Hash Brown Egg Breakfast Bake

• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk of any kind)
• 3 cups hash browns (thawed)
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 1/2 pound cooked bacon
• 1 breakfast sausage

Beat eggs and milk. Stir in potatoes, onion, seasoning cheese and meat. Pour into a 9" x 13" sprayed baking dish. Bake at 350ºF for approximately 35 - 45 minutes.

This recipe is very flexible. Feel free to add all vegetables and no meat, or a combination of both. Whatever you like works. My favorite is spinach, onion and feta.

Skiers Toast (Make Ahead, Baked French Toast)

1 loaf french bread
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cup milk
6 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Spray a 9X13" cake pan. In a small pan, over low heat, melt butter with brown sugar and syrup just until smooth. DO NOT BOIL Pour caramel mixture in bottom of cake pan.  Cover caramel and pan bottom with layers of sliced french bread or thick cut pieces. Whip egg, milk and cinnamon until frothy. Pour over bread. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight..  Remove from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until center is firm. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar

(I've added blueberries between layers of bread, sprinkled the caramel with chopped nuts, a couple wonderful options for you or make up your own,)

Overnight Baked French Toast

• 2 Tablespoons corn syrup (I skipped this)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional) (use whatever nuts)
• 1 pound loaf of day old bread (French is fine but I used cinnamon raisin)
• 5 eggs
• 1½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1) Combine corn syrup (omit if you wish), 1 stick of butter, and brown sugar, in a small sauce pan over med heat.  Cook to boiling stirring often.  Cook one minute more. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of a well greased 9X13 inch pan or casserole dish (glass pans work best for this dish).
Place bread slices over the sugar butter mixture filling the bottom of the dish, sprinkle pecans or nuts if using over the butter sugar mixture.  Top with the bread,doubling up slices to use the entire pound of bread, and covering the whole bottom of dish.
Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and salt until foamy.  Pour mixture over bread.  Cover dish and let sit in refrigerator over night.
The next morning preheat oven to 350ºF.  Uncover dish and bake 45 – 55 minutes. Allow to cool just slightly once removed from oven. Serve while hot or warm.  This dish can be reheated.

Eclair Dessert

Bottom Layer:

• 1 cup water
• 1 stick margarine
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 eggs

Boil water & margarine. While briskly boiling add flour. Mix until dough leaves the side of the pan. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs rapidly, one at a time, until well mixed. Spread into 9″x13″ pan. Bake at 400ºF for 25 minutes. Let cool.
Filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 small packages or 1 large package Pudding
• 3 cups cold milk

Beat cream cheese and pudding until smooth. Add milk. Beat until thick. Pour over cooled crust.
Topping:

• 8oz cool whip topping
• Drizzle fruit / chocolate/ caramel (optional)
• toppings/sprinkles/ nuts/ fruit (optional)

Spread cool whip over filling. Decorate with fruit sauce, chocolate syrup, caramel, butterscotch or other appropriate drizzle. Pull knife through to marbleize. Garnish with fruit, nuts or candies.  Keep refrigerated.

Dad's Favorite Potato Salad

• 3 pounds small red potatoes (cut into bite sized pieces)
• ½ pound bacon (cooked, drained and crumbled)
• 2 celery stalks (chopped)
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 9 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
• 2 cups Hellman’s Light Mayonnaise
• 1 – 2 tablespoon(s) stone ground mustard
• 1 (or less) tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped

Fry bacon until crispy, drain and let sit until cool. Crumble and set aside. Fill large pan 3/4 of the way with cold water. Chop red potatoes into bite sized pieces placing immediately into water. Heat on high until boiling. Cook for 7 – 10 minutes until pieces are firm but tender. Remove from heat and drain. Let cool. At the same time cook hard boiled 9 eggs placing them in pan of water, heating until boiling. Boil for ten minutes. Immediately remove from heat plunging them into cold water. Drain and refrigerate. Meanwhile chop celery and onion place in large bowl. Set Aside.
In small bowl mix mayonnaise with mustard, salt, pepper, paprika and dill. Add sugar to taste.
When all ingredients are cooled peel 6 eggs and chop. Toss celery, onion, bacon, potatoes and eggs with mayonnaise mixture. Transfer to serving bowl. Slice last 3 eggs and place on top of salad. Sprinkle with more paprika for garnish. Refrigerate until cold.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

• 4 large handfuls spinach (rinsed & dried)
• 2 large eggs (hard boiled)
• 8 pieces crispy bacon (chopped) (reserve fat)
• 4 Large white mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 small red onion (sliced thin)

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons bacon fat (or combine fat with olive oil for 3 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt
• Pepper

Remove the stems from the spinach and wash, drain and pat dry.
Place in large mixing bowl and set aside.
Hard boil the eggs and cook the bacon until crisp.
Reserve 3 Tablespoons of bacon fat. (I reserve 1 Tablespoon bacon fat  and add extra virgin olive oil for the rest).
Slice mushrooms (hint: the egg slicer works well on mushrooms too) and onion.
Add to spinach and toss.
Peel and slice eggs, crumble bacon.
In small saucepan on low heat whisk bacon fat (olive oil) with vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard.
Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle warm dressing over spinach. Toss.
Top with sliced eggs and crumbled bacon.