Breakfast Skillet Concoction Of Sorts

So I saw this posted on Pintrest and it looked pretty easy so I had to try it. Famous last words huh? Just kidding, this is so easy it would be hard to screw up... besides I think I am a pretty good cook and Dan did most of the work anyway.

The original recipe calls for 4 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 2-4 cups of shredded cheese, a pound of bacon, bulk breakfast sausage, or diced ham, and tater tots. You basically layer it and bake it in the oven for 45 min. Well, recently my son melted a handheld plastic cutting board in my oven so we haven't been able to use it for quite some time. We did attempt by heating it up this morning but the kitchen filled with smoke and it smelled all plasticy so I didn't think it was a good plan to bake food in there. Especially since the little boys had a sleep over last night and we were feeding someone else's child. So we improvised a bit. I also tweaked the recipe.I thought the egg to milk ratio didn't seem right.

My recipe:

8 eggs + 2 cups of milk beaten together
American cheese slices
tater tots
1 lb of bacon

We cooked the bacon first, then we precooked (browned slightly) a single layer of tater tots (in the leftover bacon grease because we are begging for heart attacks here) in a pretty large and deep skillet that has a lid. I don't know what type of skillet it is, I just know that it is big and deep and it has a lid. After the tots were browned a little we poured the egg mixture over them. Added the cooked bacon, crumbled up into big chunks and then topped it all off with the cheese slices. Don't know how many we used, just enough to cover  everything.

Here's what it looked like so far:

Then we covered it with the lid and reduced the heat to medium low and let cook until the egg mixture was set.. maybe 25-30 minutes? I don't know, I forgot to time it. We checked it periodically til it was done.

And this was what we got:

The kids liked it and didn't die so I guess that's a win! Seriously though, it was pretty good and we could do so much more with it like adding diced bell pepper and onion with ham instead of bacon.

Upset with myself..._

I have been having a really hard time motivating myself. It seems to be easier to motivate others to do the same thing but when it comes down to it, I don't feel like I have anyone to motivate me. I have not been able to schedule in any exercise time with my new work schedule. And maybe that is my own fault because if I really wanted to.. I probably could make the time. In my head I DO want to, I just need to actually get off my ass and do it.

Eating is a downfall. I want all the stuff I shouldn't have and then when I give in, I feel guilty about it. I AM going back to Simply Filling foods, I just have to make sure that I don't overeat. It is SO easy to overeat. I just bought groceries the other day so I am not lacking for food. I AM going to do this. I AM going to BLOG this... no sense in paying for something I am not using. I WILL Succeed.

Only In My Dreams...

Yep, it's that time again, time for one of my notorious blabber-on-at-random posts. Ok, well it's not entirely about nothing. The other day I was watching a marathon of Clean House. I love these home renovation shows, even though they always leave me feeling a little tiny bit envious.

For instance there was one episode, not sure which show it was from, Moving Up on TLC, I think, but they re-did one of the spaces into a little mini-me sized movie theater.

I would absolutely love my own private theater, especially if I had my very own popcorn machine complete with a pump of that oh so special movie popcorn butter that I love so much. And don't even get me started on the home theater chairs, the leather, the cup holders....ok now I am salivating.

I think this is something my husband would agree with me about, don't you?

Anyway, out of dreamland.. yesterday I spent the entire day with a massive migraine. It was so horrible. I had to have my mom take the kids and get me something over the counter specially for migraines although it only helped a little. I had Motrin in the house but I had exceeded the daily dosage and it wasn't working anyway.

I am alot better today though, thank goodness. I better go start making dinner before my little ones start gnawing on each others limbs.

Have a great day y'all!

My Day...

Today was kind of an odd day. I was in the middle of writing a fun little blog post when all of a sudden my screen went blue. Yes, that's right I got the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. Luckily, for me I have several means of backups and everything of importance was on my external hard drive and that was not affected. At least someone is looking out for me because if I had lost any of those files I'd be on the couch in the fetal position right now.

So, even though my nearly brand new, under a year old laptop computer built for heavy graphics and gobs of memory took a nose dive I am in a good mood because I didn't lose anything important. Yea me!

My son, Liam, who is 5 and starting Kindergarten this year.. provided I can get his doctor to fill out this form and have it back to me on time, has taken a shine to infomercials. He takes after my mother that way, who I had dubbed "The Queen of Infomercials". She and I used to take Sundays off from life, sleep late, have coffee, make huge Sunday breakfasts, and then spend the rest of the day watching infomercials. At one point she had just about everything that you had ever seen on tv. Wonder Mops, magical pots and pans,colon cleansers, you name it she had it.

Long story a tiny bit shorter, Liam was sitting on the couch the other day when a commercial came on tv. It wasn't quite long or good enough to be called a commercial but not yet long enough to be an actual infomercial.. so let's just call it a infant-mercial. So, he's watching this infant-mercial and he turns to me in his ever so serious sweet little voice and says, "Mom don't you want a Pancake Puff Pan?"

Of course I said no.. but he insisted I did. I must admit those little pancake puff balls filled with ooey gooey chocolate pudding really did look good. I was telling my mom about it the other night and of course the first words out of her mouth.. after the giggling stopped were "Hey, I want one too" Gee how in the world did I know she was going to say that?

Anywa, I hope y'all have a great night.. I've had a long day and I'm headed to bed.

A Camping We will go...

