Recipes Continued...

I wanted to share another really good new recipe. This one came from Karolyn's sister, Nell. But Karolyn gets credit for it now---in my book!


Southwest Breakfast Strata
1 lb. mild pork sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 cans Rotel (I used one mild and one original)
8-10" flour tortillas, torn in to bite size pieces (I took the whole stack and used kitchen shears)
3 cups shredded colby Jack cheese
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook sausage in large skillet; drain and return to skillet.
Add chopped onion and green pepper and sauté for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender
Stir in tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Layer half of tortilla pieces, sausage mixture and cheese in a sprayed 9x13 baking dish. Repeat layers.
Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over layers. Chill 8 hours or overnight.
Bake lightly covered with foil at 350 for 30 minutes* or until golden and bubbly.

*It was runny after 30 minutes, so I added another 10 minutes.

Delish!

I also tried a new dessert that couldn't have been easier.

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake


1 small box instant chocolate pudding (I used fat and sugar free).
1 3/4 cup milk (can use skim)
1 chocolate cake mix (plain, cheap)
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix pudding with milk. When thickened, add cake mix (dry). Mix together. It will be very thick. Spread in to a sprayed 9x13 pan. It's sort of hard to spread---I ended up using my fingers. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until edges start pulling away from pan. The chocolate chips will not melt (although they will be somewhat gooey when you touch them). I cooled it completely. It has a pudding-ish texture to the cake. It's very good and so easy.

After our dinner, we ended up playing games. We started with "Pass the Trash" so the little girls could play. There were 11 people, so it took a really long time---that's approximately 33 rounds. Then we played 2 rounds of Taboo and a tie breaker. By 8, the little girls were done, so we switched to "Texas Hold 'Em." That lasted until 11:30. Long day---we were all tired. They weren't too keen to go to 8:30 Mass, but we made it!

Sunday was more pool time and tacos for dinner. After we went to Stephanie, Nicky, Mindy and Drew's kickball game. That was so much fun. When I first heard about this league, I thought it would be fun for our age bracket too. But when I saw them in action---20 something and 30 somethings---there were too many injuries for my taste!

 Morgan, Butch and Jordan.

 Morgan and Carson---he's such a sweetheart. After everyone had left Saturday night, he asked if I wanted him to put the folding chairs away. He's really helpful for a teenager. And so polite. His momma sure raised him right!

 
The whole gang. We cheered them to a 5-0 victory in their first playoff game. Now we have to go back next week. It was really fun to watch, so I don't mind.

Today, I took the kids to "The Dog"---a gourmet hot dog place. They are all so unusual. On Morgan's recommendation, I got the cream cheese wrapped turkey dog. It was excellent! Mitchell got the "Rise and Shine" dog. It had bacon and a fried egg on top. He said it was delicious. Ditto for Carson who got the "I'll Start my Diet Tomorrow" dog---deep fried with bacon and covered with melted cheese. Elizabeth just got a corn dog and Victoria had a coney dog. They rounded out the dogs with some fried pickles. It's a fun place to go with kids. I've been meaning to take Butch.