Sausage and Egg - breakfast burritos

    Sausage and Egg breakfast burritos

   This is by far one of my favorite recipes and my most requested. I haven't shared this one yet and when I was making up a batch of these for my co-workers I knew it was time to share. These are easy and I have only ever made them 12 or more at a time so I don't know what the measurements would be for less. I do know you can freeze these and heat them back up so this would be a great freezer meal for quick breakfasts. 

Ingredients *(makes 8-12)

Eggs (1 Dozen)

1 roll of sausage (I ALWAYS use Bob Evans Zesty Hot)

2 small cans of diced green chiles 

2 packs of large tortillas (I use Mission)         

 

1 large bag of Colby Jack shredded cheese 

1/4 cup of skim milk *(you can use what ever percent of milk you have in the fridge)

1 tsp of salt and pepper

1/2 tbsp of butter or margarine

 Directions:

Brown the sausage and drain, place in a mixing bowl to cool. Add both cans of green chiles. 

                             

Put the eggs into a bowl and scramble them with a fork or a whisk-You want to make sure your egg yolks are broken. Add 1/4 of milk and the 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper. In the same pan you cooked the sausage melt the 1/2 tbsp of butter.

 Keep mixing the eggs until they are scrambled and cooked well. Add the eggs to the bowl with the sausage and chiles. Toss so all three ingredients are well mixed. You don't want big chunks of either ingredient so make sure it breaks up as you mix.

                      

                     

Tear off foil ahead of time so that you can wrap the burritos as you make them. 

Step 1: Take a pinch of cheese and place on the tortilla (Not in the middle but not to close to an edge)

Step 2: I use a large serving spoon to measure the amount of mix in each tortilla. You don't want to overfill or the tortilla will tear.

Step 3:  Fold in the edges and roll until burrito is wrapped tightly. 

 

Step 4 : Wrap in piece of foil and either freeze it, put in fridge or heat for breakfast.

This is a very easy recipe and depending on your love of spicy you may want to use normal Bob Evan's sausage. The zesty hot is perfect in that it adds a kick to your breakfast without it being to hot. 

Make these for your next family event and people will love them. I make these for Christmas morning and have made them for work many times. Its also nice to have them to grab and go when you are in a hurry.

You can make these healthy by using egg whites, whole wheat tortillas and turkey sausage!

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Mouthwatering Mondays

Freshly Squeezed Cards - Etsy shop

Freshly Squeezed Cards

    I have been using ETSY more and more for all of my upcoming birthday plans and have really found some great items. You could search forever on the site because there are so many fantastic products and owners that I have found myself constantly delighted at the price and items that would add that extra touch to any party. 

    I am throwing a double birthday bash for my sweet girls and was searching and searching for the perfect invitation. When I found Freshly Squeezed Cards I knew I had found what I was searching for. This ETSY shop has fantastic announcements, invitations and plenty of extra items. Amy Lovell is the ETSY shop owner and she is really great to work with. Amy is also from Mesa, AZ and that is even better. I was born in Arizona and during this endless OH winter I have been wishing for some desert warmth. The best part about Freshly Squeezed Cards is that you can customize your order. Amy helped me customize my invitations and I know that when I send them out to our guest they will be professional and beautiful.

Here is just a little of what she offers: 




Move over Shutterfly- Amy does photo cards and the price is fantastic.





My choice for invitations:



I would like to add that this is a must see on Etsy. Amy responds quickly to requests and questions and she understood exactly what I was needing and sent an example. I can't wait to use the invitation for the party and one to keep to remind me of the day! 

Check out Freshly Squeezed Cards for all your party needs!

The 7 year expiration

   
     I once read that friendships have an expiration period of 7 years. When I first heard this I was in my early twenties and living life to the fullest. I couldn't possibly imagine that one of my friends wouldn't forever be in my life. It did happen, my bar friends drifted away. I changed jobs and those people drifted as well. The expiration makes more sense as I get older but there was a friendship that I never would have imagined would expire. 2 years and nine months ago a friendship that I held so dear to me took a hit. Where usually the two of us were a well oiled friend machine and were always there for each other it seemed our lives took a different turn and didn't match up. The friction caused a fracture in our core and we haven't spoken in all that time.

   Ever since the fracture I keep thinking about the 7 year expiration and wonder if the tear in our friendship was a cause of the phenomenon or if maybe like most breaks it just needs time to  heal.   I actually think of this person so often and miss her friendship dearly. There are times when its a fleeting thought but lately I have been almost tripping over signs. I don't know what the signs mean but the more I ignore them the more obvious it gets.

   In a matter of a month I have found cards from my friend that I haven't seen in years and didn't even know I still had, I have seen some of our favorite movies play back to back on television. Have heard our favorite songs one after the other on the radio. Okay, maybe the TV thing can be excused because TBS and TNT do play movies over and over and it isn't hard to find a favorite. Maybe you catch your radio on play the eighties and nineties weekend and that could be explained away as well. When these all occur in the same weekend it could be the universe telling you something.

   A couple of weeks ago when my thoughts for my missing friend were at the highest, my sweet two year old daughter walked up to me wearing a bracelet that my friend had made for my wedding day. On my handmade bracelet was attached a ball locket that contained a poem from my friend. In that moment, I leaned and hugged my daughter and told her the story of mommies friend and said that mommy missed her much and how much she would have loved my sweet girl. I had not seen that bracelet since I put it away with my other wedding jewelry and when I put the box away again I took a moment to say a prayer for my friend. I hope she is happy and safe and that once in a while she thinks of me too..

