Dennys Food and Recipes: Super Simple Breakfast: Texas Hash, Sausage and Egg Casserole, More Casserole Links

                                                    Photo: Sausage Egg Casserole from AllRecipes.com

Dennys Food and Recipes: Super Simple Breakfast: Texas Hash, Sausage and Egg Casserole, More Casserole Links: From Denny:  Going to the beach for Labor Day?  Company coming and you are wondering what is easy to cook up for a hungry crowd?  Here are a couple of easy recipes for breakfast any time of the day.  They are also the kind of flexible recipes that you can add some of your favorite ingredients or seasonings to your taste...

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Breakfast: Easy Simple French Toast Casserole

Funny Coffee Cats Shower Curtain

Not ready for the world before your cup of joe? Quit hissing, COFFEE's brewing!

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Dennys Food and Recipes: Breakfast: Easy Simple French Toast Casserole

          The Advocate photo: HEATHER MCCLELLAND 

                                                                    
Dennys Food and Recipes: Breakfast: Easy Simple French Toast Casserole: From Denny:  Whether it's the holidays, a busy summer when the kids are out of school or company came to visit, we all need something fast and simple to put together that's a crowd pleaser.  This simple easy to assemble breakfast casserole fits that bill!

All the ingredients required are a loaf of good French bread, a full 8 ounces of your favorite brand of cream cheese, milk, maple syrup, butter, sugar and eggs.  Add fresh fruit to serve and it's that easy!

Usually when a recipe calls for sugar I often substitute agave syrup or brown rice syrup or even molasses.  If you don't like or can enjoy cow's milk why not substitute almond milk?  When butter is in a recipe I choose to clarify it just because we love the extra boost of flavor at our house from browning and filtering out the milk solids - as well as the added health benefits.  You could use margarine in this recipe as a substitute too.  And, to gild the lily, why not add a few shakes of nutmeg and/or cinnamon, some chopped pecans or walnuts before baking?  Yeah, Flavor Town is the name at our house...

Dennys Food and Recipes: Breakfast: Easy Simple French Toast Casserole

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Sports Blue Soccer Woven Throw Pillow

A blue abstract background with bold lettering declaring your love of the sport from Louisiana artist Denny Lyon.  Available on other products too!

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new! 

Dennys World of Quotes: Christmas: Funny and Thoughtful Christmas Quotes and Short Poems

Dennys World of Quotes: Christmas: Funny and Thoughtful Christmas Quotes and Short Poems: From Denny:  Well, now that we have finished Christmas breakfast at our house it's time to roll out these fun Christmas quotes and Christmas poems for you and yours to enjoy!

Oh, how rude of me not to give you the Christmas breakfast menu:  a Dutch Baby Oven Pancake with spiced cooked apples and a side of Honeysuckle Italian style ground Turkey made into a sausage which I spiced up extra with some seasoned brown rice, smokey paprika, garlic and extra virgin olive oil before shaping into small patties and cooking on the stovetop.  Yeah, it's a tough day at our house all right. :)

And, yes, I made the roast turkey yesterday since we like to celebrate Christmas Eve as well so that pressure is non-existent.  Made a wonderful wet rub for the turkey that sat a day uncovered in the fridge to marinate:  rubbed under the skin and on top with a mixture of red moscato wine, extra virgin oil, and lovely spices and herbs like marjoram, rosemary, sage, ginger, sea salt, black pepper, smokey paprika, garlic powder, a touch of lite soy sauce and more.  Blanched the green beans earlier in the week so all that needs to be done today is to heat them up in clarified butter and some spices as a side dish.  All the cooking left is to bake the Louisiana sweet potatoes which are a divine dish in themselves they are so sweet! .... Click on the title link above to view the funny quotes at my quotes blog...

For plenty of holiday recipes and recipes for the entire year you can check out my four food blogs where I collect the best of our local cooks, my own recipes and variations, as well as the news and food networks:

Dennys Food and Recipes

Comfort Food From Louisiana

Romancing The Chocolate 

Unusual 2 Tasty 

 *** Check out Holiday Recipes From Dennys Food and Recipes

Joyful X 2 Rectangular Canvas Pillow

Inspire: Keep your Joy up and flowing to attract order and harmony into your life all year long!  Available in t-shirts for men, women, kids and baby along with bedding, pillows, dining, entertaining and technology like for your latest phone case!  Phone cases listed here.

