Managing the kitchen supplies yields holiday breakfast casseroles

Managing what I have stored in the pantry, fridge and freezer can seem like a full-time job, at times. I'm diligently trying not to waste, as well as provide interesting meals for the family.

Over the weekend, I noticed that I had a surplus of eggs, green peppers, sprouting potatoes, onions and cheese in stock. I considered the different possibilities for using these up quickly, and decided on breakfast casseroles for upcoming holidays.

I assembled 3 casseroles (each will serve 4-6 people), one for Christmas breakfast, another for New Year's breakfast, and a third to use for supper some evening this month.

There are numerous freezer breakfast casserole recipes online. I'll tell you how I did mine, and maybe it will spark some ideas to use up your surpluses.

I buttered three 8 X 8 inch square aluminum pans. I peeled about 11 small potatoes, and grated them in the food processor. In a non-stick skillet, I par-cooked the grated potatoes in some oil, stirring constantly. I'd say the potatoes are about halfway cooked. I recall a couple of recipes that call for frozen hash browns, so I was attempting to duplicate these with the par-cooking in oil. I spread the potatoes in the 3 pans. 

I had 2 green peppers and 1 onion, which I chopped and cooked in a little butter, till the onions were translucent. Then combined these with the potatoes. I added some grated cheddar, and tossed all together in the pans.

In a large bowl, I beat 10 eggs, 2 cups milk, some salt (I think about 1  1/2 teaspoons), and black pepper. Poured this over the potato/vegetable/cheese mixture. Then topped with a bit more cheese. In total, I think I used about 1/3 pound cheese for these 3 casseroles.

I considered adding ham. But decided we'd have grilled ham, on the side, with these casseroles. Breakfast casseroles would also be delicious with cooked sausage added, chopped tomatoes, and bread cubes or cooked rice substituted for the potatoes.

I covered all three casseroles with foil and froze. I've got them separated for now, until frozen solid. Once totally solid, I'll stack them and put in a large plastic bag.

When it comes time to bake these, I'll thaw overnight in the fridge. Then, bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F, for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

I have some other items in the fridge that I'd like to use up. Later this week, I'll assemble a couple of lasagnas for the freezer with those items. Like I said, managing the supplies sometimes feels like a job in itself, don't you think?

I'm a sentimental fool: My crazy quilt Christmas tree skirt

When my kids outgrow a piece of clothing that I have memories attached to, I have a difficult time parting with it. I set it aside and try to think of something that I can make with it. Enter my idea for a crazy quilt Christmas tree skirt.

I began this about 8 years ago. I work on it a bit every year. It's to the point that it is usable under the tree. I'd still like to do the characteristic embroidery over the seams that you find in crazy quilts. And after I finish that, I'll sew the backing on.

There's a method for crazy quilting called flip and sew. Basically, you have a backing piece, turn your quilt patch right side down, stitch one edge, then flip over. Now, take another quilt patch, place it on top of the first sewn patch, with right sides together (and so the new patch is right side down), and stitch through both the new and old patches and the backing fabric, along one edge. Now flip this one over as well.

the backing -- you can see that I machine stitched
some of the pieces and hand stitched others,
whatever seemed to be the easiest in the moment

Not all crazy quilters use a backing piece. I found it helpful to use one to help guide my shaped skirt and give strength to the whole piece.

I used sectioned backing pieces for my tree skirt, 4 wedge-shaped sections. I did the flip and sew technique on each of 4 sections. Then sewed the sections together, covering each seam with more patching.

For fabric, I used some old clothing items (a couple of Christmas dresses from my girls, what can I say, I am a sentimental fool), a dress bought at Value Village on 50% off day (spent about $3.50 for about 2 yards of usable velvet), some upholstery fabric (more difficult to sew with as it has a heavy backing to it), and a couple of purchased remnant pieces. The backing pieces, to which I sewed the quilt patches, are from a set of curtains I made 25 years ago. I did buy new thread, however, so that any thread showing would be the right color.

This has been my first attempt at crazy quilting. I'll definitely do other pieces. It was that easy, forgiving and fun.