Baked French Toast

Saturdays are a hard cooking day for me. I really want the day off, but kidlets are still hungry. Often we just have fruit and popcorn but I had what I needed for this French Toast so I decided I could manage that much cooking. Definitely NOT healthy! But most everyone really liked it, I was the only with reservations--mostly because I was feeding a dessert to my family as a meal!

Changes I made: I didn't let it sit overnight. I followed one reviewer's suggestion to flip the bread over half way through cooking. That made the topping go to the bottom and stick to the pan instead of stay on the French Toast. If I do that again, I would not add the topping until after they were flipped. It would have been WWWAAAYYY better with my homemade French bread. The boughten version was too soft and a bit mushy. I also cut back to 6 eggs per one reviewer's recommendation mostly because I didn't have as many eggs as I thought I had and wanted enough to get me through the week. And personally, I would cut back on the milk and topping too. If I made it for a birthday breakfast, I would make it to the birthday person's desires, but if I ever make it for a real breakfast, I will tone down the fat content by quite a bit.

More notes: 6-11-11

This time I let it sit overnight and I used my homemade bread. The bread was much better, but I didn't notice too much difference from letting it sit overnight. I also didn't add the topping until halfway through the cooking, used milk instead of cream and only used 6 eggs. It was still quite mushy. I want to try it with about half the milk and maybe 4 eggs. Everyone gobbled it up as it was, but I still want to perfect it to my taste.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Since all the boys in the house were heading to Father's and Sons tonight, everyone had eating out plans. The boys at Dairy Queen at the bottom of the canyon and the girls at Panda Express (I used to like their food, but lately it has felt like such a waste of money.) I took advantage of the night off of cooking to make cookies. These are pretty good. My tips: freeze the peanut butter cups after unwrapping them so they don't melt as you push them in the cookie. Refrigerate or freeze after putting the candy in so they set up. To conserve dishes, measure all the cup ingredients in a 1/2 cup measure.

Muffin Mix

I bought Lehi Roller Mills muffin mixes for years (I bought 52 at a time so I could have enough on hand to have them once a week for a year!) Then I decided there were better ways to spend my money. But I like to have muffins in my breakfast rotations, however, I don't have a lot of morning time so I need a mix. I found this recipe for a bulk mix. We are plugging our way through it. It is decent, but not fantastic. If I make it again, I think I'll leave out the cinnamon and nutmeg out of the mix. I can easily add it if I want for each batch. There are also many different variations listed on the page with the recipes to change it up. Unfortunately I don't keep too many of those things on hand so changing it up takes planning and I am not a good breakfast planner (maybe that would help me!). Anyway, here is how we like this mix best.

For 12 muffins:

2 3/4 cups mix

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup water

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup craisins

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

2 TBSP flax seed

After they are in the muffin cup, sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.

I just found this recipe for a new mix. I'm posting it here so I can find it again. I'll let you know! (It will be a while though since I've still got quite a bit of that other left and only one container.)

Triple Berry Jam

I've been needing to make jam for over a month and I finally did it today. Here is the recipe I use. It is from my sister, Katie. I don't process it, I just put it in containers and put it in the freezer. I love this because I can make it any time of year. I use 9 cups of this fruit (from Costco) instead of what the recipe calls for:

Triple Berry Jam

4 cups frozen blueberries

2 1/2 cup frozen raspberries

2 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 pkg. pectin

8 cups sugar

Combine berries and lemon juice. Crush slightly. Stir in pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar and return to boil. Boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam (I skip this part). Process 5 minutes. Yield 6 pints.

Beef and Barley Soup--Thursday

This recipe originated from the recipe here. I still change the seasoning up every time, but this is now my guideline recipe instead of the other.

Beef and Barley Soup

1 Soup Bone or beef shank--I think they are the same thing?

8 beef bouillon cubes (I usually add a little more)

8 cups of water

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP ketchup (exactly)

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp thyme leaves

1/2 tsp pepper

Onion

Celery, with leaves (the leaves have a lot of flavor and it saves time not cutting them off)

Potatoes

Carrots

1/2 cup pearl barley

I like to cut off as much of the fat as possible off my meat so I painstakingly cut off fat and cut the meat into small pieces. However, you could just throw it in the pot and add your ingredients then remove later to shred meat if you would like. If you are a fat-cutter-offer, I recommend doing it while still mostly frozen.

Add meat, water, bouillon, seasoning, onion and celery to pan. Simmer. (I do mine most of the day.) About an hour before serving, add cut up carrots, potatoes and barley. (cut pieces small so you get lots of flavors in one spoonful)

Serve with bread or crackers. Last night we had it with this bread.

Chicken and Rice--Wednesday

I didn't mean to make a chicken meal again last night, but the recipe I had planned needed a 4 cheese blend that I forgot to buy so I had to find something else to do with my peppers and mushrooms. So you get a chicken and rice recipe instead of a Roasted Vegetables with Pasta recipe. I'm still sad. I was really looking forward to that!

This recipe came from the Century of Foods cookbook (RS cookbook from Southeast Idaho). I've made it many times and tweaked it so much it doesn't resemble much the "Chicken Kabobs" recipe it started as. It used to be one of my favorites, but I don't make it that much any more, probably because I have so many other recipes and am always looking for new things. But we still like it.

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic

3 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 TBSP pineapple juice

1/8 tsp pepper

few shakes cayenne pepper

2 boxes of mushrooms, quartered

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 onion slivered

4-5 pieces of chicken (or as many as you would like). I like thighs in this recipe. You can leave whole or cut into pieces.

