There is nothing like a good breakfast casserole...

The Holiday's are winding down, and the New Year is fast approaching! Now, I am extremely excited about the New Year, but I do not have any great story to post today. I figure something will spark my interest in the coming days of the New Year and I'll have an exciting post for all to read! Today however I am going to post the recipe from the breakfast casserole I made for my family Christmas morning and upon request a second time the day after Christmas. This recipe was a hit and very easy to do, so enjoy!

Potatoes and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
recipe from: southernfood.com serves: 6
cooking time: 45-55 minutes preheat oven to: 350 degrees

1/2 pound spicy or mild pork sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack or cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet cook sausage and onion, breaking up sausage with a spatula. When sausage is cooked through, drain off excess fat.
In an 8x8x2 inch square baking dish layer the hash browns, half of the shredded cheese, browned sausage onion mixture, and remaining cheese.
In bowl, comine eggs, milk, and pepper; pour egg mixture over cheese.
Bake covered in 350 oven for 45-55 minutes or until a knife inserted center come out clean.

I changed it up a bit, using 5 eggs and 1 1/2 - 2 cups of milk ... also adding hot sauce to the milk egg mixture. With the potatoes I also used the whole bag of shredded hash brown and sprinkled them with salt and pepper before layering the sausage and onion mixture over it. I have a large family so everything fit nicely in a 13x9 inch baking pan. Also, I used two bags of the combination cheese and just layered one bag in the casserole and the other bag on the top. Cooking the dish covered for 50 min. and then uncovering and letting it cook another 5 minutes uncovered. This is a wonderful dish to make the night before and keep in the fridge overnight, making breakfast the next day a breeze! I also coupled this dish with fruit salad. Hope everyone enjoys this yummy dish as much as my family did!

Oh Dawlin' Hawt

So after "makin' groceries" a New Orleans term for Grocery shopping, I decided to try a new recipe for dinner. Now this was not just any old recipe I might add, it was a true tribute to my love for New Orleans food. If you've ever been to New Orleans you may know of this sandwich and maybe even tried it a time or two. If not, then take a minute and store this tid bit of info in your memory bank. The Muffuletta, is a New Orleans sandwich that is to die for. The contents of a muffuletta are, salami, ham, provolone cheese, olive salad, and sometimes red onions. There is one particular place when visiting New Orleans that my family always gets our Muffuletta's, and that is Central Grocery down in the French Quarter. So back to the recipe I tried tonight, it was a rendition of the Muffuletta, called Muffuletta Pasta. The recipe called for everything that goes on the sandwich but instead of making a sandwich, you added the ingredients to pasta. Yummmmy! It was fantabulous if I do say so myself, and VERY easy! So next time you're in the mood for pasta salad, I vote you try the Muffuletta Pasta recipe  found on NOLA.com! 

It's a marshmallow world in the winter...

Oh to be in a Marshmallow world... thats what I really want. You know that white stuff that falls from the sky and covers everything with the most serene blanket of white? Yeah, Snow! I want snow so bad, and everyone else seems to be getting LOADS of it. Today we got a smidgen of the white stuff, but nothing stuck and it was over within an hour. My brothers and sisters I wrote about in my previous post both seem to be getting tons of it. Even my brother who lives just thirty minutes away had more snow stick around before it changed to rain. I won't go on whining about not getting any snow, but just wanted to express my envies for that super soft, beautiful to look at, icy cold, white stuff! So, if you were one of the lucky ones to get it, please, please, PALEASEEEE... ENJOY IT!

image found on blossomtimecreations.blogspot.com 

Oh the places I've been...

So as many of you know, last week I put on my drivin' gloves and took off! After a lovely night spent with my adorable niece Lily and wonderful sister-in-law Lisa I traveled to my first destination Richmond, Virginia. The home of my brother Daniel, and sister-in-law Laura, is a beautiful city. This is one of my favorite cities to drive to, and through, because of the water. I am a water bug... I love cities that contain water. So, as I drove in to Richmond to see my brother and sister, this was the view that backs up my love for driving to and through Richmond.

I spent the night and next day with Daniel and Laura, and to my great surprise my brother Tim who was in town on business. We shared laughs over drinks and simply enjoyed being together. Truly the best way to spend an evening to me is with my family. Daniel and Laura surprised me with a delicious steak and potato meal... man can they cook! This was a short but wonderful trip to a lovely city home to some of my favorites!

