I wholeheartedly embrace the pay-it-forward mindset, which also includes the giving-back concept and the expect-nothing-in-return notion. My heart is in the right place, as is everyones in their gifted body. It is up to the carrier of that heart to break off pieces of that right-place heart and share it with the world around them, and beyond if you can carry it the distance.
Good deeds performed by a Christmas Samaritan may at first be mentally tallied and then listed, but soon the outpouring of kindnesses goes beyond math calculations; they eventually go undocumented, but never, ever unnoticed.
The eye in the sky is the greatest of mathematicians, and all hearts have a daily point total. One never knows when one may have to turn in those points, so be wise, be kind, be generous and keep tacking them on.
I wondered if I could possibly perform 100 good deeds before Christmas Day. The day after Thanksgiving Day, I did not start writing my Christmas Deeds Done list, though a day referred to as Black Friday would have been a good day to start. A few days passed, still no deeds list. As of today, still no written list. I guess the seeming importance of keeping track was not so important at all.
I have been an active list writer, but for other reasons. My winter stock-up list was an ideal list to write. No one wants to run out of necessary paper products during a hard-hitting winter storm; the same goes for Coca-Cola, bread and coffee. My weekly grocery list is amped up because I dont always buy ingredients for eight batches of party mix, six batches of puppy chow, and 10 dozen cutout cookies, with a wide variety of sprinkles to boot.
I have other lists, too: gift buying lists, gift giving lists, errand lists, project lists, spending lists, guest lists, Christmas card lists, mailing lists and of course, The Honey Do list, the one that I write.
So after all the expected list writing of the holiday season, I found no time to keep track of the good deeds I have performed so far. As a small window of time permitted me, I did decide to actually jot a few of my good deeds down on paper, it was then I realized my good deeds were already listed, in all the expected lists I write this time of year.
I mix up a personalized party mix all to my husbands specifications, far from the Nuts and Bolts Grandma Barton tossed around. I make puppy chow for my daughters craving as well as for my nieces, and I bake and frost cut-out cookies just for home. And when my Christmas cards get mailed, I will have already surpassed my Christmas Samaritan good deed quota. I have 100 Christmas cards to stamp. Merry Christmas to all the do-gooders in the world!
So we have the Christmas morning breakfast covered. What do you serve late in the day, after the dinner, after the nap, during all the new-toy play? Send recipes to Country Cupboard, 5973 Blachleyville Road, Wooster, Ohio, 44691. Emails are always welcome: thewritecook@sssnet.com
Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole
1/4 cup margarine
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 to 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 (24 ounce) bag frozen hash brown potatoes
12 eggs, beaten
1/2 pound cubed ham or 1/2 pound thin sliced ham or 1/2 pound cooked crumbled bacon or 1/2 pound crumbled sausage
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Melt margarine and place in the bottom of 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Spread potatoes (still frozen is okay) in bottom of the pan. Sprinkle chopped vegetables over potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle meat over potatoes and vegetables. Pour beaten eggs over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Bake another 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let set for about five minutes. Cut into serving squares and serve with a spatula.
Santas Favorite Breakfast Bake
7 slices white bread
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
6 eggs
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 pound bacon, thinly diced and fried crisp
1/2 pound mild sausage, fried crisp
Trim crusts from bread, cut into cubes, cover bottom of a 12-by-7-inch casserole and sprinkle with cheese. Beat eggs, add milk and mix well. Stir salt, pepper and dry mustard into the egg mixture. Add bacon and sausage, stirring until well blended. Pour over cheese, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bake in a 350-degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes.
White Christmas Breakfast
1 (8 ounce) can crescent rolls
1 (8 ounce) package brown and serve sausages
2 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons chopped green peppers
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Separate crescent dough into two large rectangles. Place in an ungreased deep 9-by-13-inch pan. Press over the bottom and half way up the sides to form a crust. Seal perforations. Slice sausages and arrange over crust.
Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
Country Gravy Breakfast
1 (2-3/4 ounce) package country gravy mix
3 cups tater tots, thawed
1/2 pound sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 cups water
3 large eggs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
In a skillet, cook the sausage for two minutes, breaking it up with the spatula as it cooks. Add the tater tots and cook, stirring, for another five minutes until the sausage is cooked through and the tater tots are golden brown. In a separate container, gradually whisk the gravy mix into the water. Then beat the eggs into the gravy. Lay out the tater tot and sausage mixture evenly over the base of a tall 8-by-8-inch or 10-by-6-inch baking dish. Pour the gravy and egg mixture over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the filling is set in the center. When fully cooked, remove from the oven, sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for another 3 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Wonderful Waffle Casserole
1 pound bulk pork sausage
6 frozen waffles, toasted and cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, reserve 1/3 cup
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Maple syrup
In a large skillet cook sausage until brown, drain off fat. Arrange three of the waffles in a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Top with half the sausage and about one-third cup of cheese. Repeat layers. In a large bowl, beat eggs with a fork; stir in milk, mustard and pepper. Pour over layers in baking dish. Cover and chill for at least four hours or up to 24 hours. Bake dish at 350 degrees, uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with maple syrup.
Cowboy Christmas Casserole
1 (12 ounce) can crescent rolls
1 pound sausage, cooked and drained
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
3/4 pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated
6 eggs, beaten
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of onion soup
Unroll crescents and line a 13-by-9-inch baking casserole dish. Cover with sausage, mushrooms and half the cheese. Mix eggs with soup and pour over casserole. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Chill overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.
Crock-Pot Christmas Breakfast
1 (26 ounce) bags frozen hash browns
12 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon ground mustard
16 ounces sausage
Salt and pepper
2 (8 ounce) packages shredded cheddar cheese
Spray crock pot and evenly spread hash browns at the bottom. Crack 12 eggs in a large bowl. Mix well, slowly, using a whisk. Add the milk. Sprinkle in the ground mustard. Add salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside. Cook the sausage, drain and set aside. Add sausage on top of hash browns. Add cheese. Mix well. Pour the egg mixture over everything in the crock pot. Use a wood spoon to even ingredients so it spreads evenly. Turn the crock pot on low for six to eight hours.
Nearly Dessert Breakfast Casserole
4 to 5 tart cooking apples, peeled, and sliced
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup golden raisins
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine
6 medium eggs
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Extra cinnamon
Maple syrup
In a large skillet, sauté apples, pecans, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon, and margarine until apples begin to soften, stir often, approximately six minutes. Place in a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, orange juice, salt, and flour and beat till mixture is smooth, and stir around edges of bowl. Pour over apple mixture. Sprinkle with four tablespoons sugar, and cinnamon, about one tablespoon. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until a knife inserted near center of casserole comes out clean. Serve with maple syrup.
South of the Border Breakfast Casserole
1 dozen eggs
1 cup milk
1 green pepper, chopped (or variety)
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
10 breakfast sausage links, chopped into pieces
2 potatoes cut into one-inch cubes
4 ounces mozzarella cheese or four ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces medium salsa
8 tablespoons butter or margarine
In large bowl, beat eggs, milk, spices, salt and pepper until frothy. Fold in chopped sausage, pepper and onion. Cut potatoes into small cubes, put into a greased 9-by-13-inch dish. Pour egg mixture over top of potatoes.
Dot with four to eight tablespoons of butter. Pour half of salsa over top, reserving remainder for topping after cooked. Sprinkle cheese over top.
