Easy Overnight Hashbrown Casserole

Way way back in 2011 Sue and I shared some of our favorite breakfast casserole ideas. There was a crock pot tater tot casserole, a blueberry and cream cheese french toast casserole, and a wifesaver french toast. Check those recipes out HERE. This is another breakfast casserole that you make the night before, making it perfect for the holidays or even super busy mornings. All you do is pop it in the oven in the morning and you are done! 

This recipe is great for picky eaters as it is a very simple and basic dish - meaning it is not spicy and it does not have any "weird" ingredients in it. That doesn't mean you can't customize it though! You can totally add in your favorite ingredients or spice it up, as you prefer!

Just a quick note - while this requires almost no effort, it does require time to cook! Give yourself a good hour and a half for it to cook. Don't try to rush it! 

Easy Overnight Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup onion, diced

3 Tbsp chives, finely chopped

1 kg pkg frozen hashbrowns (cubed)

1 1/2 cups finely diced ham

2 cups shredded, aged cheddar cheese

12 eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

salt and pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried parsley

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together the cherry tomatoes, onion, chives, frozen hashbrowns, and cheese. Spread into a 9 X 13 pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray. 

In the bowl you just used, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt & pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, and dried parsley. Pour evenly over the hashbrowns in the pan. 

Cover with tin foil and place in fridge overnight OR, you can cook immediately. 

When ready to cook - place casserole on counter while oven preheats to 375. 

Bake, covered, in 375 oven for one hour. Remove tin foil and continue to bake until casserole is lightly brown on top and set in the center - about another 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it. (NOTE - I usually rotate the pan at the 45 minute mark.) If you find the edges browning too quickly and the center is still not set, turn the heat down to 350 and continue cooking. 

The center does take a long time to be cooked through. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Remember, if this seems a little too simple for you, feel free to jazz it up however you like! Add in some chopped green pepper or black beans, stir in some hot sauce, use different flavors of cheeses, minced garlic, bacon or sausage instead of ham... you can see there are tons of options here! 

I usually serve it with a little ketchup, just in case it gets a little dry from over cooking. If you find you need to keep it warm in the oven, be sure to cover it with tinfoil again to help prevent it drying out. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave. 

10 minutes of prep the night before and you a get a no muss, no fuss breakfast for your guests. (You can cook it immediately after making it too, if you want.) 

FYI - If I remember correctly, you should get 12 good sized servings out of this recipe. You could stretch it out to a few more if you served it with some toast or fruit! 

Butter Tart Thumbprint Cookies

There is never a bad time for cookies, am I right?

Winter, spring, summer, fall - there is different seasons for different types of cookies. I'm calling these cookies a winter cookie. Mainly because butter tarts seem to be a Christmas thing around our house so these make the perfect addition to the Christmas cookie list. 

(Click on these links for more butter tart recipes - Butter Tart Donuts HERE, Butter Tart Ice Cream HERE, Butter Tarts HERE, Maple Syrup Butter Tarts HERE) 

I believe I got 4 1/2ish dozen cookies (using my large cookie scoop), which is great if you need a bunch of cookies for a cookie exchange or gift giving. The recipe can easily be halved though! 

Butter Tart Thumbprint Cookies

(Slightly altered from Food Meanderings)

Ingredients

Butter Tart Filling

3 Tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vinegar

2 tsp cornstarch

1/4 cup currants

Cookies

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup butter, room temp

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup ground pecans

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

5 cups flour

Directions

 Prepare filling - In a medium pan over medium heat, stir together butter, vanilla, and cream. Stir until starting to steam. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar and eggs. 

Place pan back over medium-low heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and egg mixture. Then whisk in the vinegar and cornstarch. Keep whisking until thickened - about 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from heat once thickened and set aside to cool. (Can be placed in fridge to speed up cooling process)

While filling is cooling, prepare cookie dough.

Prepare cookie dough - In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add in eggs, beating after each addition. 

In a separate bowl, stir together ground pecans, baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until stiff dough forms. (Start by using a wooden spoon and then switch to your hands to make sure dry ingredients are fully incorporated.) Cover and chill dough for about an hour. 

When dough and filling are chilled - Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Scoop dough using a cookie scoop. (I use a large one for bigger cookies)

Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared cookie tray. Roll the scoops into a ball and then press your thumb into the center of each ball to make an indent. (I use the back of a teaspoon so they are all even.)

Bake the cookies for 10 - 12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from heat and gently repress the hole in the center of the cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Fill the indent with some of the filling and let cool completely. 

If you run out of the butter tart filling you can use jam!

