Cream Cheese and Apple Butter Stuffed French Toast

I'm not even done making these yet and I'm already starting a blog post about them.  The first batch is one the stove and they look SO GOOD! 

One of my favorite breakfasts my mom makes is stuffed french toast (stuffed with cream cheese and jelly).  I think I speak for all of my siblings when I say it's one of our all time favorites--up there with crepes and biscuits and gravy. :)  She hasn't made them lately - probably in a couple of years - because 99% of the time she has a new recipe! 

Lately I've been trying to think of a good fall breakfast to make for Thanksgiving and this came to mind.  Instead of the jelly I'm using apple butter.  I think I'll serve it with a sausage-apple side my sister told me about.  Mmmm.... heaven. 

Here's how you do it:

You must buy this special bread.  Super Target didn't have it, but Cub Foods did.  (This recipe won't work unless you have it.)

Spread cream cheese on one piece and apple butter on the other.  Smoosh together.

 Mix up your batter.  I use eggs, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and whole milk.

 Dunk sandwhich into egg mixture and cook in buttered skillet.

 Flip.  Smell the goodness.

 Serve with warm (real) maple syrup.

You know it's a good breakfast recipe if it could double for dessert! :)  We - okay, I - Matt took Avery for an errand - had this for dessert tonight and it hit the spot!

Let me know if you try it! 

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Mom's Baked German Pancakes

This recipe, which comes from my mom's cookbook, has been one of our favorite weekend breakfasts lately!  It's easy, yummy, and I always have the ingredients on hand.  It puffs up a lot, which is fun (but - disclaimer - once you cut into it, it does shrink a little bit)!  This is easier than regular pancakes because you are not standing over the stove!  And, it's slightly healthier because it's egg-based instead of flour- and sugar-based. 

Baked German Pancakes
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour (white works the best)
1/2 cup milk
1/8 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
1 T butter

Place 9" glass pie pan in oven.  Preheat oven to 400.  Meanwhile beat eggs, flour, milk, salt, and vanilla in small bowl.  Remove hot pan from oven.  Place butter in pan and rotate until butter is melted and sides are coated.  Pour batter into pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired, and bake about 20 minutes.  Top with more butter and maple syrup.

Have you had German Pancakes before?

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Gluten-Free Pizza Idea

We are doing a little gluten-free trial at our house, which was the reason for me experimenting with these polenta-pizzas!  For being so easy, and for being g-f, I thought I'd share this for you g-f friends out there. :)  Doesn't it look delicious!?

1. Preheat broiler to low.  Cut store-bought polenta tube into slices and place on cookie sheet or pizza stone.  Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper.  Don't skip the spices lest the crust be bland.  Gross.  I can do g-f, but I cannot do bland.

2. Broil polenta "crusts" until they are crispy.  This way the crust will have some texture and not just be mush. 

3. Top polenta crusts with pizza sauce and cheese (and other toppings if you want).  Broil until cheeze is brown and the mozzerella that fell off of the crust is crispy/burnt.

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Mac and Cheese

Who doesn't love a good bowl of mac and cheese?  I came across this recipe a couple of weeks ago and have made it 3-4 times since. :)  It's easy, it's fast, you have most ingredients on hand, and it's super budget-friendly and kid-friendly!  What more could you ask for in a recipe??
This mac and cheese is SUPER simple, but you must do these three things to be sure it turns out:  (1) Do NOT overcook the pasta.  It will continue cooking once you take it off the stove.  (2)  Please, friends, add enough salt.  It's not good otherwise.  And (3), pretty please use extra sharp cheddar, preferably that that you grate on your own.  You'll make me and Pioneer Woman proud. :)

Step 1.  Boil milk.
Step 2.  Add pasta.  Stir constantly.

Step 3.  Don't drain milk.  Add cheese and stir.

(those are caramlized onions in mine, not burnt milk bits.  However, you WILL have burnt milk bits if you do not stir it enough!)

