French Toast Bread Pudding

I try to make something special for breakfast every year on the first day of school. This year it was sausage cheese balls and French Toast Bread Pudding. Both recipes are easy to put together the night before.  It's nice to have everything ready to go for the first day of school so I can spend my morning taking pictures. :)

Yes, I know this isn't exactly the healthiest breakfast out there, but it sure is delicious for a special occasion!

Famous French Bread Pudding
1 loaf white or wheat bread
1 quart half & half
6 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease a glass pan.  Break bread into small bite-sized pieces and place into pan.  Beat eggs and egg whites in a large bowl.  Add half & half, sugar and cinnamon; mix well.  Pour over bread.  Top with powdered sugar and additional cinnamon.  Slice butter and place on top.  Sprinkle chopped pecans over all.  Cover pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes; uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  If you want to make it even more decadent, serve with whipped cream and caramel sauce on top!

You can also put everything together the night before, cover with foil and keep it refrigerated over night.  Then bake as directed.

Do you make a special breakfast for the first day of school?

Chocolate Stout Cake Fail

I don't know what made me decide to bake a cake on the hottest day of the year so far (and when I say hot I mean 100 degrees in the shade). Well, yes I do. It was the beautiful pictures and descriptions of Leila's recipe and the fact that we had a stray bottle of beer in the fridge that had been languishing there for months.

I happened to have all the ingredients on hand so out came the KitchenAid.

I baked it in a heavily buttered bundt pan (bundt pans always make me nervous).

It fell a little in the middle (not sure what causes that).  I was disappointed, but I figured that part would be on the bottom once I turned the cake out, so it wouldn't matter all that much.

Well, guess what?  The cake stuck even though I took all the precautions like letting it cool before trying to turn it out!  The bottom (top?) part stayed in the pan.  Not cute at all!


But I decided to forge ahead and make the ganache frosting anyway and hope the cake would be edible.  I didn't have any heavy cream so I used this instead and left out the coffee granules.

 

The cake isn't exactly presentable, but it actually tastes good!  I feel redeemed!

My girls said strawberries went really well with it too.

 

So I guess the moral of this story is that even someone who bakes often, like I do, can mess up a cake. And sometimes it tastes better than it looks.

Chicken Curry

I love curry, especially the hot Thai variety!  My family, however, doesn't like it too hot, plus I don't always have the time (or the long list of ingredients) for such recipes.  So I make a quick, easy and mild chicken curry that can be adapted to whatever I have on hand.  It's a really quick one dish week night supper for when we want a change of pace from the same old thing.  I can have it on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Here are the ingredients I used this time. Remember you can change them up. I actually like mine best without any meat, but the troops would revolt if I served it that way.

About 2 cups of chopped, cooked chicken
5 or 6 diced red potatoes. Use more or less depending on how many other ingredients you have.
baby carrots (about half a bag)
sliced fresh mushrooms (I just used a couple for my own bowl - I love mushrooms)
1/2 onion, chopped
a couple of teaspoons of chopped fresh garlic
You could also add celery or chopped bell pepper...lots of possibilities.
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (yes, you can use regular yogurt)
olive oil (a tablespoon or 2)
salt and pepper to taste
curry powder 1 to 2 tablespoons
cilantro leaves and/or diced tomatoes for garnish

Saute the vegetables with the garlic in olive oil for about 10 minutes until crisp tender, except the mushrooms.  You'll want to wait until a little later to add them as they don't need as much time to cook.  Add the broth and the chicken and simmer for a few minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, stir together the curry powder and the yogurt.  Turn heat to low and gently fold in yogurt mixture.  Don't let it boil or the yogurt will curdle instead of being smooth and creamy.  Serve over rice.  If you're really in a hurry, Minute Rice is fine or if you want to be more authentic, serve over basmati or jasmine rice.  Top with cilantro and diced tomatoes.  To add a little heat you can stir in some cayenne pepper with the curry powder.

School Morning Breakfast

 Make ahead breakfasts are perfect for school mornings. You can do all the work the night before and send the kids off with plenty of fuel for a busy morning of learning.

