Cheese Biscuits

This started as a basic biscuit recipe, but what isn't better with cheese?! We were shooting for something similar Red Lobster's "Cheddar Bay Biscuits." (I have looked at several knockoff recipes, and it's the after-cooking butter mix that seems to be the secret ingredient.)
I have tried grating the cheese and also cutting it into cubes. As the photo shows, the cubes will melt and make little holes in the biscuits... I usually prefer grated cheese, but the bigger cubes do make a stronger cheese flavor, so experiment and see what you like.
This recipe is good for plain biscuits too.

3 c white flour (with the cheese this recipe is not very wheat flour friendly)
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cream of tartar (you can technically skip this, but if you have it do use it, it helps with fluffiness)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c lard  or room temperature butter (or you can substitute in part bacon grease, but if you do that be sure to add it with the liquid part)
1 1/2 c milk or buttermilk (or milk with 1Tbs of lemon juice in it)
1 egg (optional)
1 - 1 1/2 c cheddar cheese, grated or chopped into little cubes
OPTIONAL
For that really Red Lobster touch, melt 2 Tbs butter and put in 1-3 tsp garlic powder and 3/4-1 tsp dried oregano. (I like lots of garlic and not much oregano, adjust for your tastes.) Use a pastry brush to put it on the biscuits as soon as they come out of the oven, OR take them out a couple of minutes before they are done cooking and brush it on and then put them back in for the last few min.

Preheat oven to 450.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Cut in the solid fat (lard or butter) until all is consistently crumbly.
Add liquid ingredients all at once, and stir with a fork just until moistened.
Stir in cheese.

Put in blobs on a baking sheet (just like cookies). If you have parchment paper that is really nice because otherwise the cheese will often melt out and stick to the pan.
Bake at 450 for 10ish minutes.

Potato Soup (Zuppa de Toscana)

In its original incarnation this recipe was chopped potatoes with some hot dogs thrown in, but after an inspiring visit to Olive Garden my husband suggested putting in pork sausage instead of hot dogs, and the rest is history... I'm pretty sure that everyone who has tried this soup loves it.
Don't scrimp on the salt. It needs it. Potatoes absorb a lot of salt. Using sausage helps, but you'll still need more.



serves about 6

6 large potatoes, cut into 1/2in cubes (peel them first if you use russets, but you can leave part or all of the skins on if you use reds or golds)
1/2-1 onion, chopped little
1 lb ground pork sausage (actually 3/4 is plenty, but they come in 1lb portions usually...and it works)
salt and pepper
parsley (fresh is good in little sprigs, or use about 1Tbs of dried flakes)

Put the cut up potatoes and onions in a large saucepan, with just enough water to cover them. Boil them until they are soft (adding water as needed).
Meanwhile, cook up the pork sausage. When it is cooked through, set aside on a paper towel to let some of the grease come off (it's good if it's still a bit greasy though).
Return to the potatoes etc and drain off some of the water (leaving just a cup or so in the pan). Put in the sausage. Add milk to cover, and warm it on low or med-low heat but don't allow it to boil (milk gets ikky if it's boiled). Add salt (start with at least 2 tsp) and pepper. Use a potato masher to smash around in there until about half of the potato chunks are pulverized. That will give a nice thick consistency to the soup, while still having good chunks to chew on.
Add parsley.

Serve with a garnish of fresh parsley if you like.

Taco Cassarole

We had nearly a pound of leftover taco meat (we'd had friends over and mis-estimated how much we would need), and since it was seasoned I couldn't really use it for anything with a different flavor palate... so I invented this. It was a big hit.
Tastes like tacos!!