So on to my next stop... Burke, Va. This city is the new home to my brother Scott and sister-in-law Erin.  The newlyweds have moved into a new home and asked for some design q/a time during my visit. This was so fun for me, to help them make their home, THEIR home.  Pictures were hung in the house with care, with hopes personalization would fill the air. We ate many great meals and snuggled by their christmas tree to watch some HGTV since it was freezing outside. It seems every time I go to visit my family the time flies, and sooner than wanted it's time to head home. Not to worry though, there will be more visits to come to Burke, because like Richmond it holds the people who have a special place in my heart.

Next on the list would be HOME to Raleigh. This is where I've grown-up and come to love this city more than anything, because it is HOME. I was greeted with open paws from my two adorable puppy dogs, and of course open arms from my wonderful parents. To celebrate being home and the special time of year, we decorated the christmas tree with christmas music and hot chocolate, a big tradition in the Hoffman household. So now i'm home for the holiday's and it feels wonderful... just missing one thing, the WHOLE family. To my out of town family, START PACKING!

Tick Tock from the ol'clock

Well, I'm home... after my long and fun adventures of travel. I will post more on my trip soon, but as I'm exhausted I found something to hold everyone over! This song spoke to me as I was driving... and driving... and driving...  It seemed to fit how I felt about getting out and doing something on my second week of Christmas break. So read on audience, read on!

Time

    by: Pink Floyd

"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day 

You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way

Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town

Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine

Staying home to watch the rain

And you are young and life is long

And there is time to kill today

And then one day you find

Ten years have got behind you

No one told you when to run

You missed the starting gun

And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking

Racing around to come up behind you again

The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older

Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter

Never seem to find the time

Plans that either come to nought

Or half a page of scribbled lines

Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way

The time is gone

The song is over

Thought I'd something more to say

Home, home again

I like to be here when I can

When I come home cold and tired

It's good to warm my bones beside the fire

Far away across the field

The tolling of the iron bell

Calls the faithful to their knees

To hear the softly spoken magic spells "

In the words of the late Marion Plump aka Ya Ya: "GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!"

Tonight's dinner will mark the first recipe of my "winter break recipe run through." I figured i'd start with new to me yet known to be simple method of "slow cooking" in the crock-pot. As it is a cold and rainy day in Raleigh, what better than a warm soup for dinner. I will begin my next recipe post with an update on how the previous recipe turned out. For now enjoy the image and culinary vocabulary of today's recipe. The recipe found on http://allrecipes.com goes as follows ...

Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup

Prep Time:
5 Min

Cook Time:
4 Hrs

Ready In:
4 Hrs 5 Min

Original Recipe Yield 8 servings
Ingredients

• 6 cups milk
• 3 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Happy Days are Here!

I have many things to celebrate today, not only have I finished my last fall semester as an undergraduate student at UNC-G, I have also accepted a wonderful internship opportunity in Raleigh. Now that I am on my winter break it seems my mind cannot stop with ideas of fun "projects" to do. I have big plans of trying many new recipes as I've come to truly enjoy cooking and baking. Also, now that I have more time during normal hours I would like to become better about going to the gym. Spending time with my family, my doggies, and my friends are also top on this list! Next weekend I am heading north from NC to DC to spend time with my brother Scott and sister-in-law Erin, helping them with some home improvements in their new digs! I love going to DC to see them, we always have fun and I love that they enjoy my visits and value my design opinions. Now there is one thing on my list that I have put off for far too long and unwillingly am getting off the computer to go do... clean my apartment. Oh, before I go, one parting note to acknowledge my photo choice. The weather forecast for this weekend calls for COLD COLD COLD "winter" weather! Maybe we will be able to build our own frosty the snowman!

The Final Product of my Final Studio Project

This project has taken me down a long and winding road, but fear not, I have completed it! I was inspired by many things, images, words, etc. but my final concept is "REVEAL." I decided to name the store this as well, to highlight the importance it had throughout the journey. I think of this space as a "reveal" for the UNC-G Students to show the community what we truly excel in. I carried the concept throughout my space, with my favorite detail of using fabric to highlight the voids where art work can be displayed on the walls. Below are the pages of a booklet style project I turned into my professor, the folder I turned the pages in was personally hand crafted. I sewed fabric pockets, with a translucent material, that "reveals" my logo which is centered on the first page. Now with my last undergraduate studio final completed, one word comes to mind, Cheers!