My boys have been bugging me to go camping. I haven't been camping in ages. I really don't mind it, it's actually pretty fun even though I am electrically dependant. We haven't been on a camping trip in at least 7 years, the last time we tagged along with my inlaws we still lived in Reno and we only had 2 kids!

My mother in law is one serious camper let me tell you.. the woman is amazing. She's got every piece of camping gear known to man. Last time, I watched her make a pineapple upside down cake over a campfire. Now that is talent. Hopefully she'll plan another camping trip soon so the boys can get their camping fix.

Yummy Potato Salad Recipe

I've been asked to try a few varieties of Grey Poupon mustard and I decided this was the perfect excuse to make my potato salad. I absolutely adore this recipe and my family does too. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's so yummy. I usually make it to take to family picnics or barbecues but it's been awhile and so I was totally having a craving!

• 1 lb cooked & cubed russet potatoes


• 1 cup chopped bell pepper


• 1 cup chopped celery


• 1/2 cup red onion


• 2 TBSP sweet relish


• 3-4 TBSP mustard


• 1/2 cup mayonnaise


• 1-2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar


• Season with Salt and pepper to taste.

I like to try using different types of potatoes for a fun variation. I've used russets, yukon gold, and red potatoes but I really think I would like to try it with Purple Peruvian potatoes. I think the color would give it a fun twist.

I served this to my two younger boys for lunch with their hotdogs and it was perfect! The Grey Poupon mustard gave the salad a much different texture than regular mustard and a much better taste I might add. I used the Harvest Course Ground mustard. The mustard seeds are left mostly whole in this type and I think it had the most impact on the salad. The kids loved it!

My husband used the spicy mustard on the cheeseburger he brought home, he said it made it even better!

Get your groceries online..

I love having this service available to me. We have Safeway.com, which is the local chain near us. The only downside is that they usually forget 1 or 2 items. Normally, they are silly things I can live without or can get away with buying later but this time they forgot one of the more important items I really needed this week...they forgot the toilet paper. They also tried to give me someone else's jello fruit cups. That mistake I caught. I told the driver and he took them with him.

So now I have to call in the morning and get them to reimburse me for the toilet paper because I did get charged for it. And I forgot to get soda and frosting because I need to make more cake balls and I need caffiene lol.

Here's what I love about Safeway.com,

• I love that if I have a set amount I can spend, I am able to see what is in my cart so I know when to stop.
• I love being able to get it next day or even same day if you order early enough.
• I love the promotions they offer. Sometimes I get free delivery or a free item.
• I love not having to go into a crowded store during the holiday oh-my-gosh-i-forgot-this-season.
  

My only wish is that they would take their time to make sure the orders are correct and even double check it if need be. I will continue to use this service because overall they really do a great job. They are always on time, if not early, and their drivers are very considerate and helpful.

Relax....

So, now that we are all fully recuperated from our bout with a nasty stomach virus I can tell you about something that I received earlier in the week.

I got to try out the Gold Medal Wine of the Month club. I received 2 bottles of wine, one white and one red. A 2004 Bradford Mountain Zinfandel and a 2005 Belvedere Chardonnay. The wine arrived very nicely wrapped in tissue paper and a pretty bow.

It also came with a newsletter which I found very informative, since I am not a very big wine connoisseur. It gave me a little insight into some of our local wineries, on a more personal note. We have alot of different wineries in our immediate area so this was a good way for us to try out some that we might not other wise know about.

There was a pretty good recipe in the newsletter as well, it really made me laugh and well, it really made me want to try it out. Which I did and it was excellent! And being the great person that I am, I will share it with you.

Rosemary Chicken

• 1-3 pound chicken, cut into pieces


• Two glasses of Chardonnay for chef

Marinade Prep-

• 1 tsp Rosemary, fresh


• 6 cloves of garlic, fresh and peeled


• 3/4 cup Belvedere Chardonnay


• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil


• Juice of one half lemon


• Fresh ground pepper

Put all ingredients into a blender and pulse until garlic is finely chopped, take a sip of Chardonnay. Place chicken in a baking dish, pour marinade over chicken, and rub thoroughly. Finish glass of Chardonnay. Let chicken marinate for 30 minutes. Pour second glass of Chardonnay. Bake Rosemary Chicken at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Very very good recipe! After dinner, I took another glass of wine and took a nice hot long bubble bath. It was a very relaxing night!

On the Weightloss Front

This is not going well at all. I have had the hardest time this go round and I'm not sure why. I used to be so motivated and now I'm just not. I think alot if it is that it's coming off very slowly no matter how well I stay on program. It's very discouraging actually. I think I got spoiled by how fast it came off the time before. But I will keep trying. I need to make some chocolate bran muffins to kick it into gear. These are THE best muffiins ever. You hear Bran and think "Eww woodchips" but seriously these are so full of chocolate, you'll never notice the bran. Well ok.. you'll notice the bran but you sure won't taste it! It's like having a colon cleanse, but it tastes good.

Here is the recipe.

Chocolate Bran Muffins- makes 20-24 muffins: 3 WW points.

• 3 cups All Bran cereal (generic flakes work well too)
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 box Betty Crocker Lowfat Brownie Mix, dry (No Pudge works too but makes less muffins)
• 6 oz chocolate chips
  

Directions:

Combine water, baking powder, and cereal in a large mixing bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes. The mushier the better. Mix in brownie mix, stir til well mixed and fold in chocolate chips. Divide into muffin cups, about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter each. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

These also freeze and reheat really well. Just warn anyone about the bran before they eat and don't let he kids have them!

Enjoy!