Makes a 9x13 pan.
about 20-25min prep time + 15-20min of baking time

1 pound or so of ground meat
2ish cups uncooked rice (I did a mix of white and brown, it made about 5c cooked)
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes (or 1qt home canned)
1/2 onion, chopped small
1 can black beans (or pinto) (or about 1-2 cups cooked dry beans)
chilli powder, cumin, garlic powder salt and pepper or taco seasoning
about 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

If you are cooking your own beans instead of using canned, you will need to prepare them ahead of time since they take hours to cook.
Put the dry rice in a pan with the tomatoes and their juice, and add enough water for cooking (I don't measure, I just pour in water about twice as high as the rice, then let it simmer with the lid off and check it every couple of minutes, stir it, and add more water if it ever runs low).
While the rice is cooking, brown the meat with the seasoning. You can add the onions if you like them cooked. Drain off the grease. Set aside.
As the rice is getting nearly done, add the tomato sauce and mix it in.
Put the cooked rice, meat, onions (if they're not with the meat), beans, and half of the cheese into a 9x13 baking dish, and mix them all up. You can add additional seasoning if you like (I put in about 1 Tbs garlic powder, 1 Tbs chili powder, 1 Tbs cumin, and 1/2-3/4 tsp salt and just a little pepper).
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, and bake at 350 until everything is warm and melted--about 15-20 minutes.

Basic Biscuits

There is a cheese biscuit version of this recipe as well...this is the plain versionYou can make them with plain white flour of course, but I like putting in a little wheat because it makes them heartier.

3 c flour (I usually do 2 white 1 wheat)
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cream of tartar (you can technically skip this, but if you have it do use it, it helps with fluffiness)
1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 c lard  or room temperature butter (or you can substitute in part bacon grease, but if you do that be sure to add it with the liquid part)
*1 1/2 c milk or buttermilk (or milk with 1Tbs of lemon juice in it)

1 egg (optional)



Preheat oven to 450.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Cut in the solid fat (lard or butter) until all is consistently crumbly.
Add liquid ingredients all at once, and stir with a fork just until moistened.


*Put in blobs on a baking sheet (just like cookies). If you have parchment paper that is really nice because the cheese can melt out and stick to the pan.
Bake at 450 for 10ish minutes.

*If you prefer to do rolled and cut out biscuits instead of drop biscuits, reduce the milk to 1c, roll out the dough 3/4 inch thick and cut out in rounds, and bake for 12-15 minutes...otherwise the recipe is the same.

Granola

Take this recipe as a guideline...I have indicated things that I adapt, but honestly I do it a little differently every time, and I don't usually measure very carefully... I've been complimented on this granola many times. Enjoy!
Oh, and use a big bowl. A really really big bowl. Or do a half recipe.

• 14 cups of rolled grain (the original says 8 cups oat and 6 of wheat, but I usually do more like 10 oat and then a little barley, rye, wheat, whatever I have around. If you can't have gluten, you can do this with all gluten-free grains!)
• 2 c untoasted wheat germ (or not, if you don't have it or can't do gluten if you don't do it, then do the higher amounts of coconut and/or nuts)
• 2-3 c shredded coconut (do the larger amount if you don't do the wheat germ, or add nuts)
• 1-2 c nuts if desired (I like doing sliced or slivered almonds. You can also add them at the end, but I like them to get coated in all the good stuff...)
• 1 T salt (yes that's a tablespoon)
• 1 1/4 c brown sugar

Mix dry ingredients together. Then pour the following over the top.

• 1 c oil (I strongly recommend coconut oil--melt it before pouring it in)
• 1 c water
• 1/2 c honey
• 1 T vanilla

Mix the liquids into the dry ingredients until all flakes are moistened and separated. (It will seem like it's not enough liquid, but just keep stirring, it will work out I promise!) Spread the granola onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for 2 hours at 200* or until golden. Stir them every half hour or so to break up the bigger chunks and to make sure it dries out evenly. (But don't stir TOO vigorously or it will all be separated flakes with no awesome crunchy chunks!)

If desired, add dried fruit, seeds, nuts, etc. (I prefer to add a cup or two of sliced or slivered almonds with the dry ingredients, so they get coated and toasted.


Store in an airtight container.

Homemade Oreos

I got this recipe from a friend, and the frosting was great but the cookie part came out really dry and hard when I made it. So I'll include that original cookie recipe at the bottom (in case you like hard/dry oreos), but the main recipe here is adapted from a different recipe I had before. 