Oh, and the ads are for my Cafe Press store, Denny Lyon Gifts, where the proceeds go to the local food bank, Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank - and to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. 

Holiday Candy: Peppermint Crunch Bark

Photo: King Arthur Flour

From Denny:  Looking for a holiday food gift idea?  Any kind of chocolate bark is fun and easy to make - and definitely much appreciated by your friends and family!  Have you noticed how the grocery stores have started stocking all the ingredients for holiday baking - and many at good prices?

Making holiday food gifts gives you an opportunity to grow your baking and cooking skills.  It's also more fun than chasing around the shopping malls - or online - looking for the best last minute holiday deals to save a few dollars.  The higher stress level is just not worth that dog and pony show.

This holiday recipe features both white and dark chocolate layers, a bright red and very festive looking candy cane crunch along with that refreshing peppermint flavor. You might be tempted not to give this candy away as gifts! :)

If you don't enjoy the peppermint flavor or candy canes try your favorite candy flavor in place of the peppermint candy canes.  You could use less of the candy canes and mix it with another candy you enjoy that would complement the peppermint flavor.  Or you could use a favorite nut.  In our house there are always options for experimentation to hit on a new twist of a favorite recipe!  Take a little time and experiment on part of the bark as you lay it out to see what your house enjoys the best.

Ingredients available in ounces and grams too if you live outside of the U. S. Of course, the King Arthur Flour site sells several of the products in the ingredient list - links included if you cannot find another version of the products in your area and you would like to purchase online. 

(FYI - I don't have any affiliation with King Arthur Flour - just enjoy many of their recipes. And, yes, the ads are from my Denny Lyon Gifts store at Cafe Press.  Be sure to check both the Denny Lyon Gifts store and the front page of Cafe Press for flash sales and discounts.  Proceeds go to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and St. Jude's Hospital to benefit military families, military veterans and civilians too.)

Santa Music Necklace Circle Charm

Santa loves the music of the season!  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

Happy Holidays Poinsettia Greeting Cards (10 pack)

Christmas poinsettia vintage design updated in soft winter pales with Happy Holidays greeting suitable for the holiday season!  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

Holiday Recipe: Fig and Toasted Almond Scones

Photo: King Arthur Flour

From Denny:  Autumn is here - and so is daylight savings time this Sunday when we "fall backward" one hour - so don't forget to set your clocks back one hour!  

For some reason I've been enjoying the vegan scones over at Whole Foods the past couple of weeks now that the weather has cooled.  So, that sent me on The Scone Recipe Chase to see what is out there in recipe database land.  Found these little autumnal gems over at King Arthur Flour.

Figs are quite popular here in Louisiana where many a backyard grows a fig tree.  Almonds are popular in California where they supply the nation! This is the time of year when the nation's nut orchards are releasing their bountiful harvest of pecans (Louisiana and Texas), almonds, walnuts and macadamias so we are all tempted to start our holiday baking early! At least I believe that's their marketing strategy to sell more nuts. :)

Scones are an easy way to try out some fruit and nut combinations to see how the family and friends enjoy the idea.  While I love my blueberry and lemon scones of the summer it's time for something different for the fall season so we wanted to try these fig and almond scones at our house.  Of course, if figs or almonds are not your preference, know that you can always try figs and walnuts or cranberries and almonds or whatever grabs your fancy this baking season.

Don't feel like the extra effort and time of slicing the scone dough into proper triangles?  Try the method the King Arthur Flour bakers suggest:  bake them into rounds just using 1/4 cup of dough for each scone, leaving 2 inches between them.  That amounts to the idea of a drop scone, much like a drop biscuit...

