When you’re short on ideas for breakfast and just can’t stomach another round of pancakes, a breakfast casserole is just the thing. This one uses plenty of potatoes, which are nice and filling, but adds lots of flavor with the onions, garlic and sour cream. It’s also well balanced, with eggs for protein.

Potato Tomato Breakfast Casserole

Serves 10

1 c. sour cream

8 c. potatoes

2 large tomatoes, sliced

2 onions

1/2 c. breadcrumbs

1/4 c. butter

3 Tblsp. oil

4 hardboiled eggs

3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

Boil potatoes until tender (you could also use leftover potatoes from dinner) and slice.

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Saute the onions and garlic until soft in the oil. Add to the potatoes and add sour cream. Mix it all up . . . don’t worry if the potatoes break up a little. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put half the potato mixture into a large casserole dish (I have none, so used a 12″ cake tin). Cover with sliced eggs, then spread in the remaining potato mixture.

Top with tomato slices, cover those with breadcrumbs and dot with the butter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the breadcrumbs start to turn brown.

This creamy soup is super healthy and though it tastes rich, there’s not a drop of cream in it. In fact, the ingredients are so simple that you might be surprised at how well it turns out!

I made this up for a brunch on a cold rainy day and it was well received. Since it goes beyond the plain squash, it’s more exciting than the average soup, with a aftertaste of roasted pepper that is really delightful. Perfect for those days when summer seems far away.

Roasted Pepper Squash Soup

Serves 6

2 acorn squash or about 5 c. cooked squash (I steamed mine)
3 red sweet peppers
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 Tblsp. oil
5 c. broth
1 tsp. garlic salt

Rub the peppers with oil and place in a pan to char over high heat. You can also roast over an open flame. When thoroughly blackened, set aside to cool.

When cooled, remove the seeds and peel the peppers. Cut into strips and put in the blender. Add the squash and one cup of broth.

Blend until smooth and set aside.

In a pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add onions. Saute until transluscent. Add the garlic and cook one minute. Add remaining broth and simmer for 10 minutes.

Let the mixture cool a bit, then blend it until smooth and pour both the onion broth and the squash puree into the pot. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, adding the garlic salt, and serve hot.

This recipe goes way back to my single days when I needed to eat something quickly. I hated cooking for just myself, so I made sure it counted! This dish is full of flavor and is ideal as a side dish for nearly any meal. The cauliflower is still a tad crunchy and the garlic adds a great flavor to an otherwise bland veggie.

Garlic Cauliflower

Serves 4

1/2 head cauliflower, sliced thinly

3 cloves garlic

1/4 c. chicken broth

3 Tblsp. oil

Heat oil over low heat and add garlic. Saute lightly until just tender.

Add the cauliflower and stir. Cook for one minute and add the broth.

Simmer on low for about 7 minutes or until the cauliflower is cooked. The broth should be mostly gone.

Serve hot or cold.

This tasty dish has a touch of Asian in it, but it’s really just a last minute dish I threw together for friends the other night. It turned out well, though, so I thought I’d share it here!

Anyone who’s read this blog for long knows that I’m a sucker for garlic AND ginger, so this dish, which blends the two flavors, is particularly good. Serve it over noodles or rice for a delightful dish that shares well and is even tastier the next day.

Garlic Ginger Beef on Noodles

Serves 4

1 lb beef, cut into narrow strips about 2″ long
1 small onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, sliced (adjust to taste)
1″ garlic, minced
1/4 c. beef broth
1 Tblsp. parsley, chopped

chow mein noodles, cooked according to package directions

In a frying pan, saute the onion for a minute in a little oil. Add beef and brown for two minutes.

Add garlic, ginger and saute until the garlic just starts to brown.

Add broth. Let simmer until the beef is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add a little water if necessary to keep from burning.

Toss with parsley and serve over noodles.

My boys have been begging me to make a cake, so finally I decided to go with an apple cake so it would be fairly healthy. I used to have a recipe for a really delicious apple cake . . . but I couldn’t find it, so I had to whip up a new one. This isn’t really like the original, but it was still yummy enough that my family ate an entire 9×13 pan in less than a day!