FYI - SORRY! I'm terrible for exact numbers of cookies because I tend to use my big scoop and then my little scoop so the numbers get skewed. I'm pretty sure I get 4 1/2 dozen big scoop cookies. 

A few notes - these stay sticky because of the filling so are not really stack-able. These do freeze very well though. We like currants in our butter tarts but you could use raisins or even chopped pecans instead - or leave them out totally.  If you can't find ground pecans then you can just grind pecan pieces in a blender or food processor until quite fine! 

Grape Streusel Cake

If you've never used grapes in baking before you have been missing out. Our Grape Cream Pie (Link HERE) is sooooo good and very different from the usual. So is this grape streusel cake. You could use pretty much any fruit to make it but the grapes just have such an unusual flavor and texture it is worthwhile giving them a try. 

I compare this to a coffee cake, especially with that tasty crumb topping. I put it in a 9 X 9 pan but if you wanted it a bit thicker you could bake it in an 8 X 8 pan - you'd just have to adjust your cooking time a bit. 

Grape Streusel Cake

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

pinch salt

2 Tbsp oil

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups seedless grapes

Streusel

1 1/4 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 X 9 pan with parchment paper, set aside.

Prepare the cake - Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just mixed. Do not over mix. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Top with the grapes.

Prepare streusel - In a mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and butter. Toss with a spatula until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the grapes.

Bake at 350 until topping is golden brown and toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean - about 30 minutes. 

You can leave it in the pan BUT I like to use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan so I can serve it on a serving platter. 

Let cool completely before serving. Don't forget the ice cream or whip cream!

I love simple cakes like this that are perfect for so many things. Tea time, girl's night, after school snack, brunch... all the things. This does freeze well too. Just make sure it is completely cool before covering with plastic wrap (or airtight container) and freezing. 

Sticky Garlic Pork Chops

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. This recipe only has 5 ingredients and takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and tastes out of this world! I used boneless pork but you could definitely use bone-in chops as well. I'm all about quick and easy when it comes to dinner time. 

Don't like pork? Use chicken. This sticky garlic sauce works for lots of different meat. 

The secret to making this sauce incredible? Use lots of good garlic. TONS OF IT. Don't be afraid of the garlic. 

Sticky Garlic Pork Chops 

Ingredients

1/4 cup garlic, minced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 boneless pork chops

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Place pork chops in an oven safe baking dish. 

In a bowl, combine garlic, brown sugar, salt & pepper. Spread half of the mixture over the pork chops. Flip them over and spread the remaining mixture on top of the chops again.

Bake in a 375 oven until cooked through - about 30 minutes. (Pork temperature should be 145)

Serve hot.

Personally I like rice and green beans for sides but potatoes, pasta, quinoa, peas and carrots, aaallll those tasty sides would also work!

Simple enough for everyday, fancy enough for company. It's win win, baby. 

5 Flavor Cake

Sometimes you just want to have options. 

This cake is perfect for those days when you just can't decide what kind of deliciousness you need. We went with maple bacon, lemon pie, turtle, cherry cheesecake, and cookies and cream... but there are still a million more options you could choose from. You start with a basic vanilla cake and go from there! I made several cakes at one time for Thanksgiving because I knew several friends would go crazy for them! 

Ok, yes. This cake is a bit more expensive and a little more work than a plain ol' one flavor cake but it just looks sooooo cool and tastes ridiculously good. Holiday dinners are the perfect showcase for this beautiful looking dessert. 

Need something a little fancier to impress your guests? You're in the right place.

5 Flavor Cake

Ingredients

Cake

1 box vanilla cake mix

ingredients to make cake from box

1 box vanilla instant pudding

2 tsp vanilla

Base Frosting

2 cups whipping cream

1 box vanilla instant pudding

Fillings

Base Frosting for all 5 flavors - 2 cups whipping cream, 1 box vanilla instant pudding

Maple Bacon - 1/4 maple syrup, 4 pieces cooked bacon (crumbled)

Lemon Pie - 2 graham crackers, 1 slice lemon, 1/2 cup lemon curd

Turtle - 1/4 cup caramel sauce, 1 Tbsp mini chocolate chips, 1/4 cup chopped pecans, 2 whole turtle candies

Cherry Cheesecake - 1/4 cup cream cheese (softened), 1/2 cup cherry pie filling

Cookies and Cream - 4 or 5 Oreo cookies

Directions

Prepare vanilla cake according to package directions, adding in the instant pudding and vanilla. Bake in a 9 X 13 pan according to package directions. Let cake cool completely. 

Take a large piping tip (or just use a sharp knife) and scoop out  5 lines of 4 circles - this is where you will put the fillings. Keep the round piece of cake from each hole. 

