Recipe for Mother's Day

Carlene Duda

With Mother's Day just two weeks away, I wanted you to have another recipe to compliment the Orange Glazed Blueberry Scones from "Completely Breakfast" coming this summer '08. This is a must try. A perfect addition to complete your Mother's Day brunch.

Tex Breakfast Casserole

2 pks. (12 oz.) breakfast sausage links

9 eggs

3 c. milk

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. mustard

2 pkgs. (20 oz. each) shredded hash browns, refrigerated

1/2 c. sweet red pepper, diced

1/2 c. green onions, thinly sliced

2 c. (8oz.) cheddar cheese, shredded

2 c. salsa

Place sausage on a 15 x 10 baking pan. Bake at 375 F. for 15-20 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink, turning once; drain and slice into 1/4 inch coins. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard. Add the hash browns, sausage, red peppers, green onions, and cheese; mix well. Pour into a greased 13x9 baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F. for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. until set and golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with salsa. Serves 12-15.

Carlene got tagged!

Carlene Duda

I got tagged by Doug. I am suppose to give 7 facts about myself.
1. I have a twin sister. A good thing about being a twin is you always have a best friend. Bad thing about being a twin is being accused of being seen with another man at the fair. (It was my brother-in-law and we were holding the coats while my husband, twin sister and our 9 kids were on the rides). Thou shalt not judge!
2. I am a certified scuba diver. I love the water.
3. I am a member of a performing clogging group. My kids say it's embarrassing. Yet I can hear them yell from the audience, "go mom go".
4. I don't like cheesecake.
5. Met my husband at home after four years at Ricks and BYU. I should get my money back.
6. I have listened to over 262 books on tape since I started counting.
7. I have been to BYU Women's Conference 14 times. I live in Washington.

I tag
JoAnn Arnold
David Stitt
Vickie Hacking

A Family Calling

Carlene Duda
I am not trying to brag, however my husband and I have the best Calling in the Church. Every 2nd Saturday night of the month we get home from our calling usually around midnight. Our ears are ringing, feet swollen and head swimming from too much sugar.
We were called last December to be the Stake Youth Dance Coordinators. At first our reaction was, "is that really a calling?" We had one dance of on-the-job training and given an external hard drive of more than 17,000 songs and off we went.
Scott, my husband is the DJ. Ryan, 19 is in charge of equipment set up and song editing. Kyle, 17 and Carson 14, are told who to dance with by their mother who keeps an eye out from the stage of girls who are not being asked to dance. (At first they hated it, but they are good about it now, and a promise of cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Sunday morning. Oh, the recipe is in my book, Beyond Oatmeal) Sierra 12, is in charge of keeping the DJ and his assistants supplied with refreshments, and looking up approved song requests. I approve song lyrics and skirt lengths.
We are fortunate that Scott's job provides him with Satellite Internet on his lap top. This allows us to be connected to song lyric sites so we can read the words to any song the dancers request. Any request can be approved or disapproved in minutes.
We have brought the dances to a new level and the attendance is up. This calling has been a wonderful experience for our whole family. We are grateful for the time we get to spend together as a family and a great team. The best part has been teaching our children the value of good music. Not only about the words but also the context. Actually the best part is that the youth know the DJ always asks his wife to dance a wonderfully romantic slow song on the dance floor with them. We have great youth in this church. This is a calling making family memories.

Sneak Peek at Completely Breakfast

Carlene Duda

Here is a sneak peek at one of the new recipes in my new cookbook being released Summer 2008. In this book I have compiled a great collection of recipes to complete any morning menu. The perfect companion to my book Beyond Oatmeal.

Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, try one of my favorites.

Lemon-Blueberry Cream Scones

Blissfully sweet and a little tart, these lemon scones just say spring!

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1 tsp. grated lemon peel

1 1/3 cups cream

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt with a fork. Stir in blueberries and 1 tsp. lemon peel. Add cream all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

On a floured surface, gently knead dough until smooth. Pat dough out about three quarter inch thick. Cut with a round 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 15 minutes.