Pumpkin Oatmeal

1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup pumpkin pie mix
1/2 cup oatmeal

  

In cereal bowl, combine milk and pumpkin pie mix.  Mix well.  

Add oatmeal.  Mix well.  Microwave 2 minutes.  

Add additional milk and sugar if desired.  Makes 1 serving.

 

This recipe has a delicious hint of pumpkin flavor and is rich and creamy.  My husband is not a big pumpkin fan, so when I want pumpkin oatmeal I have to make a single serving. 

I like to garnish it with dried cranberries and chopped pecans.  I sometimes just add a little extra cinnamon and brown sugar.  It is a good basic recipe that you can adapt to your preferences. Add a little extra spice if you like.  Whatever makes you happy!  

Check back on Tuesday,

for my Tuesday's Tips & Tricks post! 

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Visit my friends blogs!

GINGERLOCKS' KITCHEN, has become one of your favorite blogs! Stop by Jordan's blog and take a peek! 

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too! 

New Mexico Breakfast Strata

New Mexico Breakfast Strata

1 pound bacon
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
1 (16 ounce) loaf French bread, cubed
1 (16 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chile
2 cups milk
12 eggs

Cook and crumble bacon and sausage in separate skillets.  Drain grease.

Coat a 13x9 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Arrange sausage in the bottom of baking pan.  Spread half of the bread cubes over sausage.

Arrange the bacon over bread.

Sprinkle cheese over bacon.  Spread green chile over cheese.  Arrange remaining  bread cubes over top.

In a large bowl, combine milk and eggs.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

Pour egg mixture evenly over top.

Push bread down into pan.

Cover with aluminum foil.  Place in the refrigerator overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 30 minutes.

Remove foil.  Bake an additional 30 minutes.

If you like breakfast burritos, then you are going to love this recipe.  It has all of those delicious southwestern flavors, wrapped up in one dish, that you can prepare the night before.

 

This recipe is on the mild side.  The green chiles that are in it, add pepper flavor, but not the pepper heat.  If you walk on the wild side, it is easy to spice this recipe up.  We like to top the strata with salsa.  You could also serve it with slice jalapenos to give it an extra kick, or even swap out the green chile for your favorite chile pepper.

Stop back by on Tuesday, for my

Tuesday's Tips & Tricks post.

Enter my Giveaway for your chance to win the

Joy Bauer's Food Cures Book!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  She also has a great Giveaway on her blog! Stop by and check it out.  You'll be happy you did!

Fruit & Nut Yogurt Parfait

Fruit & Nut Yogurt Parfait 

1 (2 ounce) package chopped walnuts
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup sliced in half grapes

In small skillet, saute walnuts, butter, and sugar over medium heat 2 minutes.  

Spread on parchment paper.  Cool.  

In two glasses, layer equal amount of ingredients.   Makes 2 servings.

One of my guilty pleasures is the Fruit and Walnut Snack at Mc Donald's.  I just love the combination of fresh apples and grapes, with yogurt and sugared walnuts.  This recipe allows me to have it anytime I am craving it, without having to make a run to the golden arches.

 

I am currently in Nicaragua, so I will be slow adding the comments left on the blog.  I really enjoy reading your comments and I thank you so much for taking the time to leave them!  

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Blueberry Strata

Blueberry Strata

1 (16 ounce) loaf French bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, if using frozen, drain well

1 (8 ounce) container blueberry cream cheese, room temperature

12 eggs

2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Coat a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  Arrange 1/2 of bread cubes in the bottom of pan.  Sprinkle blueberries over bread.

Spread a thin layer of cream cheese over top.  

Arrange remaining bread cubes over top of cream cheese.  In large bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla.  Mix until well blended.

Pour evenly over bread cubes.  

Cover with aluminum foil.  Refrigerate overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place covered baking dish in oven. Bake 30 minutes.

Uncover.  Bake 30 additional minutes.

Blueberry Syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 3/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

While Strata is baking, prepare Blueberry Syrup.  In large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch.  Mix well.  Add water.  Mix well. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Boil 5 minutes.  Add blueberries.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium.  Cook 10 minutes.  Add butter.  Mix well.  Serve warm over Strata.

I am in Florida visiting my family.  Usually when I am here, my Mom will spoil me, and do all of the cooking.  She always makes all of my favorite meals.  I decided one morning to give my mom a break, and make breakfast for everyone.  On the menu was my Blueberry Strata.  I love that I can do most of the prep for this recipe the night before. 

The Blueberry Strata was a big hit with young and old alike.  The bread had a delicious creamy, slightly sweet custard texture on the bottom, and a nice crunch on the top.  The blueberries and cream cheese added not only color, but also tons of flavor.    We had a little leftover Strata that morning, but by afternoon it was all gone.  My sister Shelley kept going back to the refrigerator to nibble on the leftovers.

