Stuffed Hashbrown Casserole

Welcome to #freezerlovefriday casserole month!! This month I will feature all types of casseroles that you can make and freeze for later. Whether it is your staple breakfast casserole or the perfect mashed potato casserole, this month will have something for everyone. 



Regardless if I am hosting my family for the holidays or just enjoying the weekend at home, I love to serve an easy egg casserole. Nothing is simpler than reaching into your freezer and pulling out a prepared casserole, popping it into the oven and sitting down and enjoying your coffee while breakfast cooks. 

Stuffed Hashbrown Casserole 

Yields 1 8x8 casserole
Double if wanting to freeze or make a larger casserole!

Ingredients:

2 tb EVOO

2 cups cut vegetables - I used mushrooms, squash and zucchini

½ pd of turkey (about 2 cups)

¼ t mustard powder

½ t paprika 

8 eggs

6 hash browns 

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° and grease 8x8 well. 

Line up your hash browns along the bottom. I cut some of mine to fit into the square shape. 

Cook hash browns for 12-14 minutes. 

While the hash browns are cooking, in a large sauce pan brown your turkey. Add in the vegetables and cook 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Add in the mustard powder and the paprika. 

In a large bowl, whisk your eggs until they are well scrambled. Add in the cooked meat and vegetables. 

Once the hash browns have cooked, lower the oven to 375° and pour the eggs, meat and vegetables on top of the hash browns. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. 

Cook 35 minutes or until the eggs have completely set. 

Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and serve hot. 

Enjoy!

Freezing Directions:

Everything is essentially the same if you are freezing the casserole. You will want to cook the hash browns in the oven for 12-14 minutes and let cool completely. Once those have cooled, pour your egg. meat and vegetable mixture on top. Cover with foil and wrap in saran wrap. You will freeze the eggs uncooked! When reheating, if completely frozen this recipe will cook for about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. 

We ate this dish for dinner and Ryan was super impressed. I served mine up with ketchup (thank you, Baby Nye for making that a HUGE craving of mine), and it was spectacular! I hope your family enjoys this just as much as we did. 

Happy freezing, 

the ultimate freezable breakfast bowl

Who else has loved Egg month? My freezer is loaded with yummy egg recipes, and honestly my husband has never been happier. He grabs something in the morning, heats it up at work and he is good to go. He has even had some people inquire as to where they can get some of those egg sandwiches he is eating! We are rounding up this extra long February with one of my favorite recipes!

Ultimate Breakfast Bowl!

Ingredients:

Recipe yields 5 bowls

8 eggs 

¼ cup milk 

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

Coconut Oil 

Bacon or Sausage 

Summer Squash and Zucchini 

(or any vegetable you want to use)

Cheddar Cheese

Cajun Seasoning 

Salt and Pepper 

Directions:

Scramble the eggs and the milk, add in a dash of salt and pepper.

Heat up coconut oil in a saucepan and cook potatoes, on medium heat for 10 minutes or until soft to the touch. Season the potatoes with cajun seasoning and salt. 

Set aside. 

 Use the same saucepan, add coconut oil. Cook vegetables for 4-6 minutes or cooked through. Add in the scrambled eggs and cook until fluffy. 

Set aside. 

Cook the bacon or sausage per the package directions. We love to use this for cooking bacon, it works perfectly! 

Layer the ingredients:

Potatoes

Meat

Eggs and Vegetables

Top with Cheddar Cheese

Let cool completely and freeze for up to 3 months. 

Reheating:

Microwave the breakfast bowl for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. 

These freeze perfectly and are perfect for breakfast or lunch on the go. If you do not want to use plastic Tupperware, so ahead and use some of your Pyrex bowls or even a mason jar and have a layered breakfast.  My husband had the brilliant idea of dumping the contents into a microwave safe bowl and heating it up that way. The possibilities are endless! 

I am SO excited for next month's ingredient of the month! It is the perfect theme to take us into grilling season and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the freezer friendly recipes. Stay tuned... 

Happy freezing, 

If you like this, you will love these past recipes!

Easy Egg Muffins

Breakfast Burritos 

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loaded veggie egg casserole

Recently, I hosted 17 women in an AirBNB house for my baby sister's Bachelorette Party! Check out all the details here, and don't forget to enter the giveaway on my Instagram page! 

