ham

We do love our breakfast foods around here. As breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day for getting the brain and body ready to work, we always make sure to eat something before heading out the door. Unfortunately, it's also at a time of day where our bodies are not fully awake and fighting the concept of eating.

I love the Monte Cristo Sandwich. However, it is fairly unhealthy what with it being a deep fried sandwich and all. 
So I pondered to myself and decided to test out a theory: can the Monte Cristo be delicious as a baked sandwich?
Read on to find out!

*Sandwich to the left is fried; baked version is bottom right.

As I've mentioned before, we never really ate fast food or boxed meals growing up.  Most of the time, it was homecooked meals.  However, on the rare occassion when we were traveling and we needed something quick to eat, we may stop at a fast food restaurant for breakfast.  I was always deeply surprised by how distasteful the breakfasts were.  For a while, I even disliked ordering breakfast foods at restaurants because I found them to be

If you're looking for a simple snack or a great party appetizer, look no further than Pickle Rollups.  With only three ingredients and minimum preparation, these appetizers will please everyone without breaking the bank! 

My grandmother used to make these for every family gathering.  As I got older, she showed me how to make them and eventually put me in charge of them!  While they are traditionally made with corned beef, I do not usually have that particular meat around, so I started making mine with ham and they are just as tasty!  Thin sliced hard salami or a good smoked turkey works too!
And now, just as my grandmother taught me, I will pass this recipe on to you!

For our third Meal in 15 Minutes or Less lunch, we are going to make a ham and turkey wrap.  This beautiful wrapped sandwich is easy to make and, because the tortilla does not get soggy as quickly as regular bread, it can be made in advance! 

I know so many people who skip breakfast or think a granola bar passes as breakfast because they "don't have time" to make breakfast. Well I'm here to say that a home-cooked breakfast meal is less than fifteen minutes away! Breakfast foods are probably one of the quickest meals of the day to cook up and can be as simple as fried eggs and toast!

Growing up, my sister and I used to regularly go to a local bagel shop that made the best breakfast sandwiches. Walking in the door brought on the most amazing smells of freshly baking bagels mixed with hints of ham, bacon, and cheeses. Our favorite meal to order was the Ham and Cheese Eggwich. It was magical the way the egg would get fluffly and the cheese would melt. I didn't understand back then how they were able to form this favorite breakfast delight.

My husband and I are big lovers of Egg's Benedict, in large part because of the tasty hollandaise sauce that smothers this breakfast delight.

This morning I was inspired to try my hand at making the sauce from scratch once more. I used the "blender method" this time and while it worked spendidly, my blender did manage to spew melted butter across the countertops and nearby appliances. I will have to perfect the use of the blender...

*Note: prepare the egg bake the night before you need it!

Growing up, I had never had egg bake. We made scrambled eggs, over easy eggs, deviled eggs, omelets, and used eggs for baking, but we never made egg bake. My mother-in-law, however, makes it on special occasions and it is probably one of my favorite breakfast foods!