Happy Mother's Day!

Here's the card I made for my mom this year -

This morning my husband and I will join my brother and his wife at my parents' house for Mother's Day Brunch. My grandmother will be there, as will my aunt Sharon (my dad's sister). Aunt Sharon has been here about a month staying with my grandmother after her latest fall. This time she fractured her pelvis and her hip. I don't see much of my dad's side of the family anymore - the majority of them still live in Indiana. I think I was a young teenager the last time I was there. At any rate, it will be nice to see aunt Sharon. We recently connected on facebook. I'm also now friends with my cousin Heidi (Sharon's daughter). Sharon's kids were teenagers when my brother and I were little, so we were never close to them. Good things can come from Facebook I suppose!

I'm making a South Beach Diet friendly broccoli cheese casserole. Thanks to Kalyn's Kitchen - my new favorite place for recipes!

Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Casserole - Original Recipe for 8-12 servings

18 eggs
1/4 cup milk or half and half
2 tsp. Spike seasoning
fresh ground black pepper to taste
4-5 cups fresh broccoli flowerets
1/2 cup grated low-fat swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated low-fat mozarella cheese
1-2 cups grated low-fat grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees. Spray a glass 10 X 14 casserole dish with nonstick spray. Cut broccoli into flowerets about 1 inch across. Put broccoli into pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils and broccoli turns bright green (less than 5 minutes) immediately drain broccoli into colander.

While broccoli cools, break eggs into mixing bowl. Add milk or half and half, Spike seasoning, and black pepper and beat eggs until ingredients are well combined.

Put drained broccoli into casserole dish. Sprinkle cheeses over broccoli. Pour eggs over broccoli-cheese, then use a fork to gently stir so that broccoli and cheeses are evenly distributed throughout the eggs.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until top is slightly browned and eggs puff up slightly.

My mom is the best. I probably don't tell her often enough just how much I appreciate her and all that she has done for my all my life. She's finally going to retire from the public school system this year. I hope I get to see her more often now that she won't be working every day. My mom does EVERYTHING. She sews, she does needlework, she has a green thumb, she cooks and bakes, she's a great shopping partner, she's creative, she's beautiful, she's one of my best friends. In January of 2003 my husband was in a rather bad accident at work (1500lbs of drywall fell on him). I was only 3 months into a new job, she had a zillion hours of sick time and she was the one that took time off work to stay home with him and take him to a million doctor's appointments. She and my dad let us move into their master bedroom for a month until he was out of a wheelchair. Our 1940s cottage didn't have doorways wide enough for the chair and our small bathrooms were a nightmare. She also did all the "nurse" stuff that I couldn't stomach after his multiple surgeries. Blood really doesn't make me squeamish but I could NOT clean and redress everything - I think the staples freaked me out the most, the stitches weren't much better. She just *did* it. Must be a mom thing. I'm not a mom, but i'm well aware of the "super powers" that mom's have...so to all the amazing super moms out there - enjoy your day! You deserve it!

On that note, I have a casserole calling.