December 2015 - Alyssa Grieco

Happy Monday!!

I can’t believe we are only 4 days away from Christmas Day!! T and I are fully in the spirit and have our Christmas music on full force, tree lit and mistletoe scent in the air. We have had a full few weeks with work, work Christmas parties, an awesome brunch thrown by one of our friends, and a few other Christmas parties! As this weekend approached, I was already preparing for what I was going to make for Christmas morning… our first Christmas morning together!!

For as long as I can remember, Christmas mornings with my family were the best! With many traditions, my parents always made for the perfect Christmas morning. Since I’ve always been a foodie, I remember all of the foods we would have vividly! One thing in particular was the breakfast casserole which is on the blog today! I’ve been preparing it the last 8 or so years and my mom had prepared it previously. Now that we are in our home, we are trying to make our own traditions and this is one of them! 🙂 This year, I made this gluten-free and regular. Basically I just substituted the regular bread for gluten-free bread and that was it! Since it is just the two of us this year, I am cutting the recipe in half and putting it in an 8×8 square dish! The original recipe I am posting below is in a 9×13 dish. If you are looking for a delicious Christmas morning breakfast, look no further! This is a family favorite!!

Gluten-Free Sausage & Egg Strada

2016-02-25 04:41:20

Perfect breakfast for any occasion.

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Ingredients

14 slices white bread (18 gluten-free). I used Trader Joes and those are smaller than regular gluten-free slices (cubed)
3/4 lb. sweet Italian sausage (I used turkey sausage)
3/4 lb. hot Italian sausage (again... I used turkey!)
10 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
3 cups milk
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Granny Smith Apple (chopped)

Instructions

Butter a 13x9 pan.
Cover the bottom with bread cubes. Brown and drain sausage. Make layers. Add half of the sausage to the top of the bread. Then add half of the chopped apple and half of the cheese. Repeat layers.
In a separate bowl, beat egg and add milk and mustard. Pour over everything and press down to soak through. Cover with foil and refrigerate for a maximum of 24 hours. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

By Alyssa Grieco

Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/

Ta-daaaa!

Enjoy and hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Happy Friday everyone! So this week it has taken me a little while to get back into things after the long holiday weekend. I spent quite some time getting a few great deals on Cyber Monday, so I am excited to say that I am left with only one gift to get! I hate going to the mall unless it’s like a Tuesday at lunch where it is super quiet, so I am pretty pumped about enjoying my December and not worrying about any Christmas shopping! My dad and I have had this tradition since I was very young where on Christmas Eve, we will go to the mall the minute it opens and get one last gift we have not yet gotten so I am hoping we continue the tradition this year!

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As I get older, I feel like the Christmas season goes by faster and faster. Last year, I felt like I was working long hours until Christmas Eve that I didn’t really get to enjoy the season. This year, I am going to take a step back and try to really enjoy every minute, especially since T and I really want to enjoy our first Christmas in our new home together! 🙂 🙂

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Aside from that, while Thanksgiving with the family was amazing, it was also T’s birthday along with my brother and a friend’s birthday so it was a ton of celebrating! Being able to spend time with family and friends was such a blessing!

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I would say it wasn’t until Monday that we finally got back on track. With that, I am sharing this hearty lentil soup recipe! I try to cook with lentils whenever I can. Low in calories and high in nutrition, I felt like this was the perfect soup to have after Thanksgiving! Lentils can also aid in lowering cholesterol and maintaining heart health. I made this soup twice since Sunday! We are loving it at home and I’ve been packing it for lunch too. Give it a try! 😉

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Ingredients:

4 carrots, diced

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/8 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp basil

2 tsp oregano

1 28.5 can crushed tomatoes

2 1/2 cups dried lentils

8 cups water

1 1/2 cups spinach

2 tbsp vinegar

Directions:

Chop the carrots, onion and celery. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add in carrots, celery and the onion. Stir until onion starts to appear translucent. Stir in the basil, oregano and garlic and stir for 2-3 minutes.

Next, stir in the lentils, water and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil then turn down to simmer for at least an hour. About 5-10 minutes before you are going to turn off the heat, add the spinach and vinegar. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. When the greens are softened to your liking, you can turn off the heat. Serve immediately. Add a little parmesan if you like :).

Month: December 2015

Gluten-free Sausage and Egg Strada

Gluten-Free Hearty Lentil Soup!