Step 4.  Top with toppings of choice and devour!

Anyway, here's my version.  This recipe serves 4-6. 


Mac and Cheese
5 cups milk (I use 1% but any kind is fine)
4 cups pasta (I use medium whole wheat shells)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste

Bring milk to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring frequently.  Turn heat down to medium and add pasta and salt.  Stir constantly until pasta is almost al dente.  Watch it closely so the milk doesn't boil over.  Do not drain milk.  Remove from heat and add cheese and pepper.  Stir until cheese is melted and serve!

I made some for lunch today and added leftover caramelized onion that was calling out to me in our fridge.  I also added turkey bacon on the top, and it was DELISH, if I do say so myself.  I MAYBE even put carmalized onion and bacon in the salad I served with it. :)

Anyway, you can add your favorite other toppings, too, to make it a complete meal, such as steamed broccoli or cauliflower, chopped ham or chicken, chopped HOT DOGS! (does that bring you back, or does that bring you back??), roasted tomatoes, etc--you get the idea.

You've gotta try this, you guys.  It will change your life. :)

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Greek Cheese Ball

I'm always on the look-out for a good appetizer recipe.  And strangely enough, most of my favorite appetizer recipes involve one secret ingredient... any guesses??  Cream cheese.  Of course.  No-brainer.  I actually had all of the ingredients for this on hand!  The recipe makes two cheese balls and is adapted from this recipe on allrecipes.com.  I brought one to my sister's surprise shower, and another to the Waite family Thanksgiving.  Just a warning:  this tastes strangely like boursin... dangerous. 

2 8-oz packages cream cheese
3/4 cup feta
4 Tablespoons olive oil
10 green onions, chopped
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
4 teaspoons dried dill
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
juice of half a lemon

 Combine all ingredients.  Form into two separate balls by wrapping in plastic wrap.  To serve, drizzle with olive oil and extra feta or green onion.  Serve with crackers or pita chips.

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Yellow Cupcakes Two Ways

There are few things that bring me greater happiness than spending an afternoon baking. This weekend I made two half-batches of cupcakes (one for dinner at our friends' place Fri night, and the other for dinner Sat night at our house with friends).  And I must say - these cupcakes were two of the best I have ever had and made. 
The first one was yellow cupcakes with Milky Way Frosting.  Yum.  There are actual melted milky way bars in the frosting.  Need I say more??

I just used a box of yellow cake mix and made 3 minor changes: milk instead of water, 2 eggs instead of 3, and 1/2 cup melted butter instead of the oil.  Oh, and I added a handful of chocolate chips on the top. 

  Yes there is one missing because I had to try it while it was hot. :)

Don't you love "licking the bowl"? 
 

 
Serve with extra frosting on the side.
 

 
Avery tends to go to bed pretty early, so when we go to friends' houses for dinner, we bring our pack and play and put her to bed there and (obviously) wake her up before we come home.  This time, however, Avery decided she'd take a 20 min snooze in the car on the way there (I usu sit back there to distract her and keep her awake, but not this time - learned my lesson!) and NOT fall asleep at her "bedtime," so she just hung out with us at dinner.  Wanted to join the party.  I'm learning to relax about these things. :) 
 

 
Okay, back to the cupcakes.  Second one:
 
Remember my chocolate chip cookie recipe?  Well, first step: make those.  Freeze for at least 2 hours.  Messy freezer!!
 

 
Fill muffin cups half full with yellow cake mix. (I put the cake mix in a big ziplock bag then squirt it in... come to think, I could do a whole post on how often I use ziplock bags!!!!  I use them for EVERYthing.)
 

 
PUT FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH BALL ON TOP OF CAKE MIX.  Yes, you read that correctly.

 
 

Bake JUST until done.  Do not overbake!
 
