Happy & Merry

Check out the amazing photographer who took our photos! Weston Neuschafer Photography- www.whoisweston.com!

Christmas Breakfast

One of my gifts to Stephen was to make a special Christmas breakfast. This year, we drove home late at night from his family Christmas so that we could be home Christmas morning. It was one of the best Christmas' I have had in a long time! I made mini egg cups this year, they were DELICIOUS! I also made toast to go with it- but it wasn't just any bread, it was the Hawaiian loaf bread, yum! The recipe below, surprisingly, made exactly 12 cups (I have no idea how I worked that out).

9 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 pound bacon, cut up then cooked until crispy

3 cups chopped spinach

3 garlic cloves

1 cup Mexican cheese blend

1/4 cup chives

Directions:

1. Start frying up bacon, cut it up into small pieces and fry until crispy. Then put on a paper towel to drain. 
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Chop spinach and garlic and saute until the spinach is just wilted (about 3-5 minutes)
4. Add the eggs, milk, seasonings, 1/4 cup cheese, and chives to a big bowl and mix. Then add the cooked bacon (reserving 1/4 cup) and spinach and stir. 
5. Spoon the egg mix into greased muffin tins and then sprinkle a little more cheese and bacon on the top of each muffin cup.
6. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes until the cups have puffed up and are starting to brown. The cups will also be pretty firm to the touch. 
7. Remove from the oven and take out of the muffin tins.
8. Garnish with some more cut chives.
9. Devour! 

Italian Wedding Soup- Meghan Style!

This is my version of one of my top favorite soups, Italian Wedding Soup, crock pot style! My amazing husband got me a huge 7 quart crock pot for Christmas (I was operating on a tiny little one before) so I had to try it out the day after Christmas. We wanted something lighter and delicious so I came up with a version of Italian Wedding Soup that could be made in the crock pot! This recipe does differ from the original Italian wedding soup because I added tomato sauce.

Meatballs:

1 pound turkey  meat

1 egg

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

  

Soup:

6 cups chicken stock

1 cup boneless cooked chicken breast (I just quickly boiled)

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

2 cups spinach, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt
1 can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup small noodles (I used mini pinwheels)

Directions:

1. Meatballs: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all the meatball ingredients together and form into very small balls (see below) and place onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake them for about 15 minutes and stir them around after about 7 minutes until they are slightly browned but still soft.
3. Remove from oven and drain off any grease if necessary. Turkey meat won't be very oily at all, but if you choose to use a ground beef it will be more oily.
4. Soup: Place all of the ingredients, except the pasta and spinach into the crock pot with the meatballs.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours (add the pasta and spinach during the last hour of cooking time). When the soup was ready I did a quick taste test and saw that I needed a little more garlic powder and I added "natures seasoning" 
6. Top each serving with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
7. ENJOY!

Hope you love this recipe as much as I do :)

Roll into tiny balls, I can get about
90 meatballs from 1 pound of meat

Cooking away my new crock pot!

Mini Spinach Dip Bowls

These are likely the BEST appetizer I have ever had.  Thank you Pinterest for supplying me with this recipe (I added a little extra of things here and there and I think it made it perfect) :) I made these for our friends Christmas party (3 batches) and they were gobbled up almost immediately. Doesn't get much better than this!! Also, I had some left over filling and it was awesome just as a dip for crackers.

13.3 oz roll of refrigerated french bread loaf, I used simply natural by Pillsbury

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 10 muffin cups with non stick cooking spray. Unroll package of french bread loaf and slice into 10 equal size slices (you actually might be able to get 12 cuts, I was). Press each slice into about a 3 inch round. Press into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes and then add garlic, cook and stir for another minute then turn off heat.
3. Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, Parmesan cheese, chili powder, garlic salt, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Mix until combined. With a medium scoop, scoop dip into each of the centers of the bread bowls. Top evenly with shredded cheese and bake for 15-17 minutes until edges turn brown.
4. Remove and devour! 

Check out this website where I got the recipe. They have the BEST step by step photos!

 

Kyle's Graduation Cookies

Congrats to my little brother! He is a college graduate!

Rain

I love the smell after it rains, and LOVE the gorgeous clouds. I am pretty lucky to have a beautiful view outside my office!

Cranberry Horseradish Sauce

Just wanted to try something new and different for the turkey! This sauce is light and tangy and definitely a change of pace from gravy!

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 small onion

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

Mix the cranberries and onion in a food processor. Once it is in small pieces add the rest of the ingredients until well incorporated!