggs Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Stir together the shredded potatoes and butter, and press evenly into lightly grease a 9x13 inch square baking dish. Bake for about 15 minutes or until crust is set. Leave it longer if you want it crispy - less or not at all if you don't. Meanwhile, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside. Mix the cheddar cheese, onion, cottage cheese, eggs and sausage. Pour over the potato crust. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the casserole comes out clean.

Three Bean Salad

 Sometimes I think that I'm so busy trying new things, I forget about the 'classic' or 'everyday' recipes. Last weekend was one of those instances. I'd been trying at least one new recipe everyday, all week and I felt we needed a break. Not to mention I needed a break from the kitchen. I decided on hamburgers, corn on the cob and three bean salad. The salad could be made well ahead of time, and everything else cooked outside on the grill.

I wanted 'plain, ordinary' three bean salad with the sweet and vinegary taste I was familiar with. I did make one change, however. Since I am not too keen on kidney beans,  I swapped those out and used artichoke hearts instead. I used frozen green beans and canned chickpeas for convenience, and artichoke hearts in salt water rather than the marinated variety. I cooked the green beans briefly - about 3 minutes, then drained them and rinsed them with cold water to cool them quickly and keep them bright green.

What I ended up with was 'Three Bean Salad When One of the Beans is Artichoke' or 'Two Bean and Artichoke Salad'. Of course if you like kidney beans, you can always add them back in, or add another type of bean you prefer. As always, change the ratios to suit, but this is what I used.

Bean Salad

green beans - about 10 ounces by weight
Chick peas, 15 ounce can, drained and rinsed
Artichoke hearts (9.9 ounce jar), quartered
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix beans, artichokes and red onion in a bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar. Shake well and pour over bean mixture. Chill for several hours or overnight to combine flavors.

Clafouti

This is one of our favorite summertime desserts, and with cherries in season right now, it's the perfect time to make it. 
It isn't very photogenic - at least mine isn't. Fortunately, it tastes much better than it looks. 



I have tried a number of recipes, but found I like Julia Child's version the best. I reduced the sugar slightly, since the original version was too sweet for me. I also leave the pits in the cherries, but you can use pitted if you prefer.


Clafoutis

1 1/4 cups milk 1/3 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 Tablespoon vanilla 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup flour 3 cups cherries 1/4 cup sugar Cream for serving  Whisk together the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour making sure there are no lumps. Pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter in a buttered baking dish. Place in the oven and bake just until batter is set. Remove from the heat and spread the cherries over the batter. Sprinkle on the 1/4 cup of sugar. Pour on the remainder of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about for about 40-45 minutes. The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.