Frost with chocolate buttercream frosting (approx measurements: 1/2 stick butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla, 2-3 T cream).  Please do me a favor and do not use store bought chocolate frosting.  I love the vanilla, but chocolate is gross.  :) 
 
 

 
Anyway - I'm tempted to call these "Better Than Anything Cupcakes," but for now we will call them "Cookie Dough Cupcakes." 
 

 
See original recipe here. 
 
Mmm.... what a good weekend. :)

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Poor Man's / Fat Man's Guacamole

This week, some of our friends graciously invited us over for margaritas and guacamole.  Little did they know that this is up there for one of my all-time favorite meals. :)  The interesting thing was that she had a secret ingredient that I was completely shocked by: cottage cheese.  Yeah.  Sounds strange.  I agree.  But it was awesome.  So awesome, in fact, that the very next night I made guac and margaritas and paid it forward to some of our other friends. :)  Anyway, the reason I'm calling this guac Poor, Fat Man's Guac is because 1) avacados are pretty expensive and the cottage cheese stretches your dollar and 2) even though avacados are one of the healthiest things you can eat, they are by no means low-cal. :)  Oh, and as an added benefit, it for some reason doesn't turn brown!

I don't have an exact recipe for you, but here are the ingredients I use and a few tips for making it super yummy. :)

super ripe avacados - mashed until still a little chunky
lots of lime juice
fresh garlic - has to be fresh - minced really small
onion (I use red)
fresh cilantro
tomato - a really red, ripe one
lots of salt
pepper
real sour cream (as in not light)
and last but not least... cottage cheese!
serve with round bite-size chips

Enjoy!

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You'll-Never-Make-Another-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Recipe-After-Trying This-One Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have probably made hundreds of dozens of chocolate chip cookies in my life. I can remember when I was a little girl, and I'd ask my mom if I could make cookies, and she would say, "Okay, but don't eat any of the dough, and use half the butter and whole wheat flour." No joke. :)

I sometimes my cookies my mom's way - using WW flour and half the butter - but I ALWAYS eat the dough. A couple of weeks ago, I made cookies this way with dark chocoalte chips, coconut, and pecans, and they were delish! Matt wasn't tempted by them (he doesn't like the "texture" of coconut - but pina coladas are fine!!) but my mom and dad who were in town loved them.

The best chocoalte chip cookie, in my opinion, is:
1) taken out of the oven just before it's done - it will continue to cook as it cooks, and
2) eaten warm - fresh from the oven. This is why I occasionally make just a batch of cookie dough, scoop it into balls, and put it in the freezer. Mind you, this is semi-dangerous, but I've learned that if I give myself permission to eat warm chocolate chip cookies whenever I want, I'm not tempted to cram a dozen of them into my mouth in one sitting. :) (disclaimer: usually)

3) not flat. I hate flat cookies.

There are a few more tricks, too, in my "You'll-Never-Make-Another-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Recipe-After-Trying This-One Chocolate Chip Cookies" recipe, such as adding a litte more flour, extra vanilla, a tad less butter (too much butter makes them too flat - I don't do this for health reasons :), and a few extra chocoalte chips, as well as not beating the butter-sugar mixture. So, the wait is over - here it is!

2 sticks minus 3 T butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
2 1/2 - 2 2/3 cup flour (depending on how flat or round you like them)
1 t soda
1 t salt (don't omit the salt)
1 1/2 bags semi-sweet chocoalte chips

1. Heat butter in microwave until almost melted.
2. By hand, wisk the sugars and butter for one minute.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla; wisk until incorporated.
4. Add the flour, soda, and salt, and stir with spoon until incorporated.
5. Add the chocoalte chips.
6. Taste the dough. Don't skip this step. :) With practice, you will be able to tell if you need more or less flour.
7. If freezing, scoop the cookies onto a cooking spray sprayed-aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet. Freeze individually. Put in plastic bag.

8. Bake at 350. I check them after 10 minutes, but they usually need another couple of minutes. But remember, don't over cook!

Anyway, those are my chocoalte chip cookie secrets. What's your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe? Do you have any tricks?

