Ryan’s parents came into town Monday night to stay at our apartment. They were only staying Monday night because they were on their way home from visiting one of Ryan’s brothers in Minneapolis.
Anytime anyone plans on sleeping at our apartment, I immediately think “what can I bake/cook for them?” What can I say, I show my love for others with food.
Since they were coming on a week day, I had to brainstorm a bit before deciding what to make them, since Ryan and I weren’t planning on taking off any work during their stay. I knew I needed something easy as well as something I could prepare ahead of time. I’m a busy gal and require a 78 year old bed time (read: 9pm) so I wanted to make something I could do most of the grunt work on Sunday.
I used this recipe as a base but changed a few ingredients. It turned out wonderful and it was nice to share breakfast with them before heading to work.
Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients:
- 3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
- 1 cup broccoli, chopped
- 3/4 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
- 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 5 eggs, beaten
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart baking dish.
2. Place the hash brown potatoes evenly on the bottom of the dish. Layer broccoli, pepperjack cheese, and green onions on top of the hash browns.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the potato mixture.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the middle of the casserole is done. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
You could refrigerate this dish overnight and pop into the oven in the morning. Add 5-10 minutes more for cooking.
At my old job, I hardly ever snacked. I’m not really sure why, I just never felt the urge to snack much.
For whatever reason, at the current job I have, I must have an afternoon snack. Like, I get to the “I’m going to eat my arm off” feeling by 3pm if I don’t have something to nosh on.
Most of the time, I’m wanting a little something sweeter. Granola bars and trail mix are great, but a lot of times I feel like a bottomless pit if I eat those items and end up eating way too much.
These little date balls are the perfect solution to my afternoon hunger. Now I know I’m not the first person to ever make date balls, so this recipe is inspired by numerous other recipes. Hope you enjoy!
Chocolate Almond Date Balls
Ingredients:
- 7-8 pitted dates, boiled for 10 minutes to soften
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/8 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Cinnamon
Directions:
1. Place almonds in a food processor and chop until they are in small pieces.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse until ingredients are well combined (the mixture will look crumbly.)
3. Form into balls and place into fridge for 1-2 hours before serving.
Question: Are you a snacker? Do you prefer savory or sweet?
End of the weekend already? But…I’m not ready!
This weekend was mostly dedicated to work. We had a work dinner Friday night and I had a work event all day Saturday. Waking up at 5am on a Saturday to go to work = no fun. Mad props to those who work on the weekends.
I stopped by JCP on my way home to pick up a new purse/clutch I bought recently. Free shipping to the store? Yes, please!
Once I got home I had friends and beer waiting for me, so I was as happy as a clam. Where does that saying even come from?
Anyways, Ryan and Brenton went golfing earlier in the day and we invited Alysha and Brenton over after to have a little grill out.
We got brats from The Elegant Farmer along with potato salad. I’m not usually a brat gal, I’d much rather have a cheeseburger but I will make an exception for these brats. Oh my heavens these brats are dreamy. Locals, you’ve gotta try them out! While you’re there get the apple pie too. You won’t regret it.
Sunday
I knew there was a high probability that we would miss church this Sunday and my prediction was right. With the week that we’ve had (Ryan was gone for 3 days in Chicago) we needed to sleep in.
Ryan made me a “Puppy Mother’s day breakfast” which was ah-mazing. I’m so spoiled 
My to do list was mondo long but I worked through it as much as I could. Ryan’s parents will be stopping by and staying the night on Monday after their trip to visit one of Ryan’s brothers so obviously I wanted to make some new recipes. Carol (his mom) has been wanting to try kale chips and says she can’t quite make them right so I made sure to have them on the menu.
My weekend eats are always totally random. At least there were some veggies in there…I feel like I’ve been lacking lately.
Here’s the menu for the week:
Weekly Menu May 12-18
- Sunday: Layered Raw Taco Salads
- Monday: Turkey Burgers w/ Kale Chips + Cheesy Quinoa
- Tuesday: Tilapia w/ Roasted Carrots + Couscous
- Wednesday: Brown Rice Casserole
- Thursday: Thai – Namite w/ Laurie & Alysha (words can’t describe how excited I am to try this place!)
- Friday: Grilled Pizza
- Saturday: TBD
Question: Locals: Have you ever been to Thai – Namite?