Holiday Message Potholder

Dennys Food and Recipes: Thanksgiving: Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

Dennys Food and Recipes: Thanksgiving: Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake: From Denny:  This is the perfect holiday table dessert!  It's so showy it's sure to impress.  Three layers of tasty goodness are the gingersnap cookie crust as it's sturdy foundation to hold the spiced pumpkin cheese layer that is marbled with a vanilla layer.

Like most big cheesecakes, this one should be baked in a springform pan, where the cake cools in the pan for several hours before you remove the sides of the pan.  If you have never used a springform pan, it's so easy it will make you laugh, definitely nothing to be intimidated about at all.

Like any tasty cheesecake, this one is rich in calories too, so a small serving would be welcomed by most.  At a dinner party I like to cut a normal to small sized slice, placing it on one plate and then encourage couples to share so people don't have to feel guilty about busting their diet plan.  After all, the whole point of entertaining is for people to enjoy their tasty treats!...

Geaux Wear Pink! Apron

Help support women on their journey to wellness and hope for a cure!

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

Also, please remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, keeping these women in your thoughts and prayers.  Here's my latest Denny Lyon Gifts design (at Cafe Press) to honor all the fabulous women and their supporters fighting this disease.

This design first started off as one of my photos of those favorite hot pink azalea blooms, in addition to many other filters, employing a kaleidoscope filter to create this abstract medallion effect. This design reminds me of how our beauty is always there, no matter what form it takes.  Of course, here in Louisiana, we take creative "French" license with English spellings. :)  The thought bubble is to remind others to support these women on their journey to wellness.  Lots of other styles of t-shirts and other products to enjoy too.  The link takes you to the page of all the products featuring this design.  Thanks for visiting!

Dennys Food and Recipes: Easy Fall Recipe: Sauteed Red Cabbage With Apples

Photo: Heather McClelland @ 2TheAdvocate.com

Dennys Food and Recipes: Easy Fall Recipe: Sauteed Red Cabbage With Apples: From Denny:  Red cabbage is both a pretty color for the table and an easy vegetable to cook up quickly.  Red cabbage, like regular green cabbage, is great for your skin, an added health benefit!  Who wants wrinkles?  Dine regularly on chicken and cabbage and you sure won't need to bother with silly botox injections or face lifts.  We really are what we eat.  It helps when it tastes good too!

Now that many varieties of apples are in season you can enjoy your favorite apple paired with red cabbage.  All you do is first steam the cabbage. Then saute the apples with some onions in butter, adding the steamed cabbage.

Ahead of time I like to clarify the butter to remove the artery clogging milk fats and it also makes it easier to store at room temperature if you desire, once filtered of the milk fats.  I use a small tea strainer once it's cooled enough to go into a storage container.  I also prefer cooking with Vidalia sweet onions or red onions, sometimes called purple onions or Bermudas, but that's just my personal preference.  This recipe calls for yellow onions.  You decide what your family enjoys best.  Once the cabbage is just cooked through then stir in the cider vinegar and brown sugar mixture...

Geaux Wear Pink! Women's All Over Print T-Shirt

Help support breast cancer awareness and hope for the cure! Design available in many t-shirts styles for men, women and kids and on other products like mugs, coffee mugs, blankets, pot holders, hoodies too!

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

Also, please remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, keeping these women in your thoughts and prayers.  Here's my latest Denny Lyon Gifts design (at Cafe Press) to honor all the fabulous women and their supporters fighting this disease.

This design first started off as one of my photos of those favorite hot pink azalea blooms, in addition to many other filters, employing a kaleidoscope filter to create this abstract medallion effect. This design reminds me of how our beauty is always there, no matter what form it takes.  Of course, here in Louisiana, we take creative "French" license with English spellings. :)  The thought bubble is to remind others to support these women on their journey to wellness.  Lots of other styles of t-shirts and other products to enjoy too.  The link takes you to the page of all the products featuring this design.  Thanks for visiting!

Romancing The Chocolate: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Photo: King Arthur Flour

Romancing The Chocolate: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread: From Denny:  Summer time and the zucchini are multiplying like rabbits in our gardens!  Zucchini bread is always welcome just plain but how about "gilding the lily"?  Add some cocoa, chocolate chips and espresso powder to put it over the top.

