March Madness Kickoff

And let the 

begin!! Welcome to a new month. 
Look for a variety of themed foods, twists on old favorites, Lenten Specials (meatless meals) and don't be surprised to find a wee bit of shenanigans along the way. 

Get  a good start to your day by following this leprechaun below for a Random Act of Kindness.  

Contribute non-perishable items to your local food shelf.  

Another good start to the day 
Confetti Bacon Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole with a Tex-Mex Twist.
Cook's Notes: The best part about this dish is that it can totally be made ahead of time which is a major bonus. Take out of refrigerator and bring to room temperature before cooking. It's a great breakfast for entertaining filled with cheesy hashbrowns, eggs, chiles, green onions, red bell pepper with some Tex-Mex spices. Even if you aren't usually a fan of cottage cheese,  when added to the eggs it helps make this casserole moist and fluffy. You won't even know it's in there.
Recipe serves 8 and was adapted from the girlwhoateeverything.com

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
• 1- 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
• 3/4 cup diced sweet onions
• 1 cup diced mini red sweet peppers or red bell peppers  
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon each cumin or adobo , dry mustard and parsley flakes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican Four cheeses
• 1- 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese, reserve 1/4 cup
• 3 tablespoon diced green chiles, drained on a paper towel 
• 12 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled (about 12 slices)
• Snipped green onions 

Directions: 

• Thaw 4 cups frozen hashbrowns on a baking sheet.  
• Cook bacon, wipe pan of most of grease. 
• Saute onions and peppers in same fry pan.  
• Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
• In a blender add eggs and spices, mix well. 
• In a large bowl, add the thawed hash browns, cottage cheese, eggs mixture, peppers and onions, cheeses, green chiles, 1/2 of the bacon, Stir together well and pour into the prepared dish.
• Sprinkle with remaining bacon and scatter snips of green onion.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, add 1/4 cup cheese to top and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Remove from oven, cut into squares and serve.