Makes about 32-36 cookies (so 16-18 finished oreos)

Chocolate cookies:
3/4 c butter
1 c + 2 Tbs sugar
2 regular eggs (only 1 if extra large)
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder (add with sugar or flour)
Whip butter, add sugar gradually, whipping frequently. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and cocoa and mix well. It will probably seem a bit dry, but keep mixing and it should moisten up. Dough will probably be a bit sticky. You can chill it, but it will probably be firm enough to just roll out right away. Use plenty of flour (I use a pastry brush to brush off excess flour so the cookies stay brown rather than white). Roll 1/4 inch thick and cut into 2 inch rounds. Bake at 350 for 10ish minutes.


Cream filling:
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
Whip together until light and very fluffy. Pipe onto one cookie and put another on top.
Alternately, use a little cream cheese in place of (or in addition to) the butter. The batch in the photo I made part plain frosting, then added some strawberry cream cheese to the other half and made strawberry oreos, which is why the ones on the left are pink. They were fantastic. ☺



~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original chocolate cookies:
1/2 c soft butter
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder (dark is best)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 c flour
Cream butter until fluffy, add the sugar and mix well. Add the cocoa and vanilla and mix well.
Work in the flour until dough is soft but not too sticky. Knead lightly and chill for 40 minutes.
Dust chilled dough lightly with flour, then roll out 1/4 inch thick between two pieces of wax paper. Cut into 2 inch rounds. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Cool.

Bread Pudding

I have never been fond of soggy bread, so the idea of bread pudding sounded simply awful to me. However, my mother in law made this and I tried it and loved it. Rather than being like soggy bread, as I had feared, it is basically a mild custard (egg-based pudding), and the bread gets absorbed so that it doesn't break up the texture much, but it give it some body and stability.
My mother in law gave me the tip that it is best to use two different types of bread, half of each. She usually uses one white (such as a buttermilk bread) and the other a cinnamon raisin, such as SaraLee's cinnamon swirl loaf.  I really like using the cinnamon raisin bread, it rounds out the pudding nicely.

makes a 9x13 pan

about 8 slices of bread
4 eggs
1 c sugar (use 3/4 c if you use a sweet bread such as the cinnamon raisin)
4 c whole milk, cream, half&half, or some combination of them (you could use any milk, but fattier milks will obviously make a nicer pudding)
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon, nutmeg, or cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle on top.

Preheat oven to 350.
Put the eggs in a bowl and mix them with an electric mixer for 5 minutes. (If you have a stand mixer set them going while you do the bread, otherwise really do set a timer and mix them for the full five minutes. It makes a much smoother nicer pudding.)
Tear or cut the bread into chunks and spread it around in the pan, about two layers deep. Don't pack it tight, just drop it all in there. If you use two kinds of bread, mix them up. The pieces don't need to be bite-sized, because they will break easily once they've been soaked and cooked, so big chunks are fine.

Set the pan aside, and go back to the eggs. Add sugar, vanilla, and milk/cream. Beat until mixed. Pour over bread. Poke the bread a little if it floats, so that it all gets soaked. Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg over the top (I do plain cinnamon).
Bake for 45-50 minutes. (My mother in law says she has one cookbook that says to do it at 350 and one that says to do it at 325, so if your oven runs hot, try the lower temperature or the shorter time.) The pudding will set up like a custard--when it is done it will be solid on the edges but jiggly in the center of the pan. The bread will rise to the top and make a somewhat crusty top.

really, what's not to love!

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

A lady from church brought me a mini-loaf of this bread shortly after we moved here. The next month she asked if she could do anything for me and I said YES! I need that recipe!!
The original recipe calls for this to be made in mini-loaves, but it also works well as big muffins. Or probably as regular muffins, I don't know, I don't have a regular-size muffin pan. ☺ They have the pumpkin pie spices, so they have a flavor much like pumpkin pie, thus the name. Also a lot of sugar, like a pie...but they're kind of amazing so just pretend you didn't notice how much sugar there was, or use whole wheat flour to make up for it, or something!