Baked oatmeal is so easy to mix up, cover and refrigerate on a school night and then all you have to do is pop it in the oven the next morning.

I make several variations on this recipe.
Here's the original:

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in dried cranberries. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes. 

Instead of cranberries this time I chopped up a couple of apples. I thought that was perfect for back-to-school.  I usually bake it in a 9"x9" pan and I cut the sugar back to 1/2 cup.  It makes 6 servings and is a great way to fill up hungry teenagers.

Fiesta Lasagna

I made Fiesta Lasagna for my family this weekend.  I got the recipe years ago from a friend and for some reason never made it until now.  It's a fun  and easy Tex-Mex take on lasagna. It's not spicy at all and my kids loved it. One of them picked out the avocado slices, but still liked it other than that.  Maybe your family will like it too!

Ingredients:
1 can Ro-tel
1 can (2 1/4 oz.) sliced black olives
8 flour tortillas (8 inch) torn into pieces
3 cups cooked chicken
2 large avocados, sliced (you can dice them if you like that better)
2 cups sour cream
sprinkle chili powder
3/4 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions:
Layer 1/2 of each ingredient in a greased 13"x9" pan as listed. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. This serves 6 to 8 and you can substitute cooked ground beef for the chicken.


Happy Monday!

Low-Cal Chocolate Cake

This is a Hungry Girl recipe (be sure and sign up for her emails if you don't already get them). She always has great recipes in her newsletter and in her cookbooks like Hungry Girl 1-2-3: The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet that are diet friendly. This recipe makes 12 servings at 4 WW points each, plus it's super easy.

All you need is 1 box of moist devil's food cake mix, 1 cup of fat free plain Greek yogurt and 1 cup water.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ingredients in a large bowl and add 1 cup water. Whisk thoroughly and transfer to a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray; bake in the oven until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (Refer to cake-mix box for pan size and approximate bake time.)

I made a 9x13 cake and it turned out really good. I sifted a little powdered on the pieces I cut for the kids and they loved it.  It was a great afternoon snack with some lemonade.

Squash Casserole

My blog has turned into a food blog lately hasn't it? I hope you enjoy all the recipes. Feeding our families is such important part of being a homemaker, whether you are retro or modern. You feed them a meal and then just a few hours later they want to eat again. It never ends...just like laundry. I like having lots of ideas for things to make so that I don't get bored cooking and they don't get bored eating (although I can't really imagine that happening).

This is a classic recipe that my family loves. I got it from a neighbor years and years ago. It's good any time of year, but I tend to make it more often in the summer when squash is plentiful (and often free from friends and neighbors).  Today I served it with chicken fried steak, sliced cantaloupe and fresh corn casserole.  I love planning a menu around fresh summertime produce!

Cook until tender-crisp and drain:
1 1/2 pounds yellow squash or zucchini, sliced
water to cover

Stir in:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. fat-free sour cream at room temperature
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
2 tsp. flour


Combine and arrange in 9x13 buttered pan:
3/4 (8 oz.) bag herb dressing crumbs - reserve 1/4
1/3 cup margarine, melted

Pour squash mixture on herb dressing, top with reserved crumbs.  Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fried Squash

Some friends of ours have more squash growing in their garden then they know what to do with, so they insisted on sending some home with us. We didn't mind helping them out of course. We're so unselfish that way. ;) We also have lots of fresh corn because it was 10 cents an ear at Wal-Mart. Can you believe that? So for the next few days we are going to eating squash and corn in every way imaginable. Hopefully I can switch them up enough that no one will mind. We had fried squash and basic corn-on-the-cob this weekend and tonight we'll have fresh corn casserole and a baked squash casserole (along with some sort of meat so that my husband doesn't think I don't love him anymore). I'll share the squash recipe with you later this week.

