Brinner Remix (and a recipe for breakfast pizza)

At Las Casa Darcy, brinner is a regular go-to on the weekly meal plan.

Brinner * Breakfast foods that are so scrumptious, but no one really has time to make them before rushing off to work, so they make for delicious, inexpensive dinner options instead!

A couple of weeks ago, we served a "Brinner Remix" at one of our weekly sibling dinners. We gorged on a Pancake Bar and experimented with a new recipe, Breakfast Pizza.

Pictured below: Some of the yummiest toppings for your family's Pancake Bar:

strawberries

raspberries

blackberries

bananas

chocolate chips

peanut butter (not picuted)

butter & syrup - duh (not pictured)

Mr. Darcy is the Flapjack King. 

No, seriously, I've never loved anyone's pancakes more than his.

Because gluten does weird things to my body, I shy away from it as much as I can. Have you ever tried Pamela's gluten free baking mixes? SO yummy! Like, we love this pancake mix more than any others! (Pamelas is sold at Publix, Kroger, & Whole Foods.)

And for the experimental recipe... It was so good. I mean ridiculously good.

But after you see the ingredients, how would it not be? (And soooo easy.)

Yes, of course I'll share the recipe with you...

Breakfast Pizza:

Ingredients:
1 lb. sausage, browned
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can white sausage gravy
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
10 oz. fancy shredded hashbrowns
8 eggs, scrambled
Publix multi-grain pizza dough

Idea:
We didn't add bacon, but that would've been yummy, too.

Directions:
Prep pizza dough - add flour, stretch, flip... You know the drill.
Brown sausage in a stovetop pan (do not over cook. This will cook more in the oven.)
Chop the green pepper and onion.
Scramble the eggs (soft scramble- they'll cook more in the oven.)

Layer the pizza in this order:
sausage gravy
eggs
hash browns
sausage
onion
green pepper
cheese (cover it!)

Bake the pizza at 425 for 15-20 minutes, and voila!

This is not the healthiest recipe, but it's comfort food at its finest!

What other toppings will you try? Any family breakfast favorites that would be good additions?

This Guy.

This guy brightens my entire day just with his smile.

This guy makes me laugh until tears are streaming down my cheeks.

This guy is my teammate in all things.

This guy is my biggest cheerleader.

This guy loves me better than I deserve.

This guy is the absolute best part of me.

He is my best friend. My husband. My love.

I adore him.

Love someone today. 

And tell them that you do.

Recipe: Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

Friends, if you are looking for something delicious for dinner- something without a ton of prep time but the flavor to become a family favorite- I have a recipe for you. It's a remix on a classic favorite:

Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

'Nuff said, right?

I first had this amazing dish when my friend, Jenny, made it for for our small group, and I HAD to get the recipe. I think I've made it three times since then! 

Here are the players:

12 oz. lasagna noodles

1 lb. sausage (either Italian or just mild sausage)

10 oz. frozen spinach (thawed)

1 c. shredded mozzarella 

1/2 c. shaved parmesan 

2 c. shredded cheddar

1 1/2 jars alfredo sauce (yes, you can use canned)

15 oz. ricotta

1 egg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Soak the noodles in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, brown the sausage.

Drain the noodles and set aside.

Drain sausage. Add spinach, alfredo sauce, salt and pepper.

In another bowl, combine the egg and Cheddar, then add the ricotta and parmesan cheeses. Mix well.

In an ungreased 9x13 baking dish, layer 1/3 of the sausage mixture, 1/3 of the noodles, and top with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers two more times. Top with extra mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Serves 8-10.

Notes: Barilla makes a lasagna noodle that does not require boiling and layers without soaking. Jenny says these noodles work just fine!

Also, I normally prep the lasagna the night before, so once we get home from work, I can just pop it in the oven. So delish!!!

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think! And I'll pass your compliments along to Chef Jenny. :)

Home: Living Room Redo

I'm a gal who loves change. 

Combine that with my love for interior design, and I'm happy as a peach by simply moving around a couple picture frames. 

Because of this, Mr. Darcy is used to coming home and finding decor in new arrangements throughout the house.

Due to the fact that we currently rent our town home, we are unable to paint or do any "major" DIY design changes. However, a couple weeks ago, we sold our old couch and purchased some new-to-us furniture. Rather than just swapping out the couches, The Hubs and I decided to flip the entire room.

On a Saturday afternoon, we both sketched out our ideas for new furniture arrangements, and then we presented our ideas to each other. The Hubs impressed me with a couple good ideas, and we combined our efforts to fully maximize our living room space.

Well, what do you think?!

Click here to see what the room looked like when we first moved in.

Man! We didn't realize how huge this living room was until we moved our furniture around.

Moving the TV above the fireplace was one of the best space-savers. Also, it is much more conducive for movie nights with family/friends.

This red sofa is my favorite- it's so long and so deep. It's literally the perfect napping conch.

Jon calls this his "Man Chair". (No seriously, he kicked me out of the chair so he could practice his bass playing skills.)

We just love this large Ikea coffee table, given to us from some sweet friends. It was the perfect addition, and it the second shelf houses our laptops and my Real Simple magazines perfectly.

Our teal flea-market-find now houses all of the electronics. And holla- my record player is now back in motion! The sheer curtains also hide any cords from the TV to the outlet. (Ain't nobody got time for cords hanging out all over the place.)

This gallery wall is one of my favorite additions to the room. More about this detail to come!
These two white chairs form a quaint reading nook, of which I am currently blogging from (since Mr. Darcy kicked me out of his man chair).


It felt so great to take the time to sketch the room, and use the best of both of our ideas to maximize the space. It was a total team effort!

We love our new-to-us furniture, and this room is now our favorite room in the house. In the mornings, I love to just sit in this room and prepare my mind for the day.

So, whether it's rotating all the furniture in your space, or merely swapping out a few accessories, I challenge you to change something in your home decor. The freshness may inspire you in more ways than one!