[no picture, but they really don't look like anything special...they just taste fabulous!]

3 cups flour
2 Tbs pumpkin pie spice (3 tsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp ginger, 3/4 tsp nutmeg, 3/4 tsp allspice)
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 c sugar
1 15oz can pumpkin (2 cups)
4 large eggs
1 c vegetable oil (feel free to do this a little shy...)
1/2 c water (if you use home-processed pumpkin, which is much less dense/more watery than the stuff from a can, then leave out the water.)

Combine flour, spice, soda, and salt. Set aside. (Or you can cheat like me and not mix these up in advance...)
Combine sugar and pumpkin, beat. Add eggs, oil, and water. Beat until just blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Stir until moistened.
Makes about 5 mini-loaves, or 15 jumbo muffins (about 30 regular muffins I think).

Bake at 350* for 50-60 min for mini loaves
Bake at 350* for 30 min for jumbo muffins
Bake at 375* for 16-25 min for regular muffins (I haven't done this size, I'm estimating...start with 16 and then start checking them!)

Cream Cheese "Blondies"

My husband called these 'blondies' because they look like brownies, only they're blond...
They are sortof naughty, because they start with a cake mix...I very rarely bake with premade mixes like that. But these are so yummy, and worth the exception. (Or, if you're resourceful, you could probably figure out how to make a from-scratch 'cake mix' and use that!) Since cake mixes come in gluten-free varieties, this recipe can easily be adapted for that.

Base layer:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
2 eggs
Mix together. It will be pretty thick, like cookie dough. Press it evenly across the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

Top layer (frosting):
8 oz (on package) soft cream cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
3ish cups powdered sugar (a little more if it seems thin)
Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and eggs and mix well. Gradually add the powdered sugar. It should be about the consistency of frosting--very easily spreadable, but not thin enough to pour. Spread it over the base layer in the pan.

Bake at 325 for about an hour.

Fish (or Chicken) with Veggies & Green Sauce

I couldn't decide what to call this so I enlisted the help of some facebook friends. They suggested "Halibut Fishatore," "Pesce Verde" and, inevitably, we wound up at "Green Fish." Call it what you like, it's yummy!
I had thawed some halibut to make another dish, but when I got ready to begin cooking I realized I had forgotten one of the parts of the recipe (which involved marinating the fish for two hours prior to cooking!). So I had to scrap that recipe and just threw this together on the spot. It may look a little complicated because it has several parts, but really they are all pretty simple. The only thing that's complicated is the sauce (which can burn), but so long as you keep an eye on it and stir it a lot you should be fine.
For those of you who for whom halibut isn't your 'cheap, always-on-hand' meat, you can use tilapia or another white fish, or chicken will also work nicely.

Serves about 6
Prep time--about 30-60 min, depending on whether you use canned/frozen veggies, and whether your meat is thawed.

MEAT

• About 2-3lbs thawed halibut (or chicken breasts/tenders/pieces)
• olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Breadcrumbs

Put about 1/4inch of water in the bottom of a baking dish (1/2" if using chicken since it will cook longer). Put the fish in the dish and shake a little olive oil onto the fish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and breadcrumbs. Put in the oven to bake (about 15-20 min for halibut, 30-45 for chicken, depending on size of pieces...just check it periodically)
Once the meat is in, start on the veggies.

VEGGIES

• 2 potatoes, chopped into 1/2in cubes (peel first if they have tough skins)
  
• 3/4 c peas
• 3/4 c chopped carrots (I used a frozen pea/carrot mix)
• other veggies if you prefer (asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, etc)

Put everything in a little water and steam it until soft/warm. (About 7-10 min should be plenty.) Once that's in, make the sauce. 