Because Melissa asked so nicely in the comments for the fried squash recipe, here it is:

Ingredients
Squash, sliced in thick slices. I slice up as much as I think we'll eat. You can use almost any kind of squash.
1 or 2 eggs (depending on how much squash you have)
Milk or buttermilk (maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup again depending on how much squash you have)
Equal amounts of flour and cornmeal (I used 1/2 cup of each)
salt, pepper, garlic powder or use Paula Deen's House Seasoning Mix
Vegetable Oil for frying

Slice the squash and preheat the oil on medium. Whisk together milk and egg in a bowl. Stir together flour, cornmeal and seasonings in another bowl or platter. Dip squash slices in egg mixture, then coat with flour mixture. Place squash in a single layer in the skillet and fry a few minutes on each side. It should be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

And there you have it! Hope you all have a fantastic beginning to your week.

Much love,

Blueberry Oat Muffins

These muffins are lower in fat and calories than most blueberry muffins, but still delicious.



Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 egg whites
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

For Topping:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg whites, water and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Fill greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Yield: 1 dozen

3 Cheese Baked Penne

This is one of our favorite weeknight meals. It's quick and easy and serves 6 generously.




* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I use the dried kind)
* 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
* 1 jar spaghetti sauce
* 1 lb ground hamburger
* 1 egg
* 1 lb Penne pasta
* 2 tsp dried parsley
* 1 tsp dried basil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium saucepan, cook ground beef until browned; drain grease and add spaghetti sauce. Meanwhile boil pasta according to package directions.
2. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, half the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley and basil.
3. Lightly grease 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Layer pasta, sauce mixture and cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over top. Bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Super Easy Party Snack

This is an easy snack to take to a party or to serve to drop in guests. It comes together so easily but it's pretty and everyone will love it.

The basic version only has 2 ingredients: 1 package of vanilla flavored almond bark and regular, unflavored popcorn (if you use microwave popcorn about 2 bags should do it).

Melt the almond bark on medium-low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and creamy. Poor over popped popcorn and stir until all the popcorn is coated. Spread popcorn on waxed paper or aluminum foil and let set. Break into smaller pieces and store in airtight container.

There are so many variations on this. You can add M&Ms, sprinkles, nuts or you can do the same thing with pretzel sticks, peanuts and Chex Mix cereal in place of the popcorn(we call it white trash when we make it that way). There's no wrong way to make it, unless you wanted to add bacon or something which would just be weird. :)

Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake

I love to make this recipe for an easy weekend breakfast. It comes from this cookbook that Mike bought for me about 9 or 10 years ago. It's spiral bound so it will lay flat on the counter which is really nice.

The year that he gave it to me for Christmas we had ice and snow for the whole 2 week Christmas break and I made many of the recipes in it since I happened to have a big box of Bisquick on hand and we couldn't go anywhere. The boys got scooters for Christmas that year too and couldn't try them out until after they had to go back to school. I seem to remember that we even completed an entire game of Monopoly while we were "iced in". :) Maybe it's just us, but our Monopoly games tend to drag on for hours and hours and hours...



4 c. Bisquick baking mix (you could also use homemade biscuit mix)
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 (21 oz.) can pie filling (I used apple, but you can use cherry, blueberry, apricot...whatever you like)
Glaze (see below)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease jelly roll pan 15 1/2x10 1/2x1, or 2 square 9x9x2 pans. Mix all ingredients except pie filling and glaze. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Spread 2/3 of the batter (about 2 1/2 cups) in jelly roll pan or 1/3 of the batter (about 1 1/4 cups) in each square pan. Spread pie filling over batter (filling may not cover batter completely). Drop remaining batter by tablespoons onto pie filling. Bake until light brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drizzle with glaze while warm.

GLAZE:
Beat 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 to 2 tbsp. milk until smooth and of desired consistency.

Spritz Cookie Recipe

I don't know why I didn't think to post this recipe when I mentioned making these cookies earlier in the week. :)

Classic Spritz Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Thoroughly cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extract; beat well. Stir together flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing to make a smooth dough. Do not chill. Place dough into cookie press and press cookies onto a cooled, ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Cool on rack.

Easy Monster Cookies

These cookies are super easy and would make a great back to school lunch box treat. I found the recipe on my Betty Crocker calendar. You can print coupons too so they are cheap to make, especially if you combine the coupons with a good sale. My kids love them!