Fill one line of 4 with bacon bits and maple syrup, one line with lemon curd and bits of broken graham cracker, one line with caramel sauce, mini chocolate chips, and chopped pecans, one line with a bit of cream cheese and cherry pie filling, and one line with crushed Oreos and a bit of whipped cream. 

Place the little round piece of cake you kept back on top of each filled hole. (NOTE - VERY IMPORTANT - remember in which order your filled the cake!! Make a note of it if you need to. Once it is frosted you won't be able to tell which filling is in which hole!)

Prepare Base Frosting - Beat together the whipping cream and vanilla instant pudding until thickened enough to spread. Spread over top and sides of cake. 

Using a chopstick (or other long utensil), press a line into the frosting dividing the lines of the fillings. You can then start topping your cake. 

Grate one of the oreo cookies over the line which holds the cookies and cream flavor. Drizzle a little cherry pie filling over the cherry cheesecake area. Sprinkle chopped pecans over the turtle area. Drizzle lemon curd over the lemon pie area. And, lastly, sprinkle a little crumbled bacon over the maple bacon area.

See photo line up below for step - by - step instructions. 

To finish topping your flavors: 

Prepare the Base Frosting For All 5 Flavors - Beat together the whipping cream and vanilla instant pudding until thickened enough to spread. Take out 1/5 of the frosting and mix in enough maple syrup to flavor the cream. This will go on top of the maple bacon layer. Pipe 4 swirls, equally spaced apart, on the maple bacon layer, and then sprinkle with more crumbled bacon. Place a larger piece of bacon on top of the swirl.

Place the remaining frosting in a piping bag. Pipe swirls equal spaces apart on the remaining flavors. 

Top the Lemon Pie area with some crumbled graham cracker and a small piece of sliced lemon.

Place half a turtle chocolate candy on top of the turtle area swirl.

For the cherry cheesecake - place a whole cherry from the pie filling on top of each swirl.

And, lastly, for the cookies and cream area, press a half of an Oreo onto each swirl.

See... a bit more work but not that much.

I made one of the cakes with an apple pie layer instead of a maple bacon as the person I was making it for didn't want bacon.

The apple pie filling was a chopped apple cooked with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon until soft. Then topped with bit of cinnamon, a piece of pie crust, and a bit more apple filling. 

Here is a photo of the other cakes I did. Another step-by-step!

I mention that it is important to remember which flavor is on which end of the cake because I frosted these three and then couldn't remember which end was up. I ended up having to dig out a hole on each cake so I could see what was in there. 

20 good sized pieces of delicious cake for dessert. There are so many flavor combinations you could do! 

Please note - my amounts for the filling ingredients are rough measurements. You may need a pinch less or more to fill the holes depending on how deep you carve them out. 

Pear Streusel Pie

For some reason pear pies are not that popular around our house. Myself, the only way I really love pears is in a pie. Or a crisp. This recipe is kind of a combination of pie and crisp so is definitely one of my favorites. I didn't have any issues getting people to test it out for me. Put streusel on anything and people will be more apt to try it. #TrueStory

We have 2 pear trees in our yard and they yield a huuuuuuuge amount of pears. Every year we scramble to come up with recipes to use them all up. This one will be going on the Make-Every-Year list. Also - this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled!

How do you fancy up your pear pie recipe?

Pear Streusel Pie

Ingredients

Pie

1 pie crust for a 9 inch pie pan

(Our Never Fail Pie Crust Recipe can be found HERE)

7 - 8 large pears, peeled, cored, and sliced

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch salt

Streusel

1/2 cup butter, cold

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. 

In a mixing bowl, mix together the sliced pears, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Spread in the prepared pie crust. (Note - I like to make sure the pears are piled up in the crust as they shrink down quite a bit during cooking. This means I may end up using up to 10 pears, depending on their size!)

Prepare streusel - In a blender or food processor, pulse together the butter, flour, and brown sugar until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread on top of pears.

Place on cookie tray to catch any spillover. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake until topping is golden and pears are fork tender, anywhere from 20 - 40 more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. You want to let it cool at least to room temperature before cutting so it doesn't fall apart when you slice it. 

Serve on its own or, even better, with some vanilla ice cream. 

Aaaaaaaaand, of course, a little caramel sauce!

Your guests will love you.

Who can resist? 

I find the texture of the pears goes quite well with the streusel topping - even more so than apples would. Our mom always insists that we add more topping than the recipe calls for so we sometimes 1 and a half times the streusel mixture! There is no such thing as too much streusel, am I right?