I wonder if when The Sweetest Thing is on televsion and our favorite scene from the restaurant is playing if she laughs like we used too. If she still watches Napoleon dynamite even for a few minutes and remembers..






Those are the funny things that most people have in friendships. I just really wonder if she misses me and misses that she has never met my wonderful daughters. The very best part of my life. Will time heal all wounds or will it put too much water under the bridge and make it impossible to cross? Only time will tell..


Here is the article on the 7 year expiration

The 7 year expiration

A bit of sweet and spice - Mix

Spicy Sweet Nutty Mix

  I just made this nut mix and let me tell you..it was DELICIOUS! I sent some to work for my co-workers, home with my mom and some to my husbands work and it was an all around hit. I had put off making this for awhile because I feel like the price of nuts is really going up lately. However, I always forget about the hidden Gem of my local Aldees. I love Aldees and for baking needs there is none better.  I was able to purchase 3 bags of nuts for my recipe and it was under $10 dollars. This recipe also made enough to fill 3 mason jars and 1 medium size ziploc. Its a good deal and a relatively cheap snack.



   
                                

Ingredients

• 3 cups of un-toasted raw nuts (I use pecans, cashews and whole almonds)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 9 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 cups small pretzel twists (get the smallest ones possible)

The bags of nuts I bought from Aldees were over a cup each so the cups is a rough estimate.

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F degrees.
2. Spread the nuts on a large baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes (stir at least once).
3. In a bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, pepper and maple syrup. Stir in the warm nuts, making sure they get well coated, then sprinkle with the salt. Lastly, add the pretzels and give the whole mixture a good stir.
4. Spread the mix back onto the baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until the nuts are toasted. Stir it a few times while baking to prevent everything from sticking together. Let the mixture cool completely on the pan and store in an airtight container

This is relatively easy but let me tell you about how hot these are when they come out of the oven. I burned my finger on a tiny piece of pretzel so be careful. I had some mason jars leftover from my crafting at Christmas so I filled 3 large mason jars. I can't wait to do this again and possible change up the seasoning. We have a great store close to us that sells different seasonings and I might stop in there to see if I can create a jabenero mix!

What kind of disaster survivor are you?

"You will find that it is necessary to let things go, simply for the reason that they are heavy" - Author unknown   


    Every time there is a natural disaster I always watch the news people standing amongst the rubble interviewing the survivors. There are always two different kinds of people I see in these situations.

    There are the ones that stand amongst what is remaining of their homes holding one broken possession and just looking devastated. These are the ones that were caught off guard by the storm, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami etc. 

                                              

    The other person is the one who already has a shovel at the ready, a friend with a back hoe and is rifling thru the rubble for whatever can be saved. These are the people that make me think "good for them, they are moving on. They are cleaning up their stuff and getting out of there, they learned from the lesson that is actual life"

     You never really see the re-build or how many people move elsewhere or how many simple rebuild on the same spot. I think I would have learned my lesson after one disaster and would moved to a different town. Away from the Ocean where the waves have wiped out your house, the state where the constant quake of your home is normal or not live in a state referred to as part of tornado alley.

    I feel a kinship to the people with the shovel at the ready that immediately start cleaning up. That is what I would like  to think of myself, lately though I think I am the other person. 

I am the person who lives in Tornado Alley and is utterly surprised when said Tornado blows her house over.

    In my attempt to save every good memory that I have or possible special moment I fear that lately I would rebuild the same house in the same spot and learn nothing from my lesson. Since childhood we have been taught this important lesson, be it from church or a bedtime story...

The bible says not to build your house upon the sand it literally states that the wise man is the one who builds his house upon the rock- Matthew 7:24.

There is always the popular story of the 3 little pigs, every child knows this story and the message behind it is only clear once you are old enough to understand: 

Do not build your house with sticks

Do not build your house with straw 
Listen to your wiser older pig brother and build your house from bricks...if possible on the aforementioned ROCK!



   Look, 3 happy pigs with no wolf  (read life and/or natural disaster) that can blow your house over!

I have thankfully never been  part of a natural disaster and my heart aches for those that have and often when I am listening to the stories I am inspired by the community outpouring, the love of neighbors and friends that come to the aid of the people hit the worst. 
 
    What I have learned is a lesson about myself. I no longer want to be the person who is standing in the rubble completely torn apart and broken hear-ted by the things in my life that I see coming but am devastated when they actually occur. I thought I had people around me that made my house stronger, almost like brick. I don't. What I have discovered is that my house is made of straw or sticks and I keep inviting the wolf in and allowing him attempts to blow it down. Going forward I will start by carefully getting more bricks and building a sturdier support for my family and myself and then I will learn to protect myself from the wolves. 

   I have spent time mistaking straw and sticks for hearth and home but I can't do keep doing it. I can't watch the news forecast a disaster, do nothing to protect myself and then be devastated by the after math. 

   I thought that friendships would be easier the older we got but they aren't. They are just as messy as when we were teenagers. For me friendships are so important and I hold them close to my heart but as I wear my heart on my sleeve it is the first to take the hit. I am feeling so emotionally exhausted lately of these types of things that I have to do something different. I don't want to change the way I feel about my friendships so maybe I change something else. I don't know what yet.

     I did just have a birthday and so now that I am one year older I will also try to learn from my past mistakes and rebuild someplace less windy, less likely to incur a hurricane or fall off into the water from the "big quake".

                                                                     ROCK, its my goal!