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs
2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate candies (I used Reese's Pieces)


1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir all ingredients except candies until soft dough forms. Stir in candies.
2. On ungreased cookie sheets, place about 1/4 cupfuls dough about 3 inches apart.
3. Bake 12 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely. Store in covered container at room temperature.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Yes, as a matter of fact, I have been cooking my way through the August/September issue of Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine. And no, I did not get the magazine free nor was I asked to review it. :) I just happen to want to try nearly every recipe.

We recently had stuffed bell peppers and green olive breadsticks. They were SO good and I will definitely be making them again.


Both recipes are on the magazine's website, but I'll go ahead and post the stuffed pepper recipe here.

Ingredients
3 green bell peppers, halved, seeds removed
1/2 cup water
1 (1-pound) package ground hot pork sausage
1 (15.25-ounce) can corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup diced green onions
1 (1.25-ounce) package Southwest marinade mix, divided, McCormick Grill Mates®
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese


Directions
Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place bell peppers, cut sides down, in a microwave-safe dish; add 1/2 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on High for 3 to 4 minutes, or until peppers are soft; drain, and set aside.
In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly; drain. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, rice, and green onions to skillet. Add 2 tablespoons marinade mix to sausage mixture; stir well to combine. (Reserve remaining mix for another use.)
Spoon sausage mixture evenly into pepper halves. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each evenly with shredded cheese. Broil 5 inches from heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Reprinted with permission from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine and Hoffman Media, LLC.

Chicken Artichoke Bake

Tonight's supper was another Sandra Lee recipe. Find it here.

I guess I've been taking too many food pictures. When I set this plate on the table Cindy said "Is this for us to eat or is it for show and tell?"

Fruity Freeze

I recently discovered Sandra Lee's new Semi-Homemade Magazine and I love it! It has some great recipes. Today I made her recipe for Fruity Freeze from the August/September issue and it was a big hit. It's very simple and easy to make, plus it's full of vitamin C.


Process one 16 oz. bag of frozen strawberries, 3/4 cup orange juice and 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice with one to two cups of ice in a blender until smooth. Top it off with a straw or a spoon.

What could be easier?

Brownie Pie

My mom used to make this for my brother and me when we were kids and we always loved it. Can you believe she can still rattle off the recipe right off the top of her head? She must have made it a lot over the years. It's very quick and easy and tastes SO good!

Ingredients:

* 2 eggs
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup flour
* 3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* pinch salt

Pour all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. I usually just use my hand mixer but of course it works well in the Kitchenaid too. You can add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans at this point.

Pour into a greased pie pan and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. It's even better with whipped cream or ice cream.

Easy Homemade Pancakes

I make pancakes a lot and love to try different recipes. Some are great and some not so great. This recipe is super easy (just as easy as a mix) and it's my "usual". Everybody loves it.

We often have lots of "extra" teenage boys around the house for Saturday morning breakfast and this is a quick (and cheap) way to feed a crowd. I usually double this recipe.

1 cup sifted self-rising flour (must be self-rising flour or the recipe will not work) I'll also tell you a secret...I rarely sift and the pancakes turn out fine. No guarantees though! :)
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat egg, oil and milk together; add to flour. Stir just until combined. Pour 1/4 cup batter on a hot buttered griddle. Turn with a spatula when bubbles begin to form on top. Cook second side until golden brown.

I also use self-rising flour in my biscuit recipe.

Chocolate Gravy

I'm finally posting the long awaited chocolate gravy recipe! :)

I usually start my gravy before I start the biscuits. This gravy will have to simmer 10 minutes or so and the biscuits bake up so quickly.

Combine in a saucepan (This pan is as old as I am. Seriously.):
2 tablespoons cocoa


2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar


3 cups water


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Whisk it all together.


Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so. It will SLOWLY start to thicken.


Pull your biscuits out of the oven. This one pan of biscuits would not have been nearly enough if all the kids were at home.


Butter your biscuit (that part is critical) and pour the gravy over. Mike likes to split his biscuits, butter each half and then pour the gravy over.

So yummy! Don't think about the calories. :)