Mix sauce. You can double the sauce if needed. Place all ingredients in a baking pan. Let marinate for about an hour. Bake at 350 for 45 mins-1 hour. Serve over rice.

Chicken Quesadillas-Fresh Salsa Tuesday

Years ago when I was on the Preston School District Technology team, we would go to lunch at Main Street Grill. I always ordered the Chicken Quesadillas. Loved them! Years later I tried making them. . .this is where I arrived:

Chicken Quesadillas

Use the following in amounts to your liking:

1-2 cups Chicken (of course grilled or broiled is yummy, but I'm lazy and just use a can)

1 1/2 cups Mushroom

1/2 cup Green onion

Fajita seasoning to your liking. I've always used a packet, but didn't have any yesterday so I used this recipe. Very good. I only used about half of the recipe (same is true with the packet). I don't believe I will be buying the packet again.

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon crushed chicken bouillon cube

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Saute mushrooms in about 1 TBSP butter until they cook down. Add chicken, seasoning and green onions. Mix well.

Layer tortilla, grated cheese, thin layer of chicken mixture, another layer of cheese and a tortilla. I do them with a folded tortilla so they are easier to turn. Cook until cheese melts.

Fresh Salsa 2

I like all salsas cut in small pieces, but the spicier it is, the smaller I like the pieces. This one I like chopped with a food processor. . . which makes this one quite quick!

3 tomatoes

1 red pepper

1/4 bunch cilantro

1 tsp garlic

2 jalapeños, one with seeds and membranes, one seeded

1/2 white onion

Salt to taste right before serving

lime juice to taste (maybe a TBSP)

Last night I only had one red pepper and I was saving it for another meal so I used a green one. My jalapeños must have been very spicy and so this was too kicky for my taste so I added about 1 TBSP vinegar to take the bite off the spice while it refrigerated. It also wasn't as sweet since I substituted out the red pepper so I added 1 tsp of sugar. Very yummy!

This meal would also have been way yummy with this rice, but I didn't think of that until just now. I'll try that next time I make these.

Cilantro-Lime Rice w/ Black Beans
2 cups uncooked rice
1 tsp butter
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp lime zest
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
Cook in rice cooker, in microwave or on the stove.
When cooked, mix together and add:
4 TBSP lime juice
4 tsp sugar

Stir in:
3 TBSP fresh chopped cilantro
2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

Breakfast--Baked Oatmeal

The most recent BYU magazine shared the blog/website Our Best Bites. It said they have over a million views a month. Where have I been?!? So we put them to the test this morning for breakfast with Baked Oatmeal.

I did do the butter-applesauce combo since we're watching Tom's cholesterol. I can see how it would be better with all butter, but my family is none the wiser. I also added nuts and flax seed.

My assessment: quick and easy--although it put me up a little earlier than normal to get the 40 minute bake time by 6:45. But everyone liked it, except one child and I think that had more to do with the slow, hard morning than the meal. Tessa ate it and asked if I would save the leftovers for her. (That's saying something in her book!) I thought it was good, not stellar, but something I'll make again especially since it got pretty good reviews with everyone. In the original recipe she likened them to oatmeal cookies---I thought it was more similar to a cake, texture wise at least. Also, I don't think I'll add nuts next time, while they were okay, I'll save them for a recipe they'll really be enjoyed in.

Sausage and Bean Soup--Monday Night

A few years ago when Deals to Meals was just starting out I subscribed for the free two week period. I knew it wouldn't fit my schedule to try to shop the deals they searched out for me---I really joined for the recipes using food storage items that they promised! Unfortunately most were just regular recipes but I printed them all out and filed them away. Last week I was going through them and decided on a few to try. It is actually one that maybe considered a food storage recipe.

Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup

(It says it is originally from a Weight Watchers Cookbook)

12 pkg. kielbasa, cut into 1/4 " rounds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 medium bunch kale, chopped (abt. 4 cups)

3 cups chicken broth

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 tsp dried basil

Place all ingredients in slow cook. Stir combine. Cover and cook on low until the vegetables are tender, 4-6 hours.

It was pretty good. If I make it again, I will add the kielbasa near the end of cooking. It seemed to lose flavor over the cooking time. I will also use a different bean than kidney---just personal preference. Tweaks I made: I added more vegetables more than called for--I like them and they made the soup go farther. I used about 6 carrots, 3 stalks of celery and 1 1/2 onion. I omitted one of the cups of chicken broth--I like less broth in soups, omitted the kale--didn't have any and forgot to add the basil. I also cut the kielbasa into small pieces (as well as the veggies); I like lots of flavors in one spoonful plus it reduces fighting over pieces of meat!

I also served fresh pineapple and French bread with this. Most left the table happy and satisfied.

FHE treat: fresh blackberry shakes (blackberries, ice cream, blend together)

New Bread Recipe

I've had this bread recipe in my file for quite some time and am just getting around to making it. I shouldn't have waited! I set it to be done Sunday morning. Thankfully I had a piece before leaving for ward council because there were only crumbs around when I got home. The 2nd batch I added some seeds (sunflower etc.) as recommended by one reviewer. I liked it, but everyone else said they like the first loaf better. Only change I made in my first loaf: added a little flax seed. Yum! This will definitely go into our rotation of breads.

Won Ton Salad--Sunday Dinner

For dinner today: corn on the cob, homemade rolls and Won Ton Salad. Yum!

Didn't ever get around to a dessert today. . .