Everybody Eats: Homemade breakfast can keep your life sunny when its cold

I started watching Jerry Seinfeld's web series 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" recently. I wasn't a huge 'Seinfeld' fan when the television series was on the air, so I can't explain why the concept of Jerry Seinfeld driving around with various comedians appeals to me. A few friends shared episodes on their Facebook walls and I decided to see what the fuss was about.

Two hours and six episodes later, it's safe to say I was hooked. I also got all of the Christmas decorations put away, so points for productivity.

The basis of the show is exactly what the title suggests. Seinfeld begins each episode describing the car he'll be driving that day. He then picks up his guest and they go for coffee, talking about anything and everything during their time together. As someone who has met friends for coffee many times, that is the only part of the show I can relate to and yet it's still entertaining.

One piece of advice from these conversations has stuck with me since watching the show. It came from the first episode of season six featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Quoting her mother, Louis-Dreyfus told Seinfeld the key to happiness was always having something to look forward to. It could be a big something, like a vacation, or a little something, like a new episode of your favorite TV show.

I love that. Short, simple and so true. It's so easy to get down this time of year. The rush of the holidays are over. Even my birthday has come and gone. It's dark and gray outside most of the time, and don't forget cold. So many people are counting down the days until spring, but we live in Iowa. Blizzards in April are not impossible.

Rather than late the woes of winter get me down, I've decided to focus on the little things coming up to keep life sunny when the outside is not. I started on a Monday — quite the challenge, but I was ready for it — making the first day back to work and school a little better with a homemade breakfast. My family knows this won't become a regular thing, but for one morning, it was nice to serve something hot that wasn't a Pop-Tart.

SAUSAGE, EGG AND CHEESE BREAKFAST ROLL-UPS

3 eggs

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

8 fully cooked breakfast sausage links

4 slices (sandwich-size) Cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, beat eggs. Reserve 1 tablespoon beaten egg for brushing on tops of crescent rolls. Scramble remaining eggs.

Unroll dough onto work surface; separate into 8 triangles. Cut cheese slices in half; place 1 half on each triangle. Top each with spoonful of scrambled eggs and 1 sausage link. Loosely roll up triangles as directed on can; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Brush reserved beaten egg on top of each crescent. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: www.tablespoon.com