what it is about the smell of eggs and cheese in the oven?

the chopped ham was on crazy discount at sun mart, but after i bought it, i wasn't sure what i would want to do with it. it was a toss-up between split pea soup or this potato casserole, and i chose the option that didn't require buying anything else.

i peeled and chopped two potatoes into coin shapes (and wanted a mandolin slicer for the first time in my life) and set them aside.

in a large mixing bowl, i stirred three eggs and a splash of milk, and then stirred in a handful of shredded cheddar and the rest of a jar of blue cheese (just the cheese, no oil), and the package of chopped ham. then i tossed the potatoes into the bowl to coat. then into a casserole dish, with a handful of shredded parmesan over the top. 425 degree oven until it looked and smelled so good i couldn't stand it, about 45 minutes.

this recipe has great potential for using up scraps from the fridge. with a tossed salad, it makes a nice brunch.

ali baba, you're my gyro

i hadn't gone to ali baba's in forever, but i picked up a gyro plate yesterday... and then got caught in post-game traffic on the way home, and was tortured by how good this smelled all the way there.

orange and yellow shredded carrots

organic to boot! these are showing up in some produce sections around town. i threw these in with the baked chicken and potatoes below, but they'd make an interesting variation on the old shredded carrot and raisin salad that you see around the holidays. might make it almost edible!

well, that was fun (and a dollar) while it lasted

hy-vee had stocked these day-old stuffed chicken breasts for a dollar apiece, as i wrote about here and here, but now they're up to $2 ea. which is still pretty cheap, but it's no longer in guaranteed weekend rotation.

these are the "santa fe" style. here, i baked four in a casserole dish, along with some chunks of potatoes, shredded and carrots and chopped onions-- i covered those with salsa and cheddar cheese. 350 degrees for 45-60 min.

sshhh... halloween brownies will be served in a thanksgiving context

there are sales on candy after halloween... and there are also sales on cookie dough. these were $1.50 a package, which was less than half-price.

expiration date: 12/14/2008. the packaging says halloween but the brownies themselves are regular brownies with caramel-swirled chocolate chips. so i bought a couple packages to have on hand in case there's a last-minute, thanksgiving-themed opportunity later this month. the day before thanksgiving at the office will do...

bacon-wrapped chicken breasts, stuffed with cheese and jalapenos

again for a dollar at the 70th & pioneers hy-vee.

i baked these with some of the last produce from last weekend's farmers' market. the chicken went into a casserole dish with some danvers carrots and some brussels sprouts, and a dash of chicken broth. baked at 375 for about an hour, covered for the first half-hour.

falling back an hour, taking out the farmers' market

so i couldn't go to the farmers' market this morning, since there was no farmers' market.

but i could get a half-price day-old le quartier pastry at the mill, because the bakery was finally getting a weekend off-- since there was no farmers' market. and there won't be another one until the spring season.

also, election season is over on tuesday. don't forget to pay a visit to the polling booth while you can.