Baked French Toast...

Kneaders cinnamon swirl bread 
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk

Cut the loaf into  1-2 inch chunks.  In separate bowl mix together eggs and milk.  Let the bread soak in egg mixture for about 20 minutes, then put in 8x8 pan and bak at 350 for about 40 minutes or until browned and set.   Can double in needed. Serve with Buttermilk/Caramel syrup.

Buttermilk/Caramel Syrup...

3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 T corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients, except vanilla, in large saucepan. (Make sure you use a big pan because this will expand like crazy before it cooks down!)

Bring mixture to a boil & reduce heat to low. (keep it still bubbling) Stir frequently for 10 or so minutes or until syrup becomes a golden brown. Remove from heat & stir in Vanilla. Enjoy!

Breakfast Quiche...

Ingredients:

• 1 unroll-and-bake refrigerated 9-inch pie crust (recommended: Pillsbury)
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1/2-1 cup diced ham (depends on how much you like)
• 5 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease well the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan.
Unroll the pie crust and arrange it in the prepared pan. Gently press the crust into the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim any excess crust from the top of the pan. With the tines of a fork, prick the pastry in several places. Using a pastry brush, coat the crust with the beaten egg white. Put the pan on a baking sheet and bake until the egg white has set, about 10 minutes. Allow the crust to cool for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the beaten eggs, mascarpone cheese, Gruyere, cheddar, ham, salt &pepper. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the cooled crust and bake until the mixture has set and the top is golden, about 30-35 minutes. (I stuck a toothpick in the center & wiggled it around to see if the center seemed set or runny. And it will definitely be browned on top) Cool the tart for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*I have found the cheapest place to get the mascarpone & gruyere is at Winco. I know they are not as common of cheeses to use and a little pricier, but they sure make it yummy!

Lady Bird Chicken with Stuffing

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4-5 T melted butter

Salt & pepper

8 slices swiss cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup chicken broth or stock

1/2 T lemon juice

Pinch dried thyme

1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9x13 baking dish.

Season chicken with salt & pepper and add to baking dish. Layer cheese over chicken.

In a separate bowl, mix soup, stock, lemon juice, thyme, & salt/pepper to taste. Pour over chicken/cheese. Sprinkle stuffing over top & drizzle with melted butter.

Bake for 45 minutes

We ate it with this yummy corn spoon bread. (Just a different take on a corn-muffin type dish)

*A note on the spoon bread* We didn't have green onions--so didn't use them. And opted for paprika instead of pepper flakes. Also, reduced the butter on top to 1 tablespoon :)

Amber's Peach Salsa

Recipe from Amber Cragun



Peach Salsa

20-25 small peaches peeled and chopped

12 large tomatoes peeled and chopped

3 cups chopped sweet onion

4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I just used 1 small can)

3 red peppers (I used red and green)

1 cup finely chopped basil or cilantro

1 cup white vinegar

4-6 cloves garlic finely chopped

3 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 T. lime juice

salt and pepper to taste (I like a lot of pepper)

3 1/4 cups sugar

You could also add a package of pectin if you wanted it a little less soupy. I also added a couple of drained cans of chopped tomatoes because I like a lot of tomatoes. I boil everything for about 20-25 mins. and then place in warm jars with warm lids and set upside down until the next morning.

Country Pork Ribs

These were easy, yummy, and fall-apart good. Found the original recipe here

-Extra lean, boneless, country-style pork ribs. My package had about 6 ribs in it. (they only had bone-in when I went to the store. They worked just great. They fall right off the bone while cooking, so it was really easy to scoop out the bones before serving)

-In bowl, mix together:

-1 small can crushed pineapple with juice

-1- 1 1/2 cups ketchup

-1 cup brown sugar

-4-5 shots Worcestershire sauce

-1 tsp dry mustard (I used regular mustard)

-1 tsp dry ginger

*double this if you are going to do a bigger batch

In a large pot, spoon in a little of the sauce. Place ribs on sauce and salt & pepper those babies. Pour over remaining sauce to cover ribs.

Cover pot with a lid & bring sauce to boil over medium heat. Then turn down to low/simmer. Stir ribs & sauce every 15-30 minutes until done. They will cook at least 3 hours, but can cook longer. (I think mine were on there about 4 hours). You want the sauce to darken & the ribs will be falling apart!!

Take lid off the last 20-30 minutes for the sauce to thicken. Serve over rice & enjoy!!