I love AirBNB! Mainly, because you have full access to a kitchen. I like to eat out, but honestly it gets expensive and it messes with my stomach. So, I thought it would be nice to have a few mornings of breakfast prepared and ready to go. I knew I didn't want to be slaving away in the kitchen all morning, so I thought a freezable egg casserole would be perfect. 

Are you hosting a large group anytime soon? Today's #freezerlovefriday is perfect for you! 

Veggie Loaded Freezer Egg Casserole 

Yields 2 casseroles

Ingredients:

4 cups 2% milk

2 cups heavy cream

16 large eggs

2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard powder

½ tbsp paprika
½ tbsp garlic powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 loaves of bread (I use sheepherders bread), cubed

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 pound mushrooms, sliced or chopped 

1 large head broccoli, chopped

1 yellow squash, peeled and chopped

1 zucchini peeled and chopped

1 pound (16 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 pounds bulk breakfast sausage 

Directions:

In a large saucepan add in your coconut oil and cook all vegetables for 4-6 minutes. Add in the sausage and cook until brown. 

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and heavy whipping cream. Add in the mustard powder, salt, black pepper and paprika. Mix well.

Add in the bread cubes to the egg mixture and make sure they are completely submerged. 

Separate the egg mixture into 2 well greased 9X12 baking pans, (I like to use the foil ones, less to clean up the morning of)! 

Add in the vegetable and sausage, mix well and top with cheese. 

Cover and place both in the refrigerator. 

The longer you let this sit in the refrigerator, the better. I would recommend letting it sit overnight in order for the eggs to soak into the bread. 

Cooking and Freezing Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375º. 

Cook one of the casseroles, covered for 1 hour. Uncover and cook for 15 more minutes to make sure all cheese is melted. Serve warm!

Top the second casserole with foil and wrap well with clear plastic wrap. Make sure to label and include directions for cooking. When reheating, it is a good idea to remove from the freezer 1-2 days and place in refrigerator before you will be cooking, so it is completely thawed. 

This was such a hit at the party. It is also very easy to make this into a vegetarian dish, simply omit the meat. I can not tell you how nice it is to have a breakfast ready to go when entertaining! Also, this would be a wonderful dish to deliver to a friend after having a baby, during a rough time or just because. 

Happy freezing, 

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the perfect egg sandwich

Who has taken advantage of McDonald's all day breakfast? I am not going to lie, I love their egg white sandwich, so I may have gotten that once (or twice)! Honestly, I eat fast food, maybe once every 3 months, but I love a good egg sandwich. Today's #freezerlovefriday is here to meet your breakfast sandwich craving! 



There are great egg sandwiches in the frozen section, but it is much cheaper to make your own and you know what is going into them! There are a few different ways to cook the eggs. One option is to whisk your eggs together, pour into a 9X9 pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350º. When they are completely cooked through, you can use a circle cookie cutter and cut out 6 circles. Or you can cook in the microwave using ramekins. I opted for the microwave option and after a few explosion, came up with the following recipe! 

The Perfect Egg Sandwich 

Yields 6 Sandwiches 

Ingredients:

6 eggs 

6 slices of cheddar cheese

6 turkey patties or 6 slices of bacon

6 english muffins

Directions:

Grease a ramekin thoroughly. 

Crack an egg in the ramekin and add a tsp of milk. Mix with a spoon. 

Microwave for 45 seconds on 50% power level 

**times may vary, as well as power levels**

Repeat for all 6 eggs 

Let cool completely. 

Cook turkey patties and/or bacon 

Let cool completely

Cut english muffins in half.

Assemble sandwich with egg on bottom, than meat and lastly cheese slice. 

First wrap the sandwiches in wax paper and than wrap in foil. I like to put mine in a ziplock baggie for an extra level of protection.

Freeze for up to two months.

Reheating:

When reheating, leave the wax paper on and microwave for 2 minutes. Or remove wax paper and use a convection oven, wrap in foil and heat on 350º for 10-12 minutes. I prefer to use the convection oven for reheating because it gives the muffins a bit of a crunchiness, but if a microwave is all you have that works just as well.  

