Better late than never….

Uggh!  It’s Monday already and once again I find myself scrambling to get things done!  Ever have one of those weeks?  I usually have them every week!  But here I am, better late than never, giving you mediocre pictures and mediocre recipes.  My creative juices definitely weren’t flowing this week, but my family pulled through without much suffering!  We did try one thing new this last week, just a bit of a spin on our favorite “Mini Frittatas.”  With having gone “gluten free” for a little over a year now, I’ve sort of missed my “breads.”  I could make my own gluten free bread, and do from time to time, but it’s a lot of work in my book.  And not to be picky or anything, but, I’ve had a heck of a time finding a “gluten free” bread that tastes halfway decent and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.  That to be said, I splurged this week and bought some Udi’s gluten free bagels which I have thoroughly enjoyed (especially the cinnamon raisin).  I had a coupon, so I picked up some of their plain bagels to make a “Broccoli-Cheese Breakfast Casserole.”

Lots of broccoli!!

Plus lots of bagels (I actually put a little too much in)!

Equals lots of yummy goodness!  This is one of those recipes that is so versatile and gives you a lot of room to be creative (more so than me!).

Broccoli-Cheddar Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)

1 package (about 8 oz.) Udi’s gluten free whole grain bagels (or your favorite gluten free bread), cut into 1-inch cubes

8 large organic eggs

8 large organic egg whites

2 cups milk

3 cups broccoli, chopped

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring, until translucent and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.  Set aside to cool

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Arrange the bread cubes in the dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites, and milk until incorporated.  Add the onions, broccoli, cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and stir to combine well.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the plastic wrap and bake until the top forms a light brown crust, 50 to 60 minutes.  Serve hot!

This week’s family projects included making “Hershey Kiss” Christmas Tree gifts, making “Chocolate-Peppermint Truffles”, and going to see the “Traditions of Christmas” musical.  It was a crazy-fun week that involved way too much chocolate and laughing till our bellies hurt!

“Hershey Kiss” Christmas Trees…My little Cailyn left hers a bit bare!  It was too tedious for her to finish, so she simply said, “That’s just the way I like it!”

 These pictures don’t do them justice, but these little guys are so very rich and delicious!  They’re one of those desserts that become addicting and you want “just one more,” so I only make them once a year at Christmas because they also make great gifts!

Chocolate-Peppermint Truffles

Yields about 40 truffles

Ingredients:

1 18oz. package chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies, finely crushed and divided (I used Trader Joe’s “Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s”) – if you don’t want these to be peppermint you can use regular chocolate sandwich cookies.

8 oz. organic cream cheese, softened

2 8oz. packages semisweet baking chocolate, melted

 

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Mix 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and cream cheese until well blended.  Shape into one-inch balls.

Dip balls into melted chocolate and place on the lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with the remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm.  Store any leftover truffles in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Simply delicious!

 

View Full Album

 

Before the musical, we enjoyed dinner at Panera Bread.  I promise you, my little princesses normally don’t play with their food!  You’d think they had died and gone to heaven when they saw “Mac ‘n Cheese” on the menu!  Needless to say, they ate ALL of their dinner!  And I thoroughly enjoyed my cup of vegetable soup with pesto and garden salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  The hubs was more than pleased with his “Steak Panini”!  With warm and full bellies we were off to see “Traditions of Christmas.”  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures during the performance, so I snapped a few during intermission where our entertainment clearly continued!!

She absolutely loved all the dancers on stage and decided to give us a little show of her own!

Watch out world, this princess is an up-and-coming star!! 

Makenna wanted to be behind the camera and snapped this one of the hubs and I! 

It was a fabulous ending to our week!  The girls loved it so much that they asked if we could go back this week….I told them I’d put it on the calendar for next December! 

Blessings,

J’lene