The winners of my Double Giveaway are:
Facebook: Christa Storrs
Blog Follower: Discovering the Me in Mommy
Please email your address to me at:
mykindofcooking@gmail.com

Follow my blog and or Facebook for your chance to win next months Giveaway!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Easy SPAM Breakfast Burritos

Easy SPAM Breakfast Burritos

2 1/2 cups O'Brien Potatoes
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 (12 ounce) can SPAM with Bacon, diced
9 large eggs, beaten
6 flour tortillas
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In large skillet, brown potatoes in butter over medium high heat.  Add SPAM, eggs, and salt and pepper to taste.

Scramble mixture until cooked through.  Divide egg mixture onto tortillas. 

Spread salsa over egg mixture. 

Sprinkle cheese over top.  

Fold like a burrito.

My husband's Stan thought he had died and went to heaven when he saw that SPAM had bacon in it.  That man loves bacon like Paula Deen loves butter.  It was a perfect addition to my breakfast burrito recipe.  SPAM is fully cooked, so all I had to do was dice it.  

Breakfast burritos are my husband and son's favorite breakfast.  I usually brown the potatoes the night before and cook and dice the meat, that way I can quickly get breakfast on the table in the morning.  The burritos also reheat really well, so I typically will make extra burritos and have them waiting for my hungry guys in the refrigerator.

Enter my GIVEAWAY for you chance to win a box of SPAM goodies!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

1 (8 ounce) container strawberry cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and sugar.  Mix well.  Add egg, milk, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add Bisquick.  Mix until just combined.  Do not over mix.

 Fold in strawberries.

 Fill greased muffin pan cups 3/4 full with batter. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly golden brown.   

Makes 12 to 14 muffins.  

I love reading blogs!  It is amazing how many great blogs there are.  One of the blogs I follow is Bo's Bowl.  He not only has delicious comfort food recipes on his blog, but he also posts creative takes on today's trendy foods.   I spotted this recipe on Bo's Bowl and added it to my long list of recipes to try   

I seldom make a recipe the same way twice.  The first time I made this recipe I followed Bo's Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffin recipe.  It was absolutely delicious!   The muffins have a delicate texture with chunks of fresh strawberries through out.

The second time I made it, I decided to change it a little bit.  I swapped out the cream cheese for strawberry cream cheese and made a few other changes.  My family loved the muffins both ways.  I will be making these muffins again and when I do, I am sure I will have a new way I will want to make them. 

On Tuesdays I post cooking tips.  Here is a link for a past post with tips for,
Baking Muffins.

Do you follow recipes exactly the way they are written or do you like to put your own twist on them?        

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Egg Nog French Toast & Monthly Giveaway!

Egg Nog French Toast

1/2 cup Egg Nog

6 large eggs

4 tablespoons butter, divided

8 slices bread

In medium bowl, combine Egg Nog and eggs.  Mix well. In large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter, over medium heat.  Dip two slices of bread in egg mixture, place in skillet.  Brown bread on both sides.  Repeat three more times.  Serve with maple syrup.  Makes 4 servings.

Tips for making French Toast trees:  I like to cut the bread into triangles before I dip them in the egg mixture and cook them.  It makes it easier to arrange into a tree if the hot bread is cut before you have to handle it to form a tree.  The trunk of the tree is two breakfast sausage links.

My husband Stan and I have one son.  I knew I would only get to do somethings once, and that made me go overboard when it came to my family.  When Tyler had to take a sack lunch to school, I would draw dog footprints all over the bag.  When it was Valentine's Day, I couldn't just send a box covered with red paper like all the other kids had.  I made a space shuttle Valentine's Day box.  And don't get me started on the paint shirt I made.  I am lucky my poor kid turned out normal.

I like tradition and making memories with my family.  The Egg Nog French Toast recipe, is one my family enjoys on Christmas day.  The spice in the Egg Nog, gives the French toast a nice subtle holiday spice flavor.  I precook the sausage the night before, then try to get up early enough on Christmas day, to have the French Toast cooked up and place in the oven, at a low temperature to keep warm.  By preparing the breakfast that way, I can spend time with my family instead of in the kitchen cooking, while everyone else is having fun with their gifts.

The winner of December's Giveaway is: Amber @ This Mommy Cooks

Winner was picked by random.org

Sign up to follow my blog, for your chance to win this apron,
kitchen towel, and a copy of my cookbook,

MY KIND OF COOKING

Leave a comment and get a second entry.

For January's drawing, I will be giving away a copy of my cookbook, MY KIND OF COOKING.  This cookbook has over 500 yummy recipes using only 3, 4, or 5 ingredients.  It has everything from appetizers to desserts and everything in between.  It also includes slow-cooker recipes!  The winner will also receive an apron and a kitchen towel.

I will be drawing a name from my followers, on Friday, January 7th.  The giveaway is open to all of my followers, regardless of where they live.   If your name is drawn and you have a blog, I will mention your blog address on my "Fast Food Fridays" radio show on the The Passion Radio Network, and post your blog address on my blog.

 

Sign up as a FOLLOWER for your chance to win!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too! 

Another blog that I think you would enjoy is my friend Janet's blog, 

Chocolate and God.