Happy freezing, 

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#freezerlovefriday reflections

When I started this blog 4 months ago, I knew very little about blogging. I was an avid blog reader, so I knew what I wanted to do and what I didn't want to do, but mainly I knew I just wanted an outlet to reach all of you! I am still so amazed with the response and the love I have been given throughout that time.

This past month has been challenging in many ways, and I feel like I have let my blog suffer slightly. I don't speak about it too often, mainly because of safety and partly because I do not want it to define me, but Ryan is currently deployed. Free time is very rare when he is gone, my day is filled with giving Luke the attention he needs when Daddy is gone and trying to maintain a house and maintain my sanity. There are good days and there are hard days, but there is never a day where I have loads of time to think of, write and develop a blogpost. Normalcy is so important to me when Ryan is gone, so I have to carve out time to do things for me, no matter how hard it is. 

I have some really helpful deployment posts coming up for all my readers living the military life, I am in no means an expert but having 3 deployments in 3 years makes me somewhat helpful. So, be on the lookout for those coming in the next few months. 

That being said I am so very excited with what I have in store for October (think Fall and pumpkin), and THANK YOU for being so patient with me this past month. I have really enjoyed bringing you some of my family's favorite breakfast #freezerlovefriday recipes and am excited to re-post one of the blog's most popular #freezerlovefriday, the breakfast burrito.

 Ryan is still my super hero, and while we miss him every day, we are SO proud of what he does for us and our country. We love you, Ryan and can't wait to have you home and cooking with us again! 

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breakfast burritos for all - original post date 07/10/2015

Today's #freezerlovefriday is dedicated to my husband! Ryan is my super hero. No, really! He is such a great father, husband and supporter. He has been so sweet and patient with me while I have launched this blog, I love his input and his willingness to help. The man is BUSY! He works full time, goes to school full time, and wakes up super early to workout. His day starts around 4:30AM and ends around 8:00PM when he puts Luke down for bed, long day! 

Now he may be extremely dedicated, but actually planning ahead and thinking about eating breakfast is way too much for him. I am just thankful he remembers to make the coffee in the morning! I try to help out as much as I can by making a few days of oatmeal and hard boiled eggs for him, but I can only imagine how boring that becomes. 

My family LOVES burritos, which inspired me to make them into a #freezerlovefriday recipe! Financially, it makes more sense for me to make our own burritos and freeze them, rather than buy the packaged ones or drive through one of the many burrito shops here in the southwest.  Not to mention I know what is going into the burrito and I have control of the ingredients. There are so many different options to add into your burrito. Ryan requested potatoes, breakfast sausage, eggs and cheese. 

Here is the financial breakdown for our burritos. 

Eggs - $2.50

Burritos - $2.99

Sausage - $1.50 ( on sale )

Cheese - roughly $1.25 since we did not use the full bag! 

Potatoes - $.97

= $9.21

Per Burrito (14 total) - $.66

Amazing, right? We had so much fun making these as a family.

Luke is ready to roll some burritos! 

Luke and Ryan cracking the eggs!

Breakfast Burrito Recipe

Ingredients:

3 potatoes - diced 

2 TB Cajun seasoning

12 eggs 

12 OZ breakfast sausage 

14 wheat tortillas 

Cheddar Cheese (however much you prefer) 

Salt and Pepper to taste 

Directions:

Dice potatoes into small pieces. Add to saucepan with EVOO, cajun seasoning and salt. Cook through.

Cook breakfast sausage, while that is cooking crack and mix eggs completely. Add in eggs, salt and pepper to taste. 

Create an assembly line and roll up your burritos. Roll into foil, put a few into large zip lock baggies, let cool completely and freeze. 

Here are our burritos, rolled and ready for the freezer. We did 4 a bag, so he could take a whole bag into work for the week.

These turned out easy and yummy! We ended up having burritos for dinner that night, and froze the remainder! Here is a picture of the boys enjoying their handy work. Toppings like, sour cream and hot sauce, Ryan can take with him to work the day of. 



It is the perfect grab and go breakfast for my busy man! 