Quick breads like this recipe are always welcome for the holidays or when you want something special - but not complicated or too demanding of your time and effort.  Like most quick breads this one is an easy recipe to make.  While this delicious bread bakes just sit down, relax and tour through your favorite collected old cookbooks or breeze through some interesting online recipe databases.  Works for me!

Celebrate Chocolate King Duvet

Celebrate Chocolate every day as a holiday!

Design available in 3 color palettes:  additional bedding sizes, t-shirts, blankets, 

pillows, jewelry, stuffed animals, mugs, ornaments, 3 sizes of laptop sleeves, shower curtains

From Louisiana artist Denny Lyon

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new! 

Best Spiritual Posts: Christmas Music: Susan Boyle Sings "Miracle Hymn" From Movie "The Christmas Candle"

Best Spiritual Posts: Christmas Music: Susan Boyle Sings "Miracle Hymn" From Movie "The Christmas Candle": From Denny:  The Christmas season is a time for reflection upon what we thought was the impossible to even dare to dream entering the realm of the possible and becoming our new reality.  We call that a miracle because it is so very rare!  If ever there was a story to illustrate the impossible becoming the possible it's the story of singer Susan Boyle's meteoric rise to fame.  She has recently been diagnosed with autism as an adult.  While it's been a rocky road for her she has been creating her life balance and is doing well.

RISE to the Situation Men's Hooded Sweatshirt

* * *  Support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

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A Truth Journal: U.S. Govt, NSA, NORAD Surveil Santa On Christmas Eve: Follow His Global Journey

A&P, COFFEE, SANTA CLAUS
(Photo credit: George Eastman House)

A Truth Journal: U.S. Govt, NSA, NORAD Surveil Santa On Christmas Eve: Follow His Global Journey: 4 funny videos and a lot of satire too.  From Denny:  Go ahead; set aside your paranoia about the intrusive oppressiveness of world governments - at least on Christmas Eve.  Real people like us at our house know that as long as Santa lives no one can successfully take over the world or be the boss of us.  We believe!

You see, Santa is not a terrorist unless you claim he is because for centuries he has aggressively marketed and promoted goodness and goodwill toward all.  World governments and diplomats could take lessons in good attitude and right intentions from Santa.

Let Good Times Roll Snowflake Ornament

Let Good Times Roll celebrates Mardi Gras all year long!

Let Good Times Roll Earring Circle Charm - popular recent seller

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  And a special thanks to those of you supporting this effort!  You rock!

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Christmas Music: Check Out This 2 Hour Jazz and Classical Mashup For Holidays

English: Fireplace made entirely of living plants at the Centennial Park Christmas Show 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From Denny:  Looking for the perfect Christmas music for background during your holiday gatherings?  This music video is great for setting a comfortable and relaxed mood while everyone gathers to visit.  Listed below is the song list from the author tonyclem too.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas to All!

Joy LOVE Peace Woven Throw Pillow

Spread some happiness all during the holiday season and beyond!

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  Thank you to all those who are supporting this cause.  You rock!

Funny Charlie Brown Christmas Flash Mob: NYC Snoopy Boogie

Snoopy hit the streets of New York in this flash mob.  Photo: YouTube

From Denny:  Ready for some holiday fun?  Nothing like a Christmas themed flash mob to make you smile.  Dancing to the famous Peanuts comic strip tune, "It's A Charlie Brown Christmas" a flash mob entertained New York City this week, recreating the animated original.  Schroeder banged away on his famous piano.  Linus danced with his security blanket.  Snoopy was truly larger than life and danced his doggy boogie, stealing the show.  Get a grin and enjoy this cute video, guaranteed to melt away all that holiday shopping stress!

Joy LOVE Peace Journal

Spread some happiness all during the holiday season and beyond!

Christmas Story: A Christmas Tree by Charles Dickens

English: A Christmas Tree at Home (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From Denny:  Check out a Christmas story written by Charles Dickens over a century ago.  Here, in this story, the author gives us a glimpse of the age of early technology of mechanical toys and the increasing consumerism at Christmas.

