Breakfast is Served!

Well, since you asked, my hashbrown casserole turned out pretty damn good--I'd give it an 8.5 on the ten scale. It was really tasty, and my only gripe is that I think the recipe calls for too much sour cream--it made it just a touch tangy, and a little greasy. I think that might have been remedied had I let it sit and rest a bit longer once I pulled it out of the oven, though, so I'm guessing that the leftovers will be much better.

As far as the recipe goes, it was pretty simple:

• One bag of frozen hashbrowns (32 oz.)
• One medium onion, finely diced
• One can of Cream of Chicken Soup
• One cup of shredded cheese (I used Colby/Jack combo)
• One cup of sour cream
• One half cup of melted butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  

All I had to do was combine all the ingredients, spray a casserole dish with cooking spray, and cook the thing for about an hour at 350 degrees. I also put a little sprinkle of cheese on top at the end, just to make it look better.



I think next time, however, I'm going to cut back on the butter and the sour cream--it'll still taste good, but maybe I'll use a little chicken stock instead of butter to keep it moist and flavorful, without abusing the arteries.

I also made some scrambled eggs, maple-flavored sausage links, sourdough English muffins with honey, and a pot of hazelnut coffee. Since today is my 'Sunday', I felt it was most appropriate to cook myself a brunch. There are plenty of leftovers, but Rob is still sleeping off the effects of his nickel craps bender last night, so he has yet to sample the tasty goodness that I created.



If you click on that last picture, you can actually see the steam rising from the plate. Oh hell yeah--It was damn good.

But I didn't spend all morning in the kitchen. I actually made it down to the local Barnes & Noble like I was talking about. Not only did I pick up the latest issues of Latitudes & Attitudes and Cruising World, but I spent some time browsing the deep discount racks at the front of the store and found a couple of other treasures.

One book was an immediate keeper as soon as I saw the cover. It's called Pirates--Scourge of the Seas, by John Reeve Carpenter. The cover is made to look like an old wooden chest, the pages are dyed to look like treasure map parchment, and it's highly illustrated. I can't wait to dig into it.

I also got another book, more for Angy than for me, but it's been fun to browse through it. It's called Minibar Mixology -- 233 Drinks & Games That'll Turn Your Hotel Room into a Party. I can't think of a more appropriate gift to give upon her next arrival in town. I'm thinking that it'll come in handy by the time March Madness rolls around.

I've already pretty much finished up the first magazine, and am working my way through the second. But then I found out that the Cardinals/Cubs game is on ESPN2 in a couple of hours, so that pretty much takes care of my evening.

Mikey