When Good Food Goes Bad....

I was performing my morning routine of browsing the daily news stories on AOL when I came across an article about how long to keep leftovers in the fridge. Yes, this means that you actually throw away food based on the shelf life, not that you take a whiff and decide it's edible for a few more days. AOL linked over to Hellawella where I stumbled across this fabulous guide:

 

Even though some foods have expiration dates, this is useful for the dates that fade or the items that do not have a date. 

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole
8 Slices Of Bread - cubed
1 Lb. Sausage - cooked & crumbled
1.5 C Cheddar Cheese - shredded
10 Large Eggs
2 C Milk
2 t Dry Mustard
1 t Salt
Pepper

In a greased casserole dish, place the cubes of bread on the bottom. Top the bread with sausage (make sure it is cooked) and shredded cheese. Mix the eggs, milk, mustard and salt together. Season this mixture with pepper and pour it over the sausage mixture. Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

I believe I got this recipe from All Recipes, but I am not sure. Oops! I have never made a breakfast casserole before, but our good friends came for the weekend and I was excited for the excuse to try this recipe out. It was SO good. I served the casserole with a side of buttery, garlic toast. It was a filling breakfast and everyone enjoyed it. The seasoning was great and not one ingredient stood out from the rest. It was not too cheesy or too "eggy." The next time I do this I will attempt to throw in some hash browns as well. It says this can made the day before, but I did not attempt that. I also used leftovers for J's breakfast for the next two days. A breakfast casserole that reheats well is definitely going into my recipe box.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Homemade Taco Seasoning
1T Chili Powder
1.5 t Ground Cumin
1 t Sea Salt
1 t Pepper
1/2 t Paprika
1/4 t Garlic Powder
1/4 t Onion Powder
1/4 t Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 t Dried Oregano

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container. Increase the red pepper for spiciness.

I swear I could eat these for days upon days upon days. You get the idea. Making tacos is so easy. It was one of the first things I made when we were married. In fact, I was so clueless in the kitchen that I did not know you needed to put the taco shells in the oven for a few minutes. I wondered why they tasted stale straight from the store. True story. J started to hate tacos or he hated them all along, but our marriage was too new to judge my cooking. I had made a homemade seasoning before and he surprisingly enjoyed the meal. I made this blend because I had everything, but seasoning for the meat. Loved this. If you randomly cook or you have a spice rack, you should have most of the ingredients on hand. I saved what I had left. Cheers for no more store bought seasoning packets!