An update and some random things…

1. Zippy Eggs. Success! Success! They looked nice in the baking dish. They arrived at MOPS piping hot, thanks to my Pyrex Portables casserole transporting system–a fancy bag with a microwave insert. Within minutes of its unveiling, Zippy Eggs were history. I sampled some, and I thought it wasn’t too shabby.

2. Lee has been on a quest to bake a perfect loaf of bread. He has gone through the trials and tribulations of sourdough–he made sourdough starter. It sits like a science experiment in the back of our refrigerator. Growing, reproducing, building small villages, fighting in wars and holding elections. The entire cycle of human history is happening in a jar in my refrigerator. That thing literally pops and bubbles! It is scary and it makes me nervous–all that life in the fridge. The sourdough experiment hasn’t gone 100% well, but Lee hasn’t let that stop him from learning more about breadmaking. Last night he decided to bake a normal loaf of bread, no sourdough starter involved.

The loaf looked very nice and breadlike. Football-shaped. We were excited to see it rise like it was supposed to–it was going well. It smelled heavenly while in the oven. Once done baking, we let it sit for a few minutes, but it was a torturous wait. I had the butter poised on my knife forever, it seemed…Lee sliced off the heel, I passed on that (I don’t eat heels). He sliced the next piece, and I dug in. Yum! Something was odd, though. Something was floating around in my mouth. Hard. Smooth. Hard. What could it be? I took the mystery object out of my mouth–it was white! I felt around with my tongue and noticed that one of my molars was chipped! On bread! All those years of chomping on ice finally caught up to me, I guess.

It doesn’t hurt at all. It just feels strange. Lee thinks I need to call the dentist. I don’t want to. I would rather stay at home and look up the Latin word for “fear of dentists” online. Ahhh, it’s “dentophobia”…I should also look up “fear of the telephone”…It’s “telephonobia”. Put it together and you get “dentotelephobia”.

Yesterday, after reading my confession that I suffer from Snack Stress, Lee (hubby) said “you really think you are going to kill someone with your casserole?”

I said of course not! Nobody is going to die from something called “Zippy Eggs”. What an embarrassing obituary that would be. I simply tried to express my irrational fear of cooking for people. How very deep that fear is…

Perhaps I should have said that I simply wrap a lot of myself into the things that I do.

Right now, Zippy Eggs are resting comfortably in my refrigerator, waiting to bake for 45-60 minutes in the oven.

Here is the recipe for Zippy Egg Casserole:

1 pound pork sausage
1 (5.5) ounce package seasoned croutons
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
8 eggs
1 pint half-and-half cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon minced onion
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place sausage in large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.

2. In a lightly greased 9X13 inch baking dish, arrange the croutons in a single layer. Layer with Cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, and pepperjack cheese. Top with cooked sausage.

3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, half-and-half, milk, mustard, onion, salt, and pepper. Pour into the dish over the sausage. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

4. The next morning, bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 60 minutes. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.