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Perfect Pregnancy Smoothie

I am in love with this smoothie. Lately, I've been NEEDING one every morning!! Although, I shouldn't call it a "pregnancy" smoothie because 1) Matt might not drink them anymore, and 2) I'll probably continue making them AB - (After Baby). Tomorrow morning I'm going to try making it with my new Magic Bullet (thanks Ne!) because our blender got a huge crack in it this morning.

1/2 cup berries (I use frozen blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries... you can get a huge bag of them at Target on sale for $7 and they last forever!)
1/2 banana
1/2 cup milk, oj, or water
1/2 cup ice cubes (I use 4)
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons ground flax (you can't even tell it's in there because it blends right into the raspberry and blackberry seeds)
1/2 scoop (about 2 T) of protein powder - equals 12 grams of protein!

Blend all ingredients except the protein powder in blender. Add the protein last and blend just until combined.

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Century Christmas Party

My good friend at Century College, Karen, and I planned a Christmas party for the ESOL faculty and staff at Century. It was a lot of fun! Everyone brought an appetizer, and Karen and I made drinks and desserts. My "Pomogranate Punch" recipe is below.

Pomogrante Punch
1 container limeaid
2 bottles sweet white wine (reisling or pinot grigio)
1 container pomogranate cranberry juice
3 cans sprite
2 cups orange juice

Combine all ingredients. Garnish with pomogranate seeds and sliced oranges.

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Easy Desserts Under $5

I don't know about everyone else, but it seems like I am making/bringing desserts to a lot of things--friends' places for dinner, family gatherings, parties. And depending on the dessert, it has the potential to be 1) time consuming and 2) expensive! So I thought I would share a few easy dessserts to make--and all under $5. (Things like oil and eggs are not included in price.) And sorry no pictures! I need to get better at that. :)




Oreo Cake $5
I made this cake on a whim this weekend. I had 1/2 a container of oreos and wanted to make something cheap that didn't require me to buy a lot of ingredients, but I wanted something that tasted good and looked impressive! One hint is that when you frost the cake, get a few of the chocolate cake crumbs in the frosting--makes it look like cookies-and-cream frosting! Another hint is only add 2 eggs to the cake--not 3. This makes the cake less airy. I also add cocoa powder to cake mix to make it taste less box-y, but this is optional. :)

Box chocolate cake mix... $1
Can vanilla frosting... $1.50
Oreos... $2.50

Prepare cake according to package directions. Frost with vanilla ice cream and top with crushed oreos.




Black and White Rice Krispy Bars $3.50
I made these a few weeks ago for a bake sale. I was originally going to make plain old rice krispies, but then I remembered a special take on rice krispies that my mom used to make. They're a little more fancy than rice krispies, but are still very cheap to make!

5 cups rice krispies (generic)...$2
Bag marshmallows...$1
1/2 stick butter... $.50
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder and a handfull of chocoalte chips

Make rice krispies like normal except: 1) add whole mini-marshmallows to half of the mixture and 2) add cocoa powder and a handfull of chocoalte chips to the other half and 3) layer them on on top of the other in the pan.

S'mores Brownies $3
Someone brought these brownies to a family gathering this past weekend, and they were GOOD! I remember having them in the dorms at ISU, too. :) Something a little more unique than just boxed brownies. I also saw another version of these (except using pb and rice krispies!)

1/2 bag marshmallows ... $1
1 cup chocolate chips, melted... $1
1 box brownie mix (prepared with 1 egg instead of 2) ...$1

Prepare brownies. Immediately after taking them out of the oven, top with marshmallows and bake for 2 more minutes. Drizzle melted chocolate on top.

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Broccoli Cheese Soup

This recipe for broccoli cheese soup, found on Nealy's blog (originally from my mom's cookbook Good For You) is so good, doesn't require a lot of ingredients, is fairly inexpensive to make, and you typically have most of the ingredients on hand. You could also make it with cauliflower. The only (and I mean only!) change I make to this recipe is I sautee half an onion first. Oh, and I usually add a little extra cheese. :) Enjoy!