If you’re using regular raisins, I would suggest soaking them in boiling water for five to ten minutes before using . . . they give the cake a little extra juice that way.

Apple Raisin Cake

1 9×13″ pan

2 eggs
1 Tblsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. margarine
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. raisins
3 c. apples

Preheat oven to 450º.

Beat eggs, margarine, vanilla and sugar together in a mixing bowl.

Stir in the flour and baking powder until you have a smooth mixture. Add the raisins and apples and mix until evenly distributed.

Spread the mixture in a greased 9×13″ pan and bake for 30 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown on top.

We drizzled the cake with icing, which was made with 2 cups icing sugar, just enough milk to make it smooth and a sprinkle of allspice for flavor.

This soup is fairly simple, but very tasty. You could use a nicer sausage in it . . . I only had hot dogs on hand and my sons like them, so that’s what we used. It would probably be good with just about any kind of sausage and is a great way to get some protein and fiber into kids who dislike most meats.

To make it even more nutritious, you could add chicken or more veggies.

White Bean Soup with Carrots

Serves 8
2 c. white beans

2 carrots, chopped

5 c. chicken broth

6 hot dogs or sausages, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Saute the onions and carrot for two minutes over medium heat. Add the garlic and hot dogs.  Stir for a minute and then add the beans and broth.

Allow to simmer until the carrots are tender. Serve hot or cold.

A blog reader from my other blog recently dropped off some real maple syrup straight from my homeland of Canada and I knew I had to use it in something special. These maple oat muffins were the first breakfast we had with real maple syrup in my house and they were a HUGE hit.

These are just slightly chewy, which makes them different from other muffins and the maple adds a whole new flavor to the batter. It’s a very pleasant recipe and perfect for kids who like “cake” for breakfast.

Maple Oat Muffins

Makes 12
1 apple, finely grated
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 c. oats
1 c. boiling water
1/2 c. margarine
2 eggs
1.5 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs in a bowl and add the sugar and maple syrup. Mix thoroughly.

Mix in the flour and baking powder.

In a small bowl, combine hot water, oats and margarine, stir quickly to melt the margarine. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes or until firm to the touch. I added a dab of Maple Cream on top, but these are great just on their own, too.

I’ve been dying to try a baked egg for a while. The idea of a perfect meal tucked into a ramekin just appealed to me. Unfortunately, I only have one ramekin, so my husband and I shared this the other day when I finally got around to making it.

This dish actually uses two eggs to make it slightly heartier, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do just one and reduce the baking time. It really is a tasty dish, particularly with the garlic added in.

Baked Chard with Egg

makes one ramekin

2 eggs
1 c. chard, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tblsp. fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp. fresh basil, minced (you could use dried of both these herbs)
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Spray the ramekin with cooking oil spray. Place the chard into the ramekin, top with parsley, basil and 1 clove of minced garlic.

Crack both eggs over the chard and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place ramekin in a baking pan that is half full of water and place in the oven for about 15 min. Meanwhile, mix cheese and garlic together.

Top the egg with cheese mixture and return to the oven. Allow to cook until the edges are golden brown. Serve with a sprig of parsley or basil for an elegant breakfast.

If you don’t have ramekins, you can also use muffin tins lined with papers or tinfoil, but it’s not nearly as elegant.

We frequently have leftover rice around here and I make fried rice a few times a month. While you can do just about anything with this dish, it’s VERY easy to fall into a rut. So, I’ve been trying to mix things up lately and this is one of the alternative recipes I came up with.

This dish is very simple to make and you don’t have to have any meat in the house. I added scrambled eggs on top, since my boys tend to get weirded out by bits of egg in the rice (they had theirs on the side), but for a vegan dish, just leave the egg out altogether.

Veggie Fried Rice

Serves 6

2 eggs

2 c. cabbage, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

4 c. rice, cooked

3 Tblsp. soy sauce

3 Tblsp. oil

Scramble the eggs and set aside. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. Add the onions and saute for a minute. Add the carrots and cabbage and saute for two minutes. Add about 1/4 c. water and cook until it’s gone.

Add the rice and heat through. Stir in soy sauce, serve with the eggs on top.