I have a few more recipes ready to go for #freezerlovefriday but what else would y'all like to see? Crockpot freezer meals? More breakfast meals? Just let me know. I love to hear from you! 

Happy freezing, 
Meredith 

#freezerlovefriday easy egg muffin

I am a creature of habit in the morning. I like to start each morning with one egg, one egg white, spinach, onion and feta cheese. It fills me up for the day and is just enough protein. That being said there are a few days that making fresh eggs is not in the cards. I have been wanting to try egg muffins for a while now. I was a skeptic but these things were so good reheated!! Our third recipe for #freezerlovefriday breakfast style are easy egg muffins! 

I enlisted the help of my fireman and got to the kitchen! 

Delicious Egg Muffins! 

Ingredients:

6 Eggs

2-3 Sausage Links

1 cup Mushrooms

2 large handfuls of spinach

Dash of Pepper and Salt

EVOO

I cup Monterrey Jack Cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer)

You can literally put anything you want into these egg muffins. Any leftover veggies you have in the fridge will work. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°

In a small saucepan brown the sausage links, remove excess fat. 

Add in mushrooms with a small amount of EVOO, cook through.

Add in handful of spinach. Be generous, remember spinach shrinks quite a bit when cooked. 

Meanwhile in a small bowl, add in your eggs and mix well. Incorporate all of your ingredients adding in most of the cheese as well. Mix well. 

Grease a muffin pan. I prefer using Bakers Joy, no stick spray with flour. Pour eggs into the pan, almost to the top. This recipe yielded about 8 for me. 

Cook on 375° for 22-24 minutes, until eggs are cooked through. Wait 2-3 minutes and pop eggs out. 

Enjoy!

Freezing instructions:

Just like the past few #freezerlovefriday recipes you will want to pre-freeze these. Wait until they completely cool, place on a cookie sheet and leave them in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Once frozen, add them to individual bags or to one large freezer bags bag. 
   

Reheating:

I recommend baking these to reheat. I was not a huge fan of them microwaved. Preheat oven to 350, place egg muffin on pan and heat about 5 minutes or until heated through. A convection oven is a great tool for this too ! 

Happy freezing,

#freezerlovefriday breakfast series

Muffins! Who doesn't love muffins? I find they are the perfect grab n' go snack to give to Luke (and myself)! The type of muffins you can make are endless! They also freeze extremely well. 

I chose the classic blueberry muffin for our second breakfast #freezerlovefriday post! I LOVE blueberries and I love that you can get them year round for relatively cheap, hello frozen aisle section. I picked up a bag of frozen, organic blueberries for $0.99 at the Dollar Store, the other day. They have an amazing frozen food section, and so much of it is organic! This is an easy and yummy recipe that is sure to please the little and big stomachs in your house. 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup white sugar 

¼ cup brown sugar 

2 eggs, room temperature

1 cup milk, room temperature

1 t vanilla 

1/2 t salt

1 t baking powder

3 cups flour (white or wheat flour, as always I used wheat in the muffins pictured)

2 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh) 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Add butter and sugars into an electric mixer, mix until well incorporated

Add vanilla and eggs, mix well 

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a seperate bowl, mix well 

Slowly add in flour and milk to the mixer and mix all ingredients until just incorporated, careful not to over beat. 

Fold in blueberries 

Line muffin pan with liners, drop in batter to just below the top of the foil. These will not rise much, so depending on how large you want them, is how you would fill them. 

This is a super fun activity to get the kids involved!

Bake 23-26 minutes, checking to see no batter comes out when inserting a toothpick. Place on wire rack to cool. 

Enjoy!

Freezing instructions:

Similar to the pancakes you will want to pre-freeze these. Wait until completely cooled, place on cookie sheet and leave them in freezer for at least 6 hours. Once frozen, add them to individual bags or to one large freezer bag. 

Reheat: 

Place in microwave for 45 seconds or until completely heard through.

OR 

Place in oven or toaster at 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

With all of these #freezerlovefriday recipes, my freezer can get a bit crowded! I am your typical Type A who loves an organized freezer. There are plastic bins that are the perfect size for ziplock baggies, so I have a bunch lined up in my freezer. Hope this helps to keep you organized!

Happy freezing,