Breakfast For 150

There's nothing like starting the day out with a BANG!!  I was up really early in order to get my act together and my body over to the Merced Elks RV Park where we were cooking up the first of many Sunday Morning Breakfasts.

I arrived right on time with my trusty knife in hand to cut up all the fresh fruit we usually serve.  Little did I know, it was NOT the usual day.  There was NO fresh fruit, only five huge cans to open and no can opener that worked.  With one click at a time, it took the guys 30 minutes to open them and drain the juice before we could scoop it into cups.  I will be making a donation of can openers and tongs.

In the meantime, the men cooked the sausage, whipped up the pancake mix and began to cook the eggs while the Newbie lady tried to get the hash browns started.  I've done these many times ... they needed to be in the oven fifteen minutes ago.  I casually walked over to talk to the sausage cooker and surreptitiously jacked the temperature up to 500 degrees in an effort to get them finished by the time people arrived.   Being sneaky worked.

The best flapjack flipper in the area began his magic and we served over 150 people (normal is around 60) with just a few delays in between.  Add to that orange juice, bloody Mary's and coffee and you had a breakfast fit for the King of the Magic Kingdom.  Unfortunately I was so busy I forgot to take pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  It was so good I forgot I had eaten one pancake as a taste test and ate TWO more!!  So much for dieting yesterday!!

To make it even worse, I wanted to try the Instant Pot cheesecake everyone was raving about.  I figured to take it to Bingo on Tuesday night so I wouldn't eat it all.  It was easy to make, though I was not thrilled with the sour cream topping.  Everyone usually covers it up with loads of chocolate syrup, candy and whatever else fattening they can find.

Finally the taste test .... not bad, but with my sweet tooth wondering where the sugar went, I threw on some whipped cream.  It was good ... but my white chocolate cheesecake is better.  Still, I prepared it in about 40 minutes.  You can't beat THAT!!!  A little cherry topping would help a lot!!

While the cheesecake cooled in the fridge, I put myself in FIXING mode.  These cheap light fixtures have tiny metal clips that keep them in the ceiling, all of which are rusting and breaking.  I just stuffed it back in the hole until I can buy a replacement.  They are simple to change, even I can do it.

Since I put the kibosh on my gardener's use of RoundUp for killing several of my plants, it's a job I have to do myself.  Isn't that the way it is?  If you want it done right, do it yourself!!  My old sprayer sprung a leak, so I purchased this $100 beauty at the local lumber store.  Yup it's a VERY heavy 3 gallon sprayer when full, and I use up every bit of it in the back yard alone.  

Finally bushed, I sat in front of the TV and pretended to sleep so the puppies would leave me alone.  Surprisingly, it worked until my stomach started growling.  Dinner was another Instant Pot success.  The Honey Bourbon Chicken had no bourbon in it at all, just honey, soy sauce and some seasonings.  It was pretty tasty with the most tender chicken ... all done in under 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

I'm sure you have noticed my special dinnerware.  My 9 year old dishwasher has decided to throw temper tantrums.  If I set it on Speed Wash, nothing gets clean.  If I set it on Normal Wash, it runs for about three hours.  Since I'm terribly allergic to washing dishes, I've gone over to the dark side of paper plates and bowls.

While at the Elks Breakfast around all those men, I asked if one could please help me double check my brake lights on the truck, just to be sure they were still working from my little repair.  Of course they were NOT ... no brakes lights again.  So today's schedule includes taking the fixture apart once more, pulling all the bulbs out and hitting them with Nick Russell's magic Strikehold spray.  He used it while repairing all my garage light fixtures, so I bought a bottle just in case.  "In case" has arrived.