Dickens recalls his own childhood Christmas time.  This memoir is an intriguing romp through the mind of a child as he perceives the Christmas magic and contemplates the holiday season.  He likes to relate a ghost story along the way too!

You can find "A Christmas Tree" at Amazon here.

Writers Thank You Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)

Elegant lady writer ponders what to write on her scroll. Remember to send your thank you notes for gifts received this holiday season!  More designs available; come see!

Christmas Story: Christmas Day in the Morning

*** A story about how Love alone could awaken Love. And he could give the gift again and again...




From Denny: As an American high school kid living in Taiwan I was introduced to the author Pearl S. Buck. She grew up as a Christian missionary kid in mainland China during the 1930's and was one of the very first Westerners to bridge the cultural gap between China and the West in understanding. Buck wrote a lot of stories, recommended by both the local Taiwanese and the Christian missionaries, and I read them all back then since there was no TV in English. I read a lot of books, even took to reading the Encyclopedias when I ran out of material! :)

While this author may be considered simplistic and out of fashion at the moment, she still deserves a read in my mind. Why? One of the subtle cultural nuances that crept into her writing was the Chinese sentence structure: extreme sheer simplicity. Sometimes, later generations who have not lived abroad fail to pick up those intense subtleties and so write off her writing, failing to realize they are missing an opportunity to get inside the head of Chinese culture by reading about the smallest things in Life written in a simple way.  Parents with teenagers will definitely appreciate this story.

Pearl Buck wrote a lot on women's rights as well as mixed race adoption long before anyone thought about multi-culturalism.  Definitely she was ahead of her time.  She was fluent in Chinese and fought against racist attitudes long before that was popular as well.  This writer was definitely a class act!

This story was originally published in 1955, available here at Amazon: Christmas Day in the Morning

Love Light Silver Oval Necklace

Let your love light shine!

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  Thank you to all those who are supporting this cause.  You rock!

Funny Christmas Poem: Santas Curmudgeon Version of The Christmas Story

From Denny:  OK, for the naughty folks out there who enjoy some holiday sarcasm comes this silly poem sure to make you grin - or wince.

Just when everyone is tired of making nice to the relatives just read this one aloud to the gathering to cut the grumbling.  Sure to make some folks howl with delight or indignation!  Oh, look, yet another family fight during the holiday season. :)

Santa Jingle Dog Tags

Make some merry this holiday season! Jingle Jingle!

Dennys Food and Recipes: Turkey Cooking Tips: How Good Is Your Holiday Roast Turkey?

Dennys Food and Recipes: Turkey Cooking Tips: How Good Is Your Holiday Roast Turkey?:
From Denny:  Roasted my Thanksgiving turkey a day early.  Sure beats stressing on the Big Day.  Also, my husband, affectionately known as "Satan" misses out on trying to micro-manage the cooking, driving me absolutely crazy.  He never did learn to cook but thinks he knows how to tell you all about how to do it anyway.  Getting the Big Bird done a day early is a win-win for everyone as he was less stressed just as much as me!

Though he did try only twice this season to be ever so irritating:  once, when taste testing the fabulous gravy he made The Yuck! Face but could not keep his composure for long, laughed, and then raved about it as one of the best yet.  Later he decided he just had to tell me how to cut the French bread for sandwiches his way rather than the normal slices I was doing for hot garlic bread, his favorite.  Since I'm basically The Spatial Engineer in this house (just ask me to pack a car for travel and I am The Expert on finding every nook and cranny to fill) I explained to him how his way made no sense but cut a few slices for him anyway.  He was so disappointed to realize I was right after all.  "Satan" lost that round.  Never a dull moment at our house, that's for sure!

Hey, we should all be challenging the White House chef to a Roast Turkey Cook Off.  Bet mine is one of  The Best!  We love spices at our house and every year I create something different.  This year's wet rub spices were swimming in clarified butter:  sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smokey paprika, cumin, curry powder, marjoram leaves, lite sodium soy sauce, Moscato wine and Remy Martin cognac...

Santa Jingle Kid's All Over Print T-Shirt

Make some merry this holiday season! Jingle Jingle!

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