Western Omelet

In preparation for a family reunion we've been asked to gather some crock pot recipes. Here are some that I have found on allrecipes. While I haven't tried them they still look amazing!

Western Omelet

- 1 (2 lb) package of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
- 1 lb diced cooked ham
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, cut into small-ish pieces
- 1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
- 12 eggs
- 1 c. milk
- salt and pepper to taste

Lightly grease a 4 quart or larger slow cooker. Place 1/3 of the hash brown potatoes in a layer on the bottom. Layer 1/3 of the ham, onion, green pepper, and cheese. Repeat layer two more times. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the contents of the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.

It sounds like it would make a great easy breakfast if you have family or guests coming over. Let me know if you try it out!

Source: allrecipes.com

Horchata

Hello! I apologize for the long delay. I have been super busy trying to pack up since we're leaving for Ireland in t-19 days. Yes, I will be living in Ireland for 8 months. I'm so excited and hopefully will pick up some new recipes there!

For those of you who don't know, I adore Mexican food. It's so good! Here is my favorite drink, horchata. My friend Cidne is legit, she's half Guatemalan. I'm literally copying and pasting this recipe from their cooking blog, here is the link to the original.

This tastes best on a hot, summer day. It's not for everyone, but I grew up drinking it... The porportions are very vague so you can easily alter it to your own preferences. Some people like it really watery, while others like it very sweet.

2 cups rice

water

cinnamon

sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

lots of ice

Place rice in pitcher and add water until it completely covers the rice. Liberally sprinkle with cinnamon and let it soak for at least an hour. It's best if you can do this the night before and let it soak overnight.

When you're ready to make the drink, pour everything into a blender and blend away. Then run it all through a strainer to eliminate as much as the rice pulp as you can. My mom doesn't bother with this step, but I think it's worth it. Otherwise it's very grainy at the bottom. I just use a normal strainer, but I've heard cheese cloth works really well. I'll get back to you if I try it that way...

Once your water is strained and in the pitcher, add some vanilla extract. Now the water that you've got now is concentrated horchata. You will need to dilute this AND add sugar. How much sugar and how much water is up to you and what you like. I wish I could be more specific but I just eyeball it and every pitcher is different.

Refrigerate and serve with ice. The drink will go sour after a couple of days so drink as much as you can while it's fresh.

(Source: Cidne W. from The Tasty Spoon and Fork.blogspot.com)