French Toast Casserole

So you might be wondering... just fruit before a full day of drinking? That's what I thought too... ludicrous. We need something of substance!

I made this recipe, had one bite, and was hooked. It's easy, portable, and you can make it the night before so it doesn't get in the way of your horrible drinking habits. Sounds like my kind of recipe.

Here's what you'll need:

-a loaf of french bread or challah bread, cubed
-1/2 cup of butter
-1 cup of brown sugar
-1 tsp of cinnamon
-1.5 cups of milk
-5 eggs

First things first, cube up your french bread. It'll make a mess using the good crusty bread, but it absorbs so much more of the egg mixture that you'll definitely want to just go for it.


Butter up a 9 x 13 ish inch pan.


Place half of your bread in the bottom of the pan.


Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle half of it over the bread layer.



Layer the last of the bread on top of that, then sprinkle the rest of the sugar mix on the very top.


Measure out the milk in your measuring cup, add in the 5 eggs and the vanilla extract directly into the measuring cup


andddd WHISK


Now pour this all over top of the casserole.


Cover with tin foil or plastic wrap and let it sit and soak overnight. The next day, just pop it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Take it out and uncover, then cook for an additional 15 minutes to brown up the top. Hollllyyyy cow. Serve it with some maple syrup. Die.

I don't have the sweet finished product because we went and ate it too fast. But let's just say...this picture sums it up.


Sorry John, I had to.

Happy St. Patty's day!

<3
Courtzilla

Balsamic Fruit Salad

Simple, easy, fast, delicious, and healthy. Is there a better way to start off an entire day of drinking?? Today starting at dawn is U of Illinois' Unofficial, a crazy celebration centered around green shirts and a free for all drunk fest. The best times to see it are from 8am to about 2 am when everyone passes out, then ralleys at 8pm to go at it again. The breakfast of champions usually includes kegs and eggs, and to throw probably the only fruit or vegetable these people are going to eat all day, I made some fruit salad!

This ain't your grandma's fruit salad. It's got a couple unique twists.

You'll need:

-1 case of strawberries (is that a pint? i have no idea)
- 2 smallish things of blueberries
- 1 smallish thing of raspberries.
- 1/4 cup of white sugar
- 2 Tablespoons of aged balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper - sounds weird, but TRUST me

Man I sound so technical today. Smallish thing? I hope you guys know what I'm talking about.

Alright first off wash all your fruit, cut up the strawberries, and combine it in a medium sized bowl.



Add the sugar...


Add the balsamic vinegar and pepper....


Mix... and VOILA!!


You are instantly a gourmet chef! This is good if you let it sit for like an hour for the sugar in the fruit to break down... it's even BETTER if you leave it over night. It makes this transcendant syrup... holy cow. Know what this syrup could take the place of? Grenadine. Helloooo tequila sunrises. Delicious, and so easy!

Have a safe Unofficial, you nuts.

Enjoy!

Courtzilla

Throw It In Lasagna

I have a weakness. Not many people are aware of it, but I'm going to share it now. I....I....I love Italian food. You shove a plate of pasta in front of me and I'll pretty much do anything you want. Which is why when I made this, I proceeded to make a lasagna big enough to serve 12. I currently have 6 pieces in my freezer. Hello, lover.

This lasagna is not authentic by any means, but it's pretty easy, and pretty dang scrumptious. You won't have to pick up too many ingredients for this one - most of the fixin's are pretty standard pantry items if you cook at all. Shall we get started?

You'll need:


-1lb ground beef (or turkey)
-1lb ground pork (or italian sausage)
-couple cloves of garlic
-oven-ready lasagna noodles
-2 cans tomato paste (the lil' guys)
-2 cans whole tomatoes (or diced tomatoes...or stewed tomatoes...or fresh tomatoes...are you seeing what I mean by throw it in lasagna?)
-italian seasoning, or whatever you have on hand (basil, parsley, oregano)
-about 14 slices of mozzarella cheese (or grated cheese...)
- 3 cups of cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese - just as delicious!)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, then more for the top of the lasagna

Let's get assembling.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Start browning your meat over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Throw in the garlic too to get that flavor cookin'.


In the meantime, we can make the cheese layer! In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 3 cups cottage cheese, 2 beaten eggs, and 2 teaspoons of italian seasoning.


Now MIX!


It's that easy folks.

At this point your meat mixture should be browned, so go ahead and add the tomatoes, tomato paste, a pinch of salt and 4 tablespoons of Italian seasoning. I used 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1 tablespoons of oregano, and because I'm obsessed with fennel seed, 1 tablespoon of that. Makes it taste reallll Italian-like. Mix it all together until they get to know each other.


Assembly time!

First, you need a layer of noodles. Just a heads up, I used a 9x13 pan for this. It makes a TON of lasagna, but you can freeze it so no worries.


Then, lay down 1/2 your cottage cheese mixture. Try and get it pretty even, unlike this crap job I did. No big deal guys.



Now, lay out your cheese slices/shredded cheese. It'll use about 7 slices on each layer. I only had 10 slices total. Way to count, Courtzilla. Watch how I epically messed this up.


Oh it get's better, wait til the next cheese layer.

Then, meat layer! Use about 1/2 of your meat-y tomato-y goodness.


Now, repeat! Noodles...



Cottage cheese...



Mozzarella layer... with shredded Monterrey Jack because apparently counting slices of mozzarella when you're at the grocery store is for winners.


Talk about not traditional.

More MEAT.


Then, top with grated parmesan.

Now...bake it at 350 degrees for about 30minutes, or until the top is bubbly and beautiful.

And then... AND THEN....


Feeding frenzy. The best part is I have 6 more slices of this in the freezer to eat. *DIES*

Enjoy!

<3 Courtzilla