SAUCE (this is a homemade version of Costco's spinach-artichoke-parmesan dip, so you could use theirs, just warm it up and thin it with a little milk...but of course homemade always tastes better)

• 4Tbs butter
• 4Tbs flour
• salt, pepper, garlic powder (I did about 1/2tsp salt and 1 Tbs garlic powder...I don't measure.)
• 1 1/2-2 cups of milk (whole is best of course, or cream would be good...)
• 3/4-1 cup of grated cheese (parmisan is ideal, but I didn't have any so I used monterey jack and it was good)
• 2/3-3/4c chopped spinach (I used frozen)
• 1/2-2/3c chopped artichokes (I used canned)

Mix the butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat to make a rue. Be careful not to let it burn! Mix in spices. Slowly add about 1/4c of milk at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the cheese a little at a time, mixing often. Reduce heat to med-low. Add the chopped veggies and mix well. Let it sit on low heat if the other parts are not ready yet, otherwise bring it all to the table and serve immediately.

Serve the meat and veggies side by side, with the sauce poured over the top of everything.
It's pretty much awesome. All my kids liked it and the four-year-old asked for thirds.

Pitas

I got this recipe from ehow here, however it was lacking in specifics (such as how much yeast to use) so here is my modified/improved version. ☺
These are very simple and easy to make, but do require some patience. Plan to start them at least a couple of hours before you want to eat them.

1 cup warm water
1 pk yeast (2ish tsp)
1 tsp salt
2+ cups of flour

Put warm water into the bowl and carefully sprinkle the yeast over the surface, trying to make every grain get wet. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve the yeast. (I often let it sit for 10-15 min, just until it's a bit bubbly)
Add 1 tsp. salt to the yeast mixture. You may choose to add herbs at this point to flavor your pita. Mix until well incorporated.

Add 1 cup of flour and mix until batter cascades down the back of a spoon (or just until it's smooth but not terribly thick--you can use a whisk up to this point). Then, carefully mix in about 3/4 c. flour (you'll need to switch to a wooden spoon) until all the four is absorbed.

Gradually add more  flour 1/4 c. at a time until dough is no longer sticky. You many have to use your hands at this point.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes. Pour a small amount of oil into a bowl and toss dough in the bowl until lightly coated. (Really, do this, it's worth it.) Cover bowl and let sit in a warm place free from drafts for about 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size.

Punch down dough and knead a couple of times to work out air bubbles. Divide into 12 equal parts.

Dust each piece with flour and roll into circles about 6 inch diameter and 1/ 8 inch thick. Dust each side with flour again and set aside. Allow rolled dough to rest about 10 minutes.

Do NOT stack up the rolled-out pitas for their 10 minute rest. They will stick to each other like crazy! I just roll out a few at a time, setting them in a row on the counter, and as I cook each one, I roll another and stick it in its spot. DO make sure you make it into a ball before rolling it, otherwise you'll get some really weird shapes...

Heat pan on medium-low to medium heat. Allow to reach full heat before you start cooking.

Back off, don't touch it yet!!

Place a pita round on the skillet. When it begins to bubble, rotate it slightly.

NOW you can flip it!

Allow the pita to puff up completely before turning it over to cook on the other side for a minute.

Cool on wire racks.

Beef & Broccoli (in a crockpot)

I adapted this recipe from these two here and here (the links show a standard way to make it in a wok, but this is my crockpot version). My biggest complaint about the B&B I've usually gotten is that the beef is tough and chewy. Using a crockpot seemed like the obvious solution for this, and it works beautifully!
The first time I did this I put the broccoli in at the start with the beef and it turned to grey mush. Don't do that! Save it for the end like the directions say. Also, I found that this really only needed to go for about 4-5 hours, but I had put it in too early so ended up putting it on 'warm' for a few hours in the middle of the day to slow the cooking...it worked, but next time I'll just put it in later in the day. So this is not a leave-it-all-day recipe, but it can be put in in the early afternoon. ☺

[my apologies, I forgot to get a photo of this...but it looks awesome I promise!]