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Catherine's Spicy Chicken Soup

This is another one of my favorite soups--once again from allrecipes.com. I don't know about the rest of you, but I hardly ever--in fact, never--follow a recipe exactly. Instead, I use recipes for ideas and proportions. For this recipe, I don't cook the chicken like she says because I usually have shredded chicken in the freezer. I also didn't add condensed tomato soup, and I didn't use the WHOLE canned tomatoes. Oh, and a hint to making every recipe better--I do this for everything I make--at least double the spices. For example, when I make pumpkin bars and the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, I add at least 4, plus nutmeg, plus cloves. :) Another hint is to use real onion and garlic whenever possible. So for this recipe, for example, I would sautee onion and garlic to start with, and then add onion powder and garlic powder. Anyway, just my style of cooking--I think I get it from my mom! Oh, but when you are following MY recipes, don't double or triple the spices!! I've already done that for you!!

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Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

The original recipe for this soup is found at allrecipes.com. This is another not-healthy-at-all-but-tastes-really-good recipe! During Thanksgiving time, I bought a 5-lb of potatoes for 68 cents, peeled and cubed them all, and froze them, so I'm planning on making this soup sometime soon. I've made it the original way with the country gravy mix (I know, sounds disgusting, but I think what makes it good is the cornstarch--equals creaminess--and the pepper!) I've also made it more like the version below--with bacon and creamed corn, minus the gravy mix and part of the velveeta. I think this soup would be hard to mess up, so have fun making your own modified version!

Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder with Bacon
6-8 strips bacon

1 onion, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 can creamed corn

1 can diced green chiles
2-3 T cornstarch
2 cups milk

Lots of pepper, a little salt
1/2 cup velveeta

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Cut bacon into pieces. In large saucepan, sautee bacon and onion until the onion is very tender and the bacon is crisp. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn and chiles; return to boiling. Dissolve cornstarch in milk; stir into boiling mixture. Add cheese; cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted.

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White Chicken Chile

This soup is so yummy. I know the cheese and sour cream don't make it the healthiest soup in the world, but it's worth it. I've also made this with shredded pork instead of chicken breast. The original recipe was given to me by Sally Beisser.

White Chicken Chile
2 onions, chopped
2 T olive oil
5 chicken breasts (no skin), cubed
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground or dried oregano
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
2 cans diced green chiles
1 large jar cooked Great Northern Beans (drained/rinsed)
1-2 cans navy beans (drained/rinsed)
2 cups frozen corn
1 can creamed corn
8 cups chicken broth
20 oz Monterey Jack Cheese (cut into small cubes)

Saute onions in oil until clear. Stir in chicken and garlic and cook until done (about10-15 minutes). Add spices, chiles, beans, corn, and broth and cook 10-15 minutes or until hot and gently bubbling. Add cheese and melt. DO NOT BOIL. Soup should be thick. Serve with chopped cilantro, sour cream, and cornbread or tortilla chips.

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Scotcheroos

One of my favorite desserts is scotcheroos. It's easy to make, doesn't require any cooking, and has both peanut butter and chocolate. :) Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on which way you look at it), scotcheroos are also one of my husband's favorites. I've made them about a million times the traditinonal way. Double the recipe if you want to make them in a 9 x 13 pan.


Scotcheroos
1 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup crunch peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat corn syrup, sugar, and peanut butter on low, low heat until warm. Stir in rice krispies. Put into 8 x 8 pan. Melt chips and spread on top.

Because I made these so often, I've gotten quite creative in my presentation of Scotcheroos. For example, for Matt's birthday, I made a Scotcheroo layer cake (same recipe).


And for my work Christmas party this year, I'm making Scotcheroo Balls (although I'm not calling them that... maybe I will call them Butterscotch Bon-Bons or something). Again, same recipe. Just roll them into balls and dip in chocolate!

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