Milky Way Brownies

I was trying to use up a bunch of Milky Way candy bars we had & found a few similar versions to this recipe online. I thought it was both a cakey & fudgey Brownie at the same time.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

13 fun-size Milky Way bars, chopped into thirds (I had the mini size, and ended up using 30 of those cut in half)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine candy bars with 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan. Cover and stir over very low heat until smooth. This is the part that takes patience, but stir, stir, and eventually it will get nice & smooth. Transfer to a bowl, let cool a bit while frequently stirring. Add in sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into batter. Spread into buttered 8-inch square pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges pull away from sides of pan. Let cool. We didn't frost ours...the hubby said they didn't need it. Enjoy!

Party Pasta Salad

1 lb box bowtie pasta, cook in salted boiling water. When cooked, rinse in cold water & drain.

While pasta is cooking, prepare following:

1 1/2-2 cups red grapes, cut in half

8 oz can pineapple tidbits, drained

12 oz can cashew, bits & pieces

2 stalks celery, diced small

3 large cans chunk white chicken, drained

*optional: handful chopped green onions

1 bag lettuce greens

(I usually don't add these, but my mom usually does)

Dressing: Mix in separate bowl until well combined

1 cup light mayo

3/4 bottle Kraft coleslaw dressing

Mix all ingredients in large bowl. I usually add some onion salt to taste. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.

This is always a hit at any party, and we actually get requests for it several times a year.

White Corn Guacamole (copied from CPK)

I had an appetizer at California Pizza Kitchen that was pretty similar to this. We all loved it & I thought it would be really easy to make at home.

2 cups frozen sweet white corn

3/4 can black beans (drained & rinsed)

1 ripe avocado, diced small

1/3 onion, diced small

2 tomatos--I cut off the end, squeezed out the juice & seeds, then diced it small

Juice from 1 lime

Small palmful fresh cilantro

Salt to taste

Cook corn & let cool a bit. Combine all ingredients & serve with chips!

Pumpkin Pancakes

I always liked being able to get pumpkin pancakes at ihop in October...but now I make them year round!

1 C Water

1/2 C canned pumpkin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

-Mix these 3 and add:

1 cup pancake mix

(You will probably want to double this recipe for a bigger family)

Cook on griddle over med-high heat. Of course these are great with syrup, but I also really like them with cinnamon & a little powdered sugar! Yummy...and not as much sugar as syrup ;)

Foster's 5 'P' Pasta

I normally wouldn't have thought to put these all together, but Clint had similar on his mission in Italy. It's another easy pasta that has 5 ingredients that start with P!

1 box Penne pasta

1 cup frozen Peas

2-3 small red potatoes

1 cup (or less) chopped Prosciutto (regular ham works fine)

1 cup favorite Pesto

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (of course you can always add more cheese)

Wash and chop potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. (No need to peel the red ones). Add potatoes & pasta to salted, boiling water at same time. Add frozen peas to the water the last 3-4 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta, potatoes & peas. Add prosciutto & stir in pesto & parmesan. Buon Appetito!

Balsamic Chicken

We like this with the Lemon Spaghetti.

1/2 c balsamic vinegar

1/4 c lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1/4 c dijon mustard

3 minced garlic cloves

1 tsp each-salt & pepper

1/2 c olive oil

chicken breasts

1 T chopped parsley (or we substituted dried basil cause that's what we had)

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, s & p to blend. Whisk in the oil. Add chicken & marinate 2 or more hours in refrigerator.

Cook chicken at 400 degrees for about 45 min. When done, remove chicken.

Carefully pour cooking liquid into a small saucepan & boil until sauce thickens.

Pour sauce over chicken, add parsley/basil and lemon zest. Enjoy!

Lemon Spaghetti

This is another easy pasta dish that goes great with a Balsamic chicken.

(from Giada de Laurentis)

Amounts can be altered easily if you're not going to use a whole pound pasta

2/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

2/3 c fresh-grated parmesan

1/2 lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb spaghetti

1/3 c chopped fresh basil or about 1 1/2 T dried

1 T grated lemon zest (from the 2 lemons)

Cook pasta according to directions, but reserve 1 cup cooking liquid. While pasta is cooking:

Whisk together oil, parmesan, lemon juice, salt/pepper.

Toss sauce with spaghetti, basil, & lemon zest.

Add cooking liquid a bit at a time to moisten. Salt, pepper, & more parmesan to taste.

Fast and tasty Tortellini

This really is the fastest pasta you'll ever make (just maybe not the healthiest).

1 lb package cheese tortellini ( your favorite brand from the refrigerated section--we actually always have a bunch of these in our freezer for when we need them).

Sauce:

3/4 stick butter

1 T dried basil (or fresh herbs if you've got them)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Generous pinch of nutmeg

Lots of fresh grated parmesan to add on top of dish!

Don't start the sauce until you add the tortellini to the water. They only take about 7 minutes to cook & the sauce is done in about 5. After combining, add salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle on that cheese (essential to any great italian pasta)