Cooktime--about 4-6 hours

Marinade:
1/3 c oyster sauce (don't try to substitute this, it really is the magic ingredient--you can find it in the Asian section of the grocery store)
1 Tbs Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1-2 tsp soy sauce
1/4-1/3 c rice wine vinegar (in the Asian section) OR rice wine OR cooking sherry (the recipes call for the wine/sherry, I didn't have it so I used the rice vinegar and it was fine. You could probably get away with plain white vinegar, but if you cook much Asian you'll want the rice stuff on hand anyway, so just get it!)
1 Tbs cornstarch (or 2 Tbs flour)
2-4 cloves minced garlic (or 1-2Tbs garlic powder)
1 thin slice of ginger root, shredded (or about 1/4 tsp powdered ginger)

3/4-1 lb beef. Ideally steak cut into strips (can be raw or leftover), but you can also use stew meat or pretty much any cut. I don't recommend leftover roast as it will shred rather than staying in nice chunks.
1 smallish onion, cut into strips
1 small head broccoli, cut up (or about 3/4 lb frozen florettes)

Mix up all the ingredients of the marinade. Put beef in the crockpot (I used a 4qt) and pour the sauce over it and stir around until the beef is well coated. Turn on low. After the first couple of hours, check in on it and see if it's getting done. The meat should be all browned though not thoroughly cooked at this point. Stir it around to keep the sauce distributed, and adjust the cooking temperature up to 'high' or down to 'warm' if you think it's going too slow/fast for when you want to serve dinner.
At about 90 min before dinner time, put in the onion and stir it all around.
At about 60 min before dinner time, put in the broccoli (or 40 min for frozen florettes). Stir it all around.

Serve over rice.

Eggnog Pie

 I got this recipe from allrecipes but of course I tweaked it a bit.We love this pie. Enjoy!

* 1 1/4 cups white sugar
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 cups eggnog
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
* 1 (9 inch) pie crust, uncooked (I used a deep dish pan and that was perfect, I think this would be too much filling for a regular 9inch pan)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Mix the sugar and flour together in a mixing bowl. Beat in the eggnog, eggs, and vanilla to make a smooth mixture. Stir in the butter. Pour into the prepared pie crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the custard is set, 45 to 60 minutes. (The original recipe says a shorter time, but I had to go this long, and most of the people who commented on the recipe said they had to cook it this long as well.) Yes, the top will get kinda dark, but follow the 'set up' guideline, not the color, and you'll get a good pie.

can you see how flaky that crust is? I'm lovin my coconut oil crusts!

Crockpot Omelet Casserole

I got this from a cookbook compiled from ladies at church, but I've modified it quite a bit since then. The original recipe was huge, so I've adapted it to serve about 6 people.
This has some 'western' ingredients, and we like them so we just do it this way...however I'm sure it would be good with olives, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, or whatever you like best in an omelet.
I didn't include a photo because the truth is this one isn't very pretty...the eggs especially end up looking quite weird. But it tastes great! It's convenient to be able to put it in before we go to bed, and then have a hearty breakfast waiting for us when we get up. We like to do it for Christmas morning.

• 2 cups of cubed potatoes (I like using red or gold, with the thin skins, or else peel them. Cut to about 1cm cubes. The original recipe called for using a bag of hash browns, if you do, we like 'country style' best)
• 1/2-3/4 lb pre-cooked meat (cubed leftover ham, sausage, etc)*
• 1 medium onion (about 1/2-3/4 c) chopped 
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped (about 3/4-1c, I often use frozen strips chopped up)
• 1-1 1/2 c grated monterey jack cheese
• 8 eggs
• 2/3 c milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

*the original recipe calls for ham. This last time we didn't have any though, so I used sausage and it was really good. The spiciness did permeate all the other foods, so the other flavors were not as clear...but it was still good!

I used a 4 qt crockpot

Chop all the ingredients. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the crockpot, followed by a layer of meat then onions, peppers, and cheese. Repeat the layering process two or three more times, ending with a layer of cheese.
In a separate container, beat the eggs, add the milk, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture around over everything in the crockpot, cover, and turn on low. Cook about 8-10 hours (we find it always gets done in the lesser time).