Sunday Morning Breakfast

It's a tradition (of the Polish variety) in my family. Every Christmas morning we have kielbasa and eggs. One day I got to talking with my friend Jess about how much I can't wait for Christmas to come because it's one of the few times we indulge in the fatty goodness which is kielbasa. She was intrigued and wanted to know how to make it for breakfast Thanksgiving morning since she would be spending the holiday with family.

The only thing is that you can't just buy any old kielbasa. No, ladies - Hillshire Farms DOES NOT CUT IT. You have to go to the polish deli. Fortunately there are a number of those in Philadelphia. The one my family always goes to is in a part of the city called Bridesburg. The deli: Lachowicz. I bought 3 pounds. It's good stuff. But make sure you buy the SMOKED kielbasa.

So I took Jess there, and we each bought some, along with the traditional super fresh loaf of rye bread. I brought her back to my house to show her our method of cooking it.

And so I shall share it with you!

KIELBASA AND EGGS

Slice your smoked kielbasa into thin coins. Stack them up and then cut them into half circles. Lay them flat in your pan. Cook over medium heat until browned. Flip and brown the other side.



Add your scrambled eggs to the kielbasa in the pan. Scramble the eggs, trying to keep it in sections. Here are some pictures of the stages from runny eggs to ready to eat eggs.








When serving it for breakfast this Sunday morning, I also wanted to make some home fries because my husband always likes potatoes with his eggs. I wanted to bake them because I hate frying in oil. So here's what I threw together.



BAKED HOME FRIES

3 white potatoes, scrubbed and diced

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste



1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and sprayed with Pam.
3. In a ziploc bag, add your diced potatoes, oil and spices. Shake to coat.
4. Spread the seasoned potatoes flat on the baking sheet.
5. Bake 15 minutes. Flip and bake an additional 15 minutes (30 minutes total).
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.



And so here's a complete breakfast. Serve with a tall glass of OJ!

Beef Stew

Who doesn't love a big bowl of beef stew? Well, my husband, but he doesn't count. So I was on my own for dinner this week, again, and had some beef cubes in the freezer, so I figured it was about time to make the stew.

1 package beef cubes

1/2 bag potatoes, peeled, cut into large chunks

1 small bag baby carrots

1 can of baby peas

beef broth

salt & pepper to taste

cornstarch for thickening

1. Place potatoes, beef cubes and carrots into crockpot.

2. Cover with beef broth.

3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

4. Thicken with cornstarch and add peas.

5. Season with salt and pepper - a little onion powder is also good.

Nothing special, but always good, and I like it with a few splashes of hot sauce and soft buttered bread. I use fake butter of course.

WW Friendly Baked Ziti

I'm trying to eat healthier (if you're reading this, please pay no attention to all of the baking that I do) so when I came across the Foodie Fashionista Blog I was inspired. I found Dori's baked ziti to be the perfect meal for a week where I would be eating dinner by myself. I couldn't find fat-free ricotta, so I used part-skim ricotta, which brought the points value to 7 WW points per serving.

You can find the recipe here. Enjoy!