Crockpot Strata and London Fog Lattes
Do you ever have one of those busy weekends where you are crazy on the go and want a tasty meal first thing in the morning but you won’t have the time to actually make anything? Well luckily someone created crockpots and I figured I’d try and use mine for something besides dinner for a change. So go ahead and call me Sarah Jessica Parker in The Family Stone because I made a breakfast strata this weekend in using the crockpot.
My fiancé and I were busy all weekend working a booth for our Rodeo organization at our local Pride. It was supposed to be a hot weekend and I didn’t want to start both days by standing over the stove first thing in the morning so I jumped around online for some crockpot breakfast ideas and took some bits from here and there and ended up making my own version of what moms on TikTok were calling a breakfast strata.
Ingredients:
12 Eggs
1 Pound Bacon
1 Pound Breakfast Sausage
2 Cups Shredded Cheese
32 oz Bag: Frozen potatoes (I did southern hash browns which were cubed. If I do it again I would do normal shredded hash brown, the cubed did not have a great texture the second day)
28 oz can Rotel: Drained
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Light Sour cream
Seasonings: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper (Measure by vibes)
I cooked up the sausage and bacon the night before and kept them in the fridge until I assembled everything Friday night.
-Spray down your crockpot with cooking oil
-Do two layers:
Hash browns, sausage and bacon, cheese, drained rotel. Then repeat.
-In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sour cream, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
-Once combined, pour your egg mix over your scramble in the crockpot.
-Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
It was a solid dish but I would highly suggest making it for a large group or cutting the recipe in half. It did not reheat that well- the consistency was watery and a little spongy the day after. Next time I will definitely do shredded hash browns instead of the cubed and I will probably ditch the Rotel or drain it better. I only included it because my fiancé loves tomatoes but they made the dish very watery. I’d say all together it was a 7/10 and will make it again but maybe cut the recipe in half or maybe add some taco seasoning or salsa.
Also- this weekend I rediscovered (more like remembered I had all the ingredients to make) one of my favorite drinks that is crazy easy to make at home, a London Fog Latte! I was first introduced to them about 6 years ago when my fiancé and I started going out when he quickly learned the express lane to my heart was coffee or any kind of fun drink. And while it’s not an exact replica of the Starbucks he used to bring me on a semi-regular basis, after some experimenting I finally nailed a decent copycat recipe a few years ago. It’s really simple: -2 bags Early Gray Tea, boiled/steeped in about a cup of water -1/2 cup milk (I use soy milk) -About a tablespoon lavender syrup. I say about because a little goes a long way and I don’t love my lattes extremely sweet. So start small and add more if you want.
Make your tea and be sure it steeps for 5 minutes (early gray takes a while, that’s why I hate ordering it at Starbucks because they wait for the full 5 minutes and I feel guilty holding them up). Throw in your milk and syrup, stir or froth to combine and boom, you’re done! I know some people add in vanilla extract but again, too sweet for me. I also use Torani sugar free lavender syrup and I usually have luck finding it and Marshalls or TJ Maxx.
All in all, it was a solid weekend. The rediscovery of the latte made up for the almost perfect breakfast. Plus I ran in to an old coworker and got to catch up with them at Pride and I was so glad I went. We got some people genuinely interested in the next Rodeo in August- I think our objective of bringing more Gay Rodeo to Tulsa is slowly trying to catch on! After all the excitement, I spent Sunday night cuddled up with the dogs and catching up on Dutton Ranch and the most recent episode of Drag Race All Star's.