The Wild Rose Blog Tour Welcomes PL Parker

As the holidays draw ever closer, I for one have started planning for the best bit - the Food! Today, I welcome PL Parker who's awesome enough to share with us not one but two family recipes. And they both sound truly yummy!

I'll let her tell you more about it...

Every year on Christmas morning, while the presents are being opened my father brings out several pans of what we’ve termed “Dad’s Breakfast Casserole.” He fixes it several days in advance and on Christmas morning, whoever is hungry dishes out a serving of this wonderful concoction and warms it in the microwave. It is a long-standing tradition and one that makes Christmas all the more special.

Dad’s Breakfast Casserole

Phase 1:
9 x 11 pan – spray with Pam
8 slices of bread cut into bite-sized pieces
1 ½ lbs sausage – browned & drained (I prefer less spicy but to taste)
¾ cup cheese grated (your choice but I prefer medium sharp Cheddar)
Layer bread, sausage, cheese
Phase 2:
Mix together:
4 eggs
2 ½ cups milk
½ tsp. salt
¾ tsp dry mustard
Pour over bread and sausage mixture and refrigerate over night.
Phase 3:
Next morning mix together:
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or creamy chicken soup if you prefer)
½ cup milk
2 cans mushrooms (drained and sliced)
Pour over the casserole and bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
(If you are a mushroom hater like my Mom, leave out the mushrooms
and stick with the creamy chicken soup – still wonderful.)


My grandmother was an absolutely wonderful cook, she worked as a pastry cook when I was little and every year at Christmas, she’d come up with something new and fun. One year she made Rice Crispie treats in the shape of snowmen and decorated their faces with little candies and served them on a stick. She made lemon meringue pies from scratch so absolutely wonderful, I can still taste them. Unfortunately, she didn’t keep recipes. Everything she made was in her head. She was so creative. I really miss her still, more so at Christmas. But:

She passed on her talent to my mother and each year we had to have Mom’s Oatmeal Cookies. These are cake-like cookies and so full of flavor, I’m going to have to make a batch when I get through writing this – YUM!

Mom’s Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup sugar
2 tbls sweet milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 cup lard
3 eggs
1 level tsp soda in ¾ cups hot water
2 cups oatmeal (quick cooking kind)
1 cup raisins or nuts (to your taste or omit if you don’t like)
Cream together sugar and lard
Add in the soda/hot water mixture
Add flour, cinnamon, cloves, salt
Add eggs
Add in the oatmeal and raisins/nuts.
Mixture should be really stiff – if not – add a little more flour or oatmeal.
Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for
15 minutes or until brown.

Thanks so much for being here today, PL. Now tell us a little more about yourself.

I am a mother to 3 grown sons, a grandmother to 1 sweet granddaughter--whose birthday just happens to be Christmas Day. I am married to my best friend and soul mate. I currently have published with The Wild Rose Press three novels, Fiona, Riley’s Journey and Aimee’s Locket, one shorter story, Heart of the Sorcerer, and two Free Reads, Prophecy’s Bride and Songbird. I am currently working on edits for two more novels, Absolution, and Into the Savage Dawn (sequel to Riley’s Journey). For more information (reviews, blurbs, cover art, places to buy), visit me at: http://www.plparker.blogspot.com/ or http://www.plparker.com/

Remember we're giving away super awesome prizes for commenting on this blog or any other Rose Tour Blog during December. Today, I'll be hanging out with Victoria Gray. Do stop by and say hi. See you there!