French Toast Casserole

I found this online... It is so yummy and easy and you can even make it the night before a busy morning!

All Jonas had to do this morning was pop it in the oven for 40 minutes and then the kids enjoyed a delicious breakfast!

French Toast Casserole Recipe Ingredient List

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
8- to 9-inch round loaf country-style bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 shake of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powder Sugar to taste!

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish.

Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts.
Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350° F. and bring bread to room temperature.

Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot French Toast Casserole immediately.
(or freeze in an air tight container! Can last for one month in freezer!)

Rice Pudding - Arroz Doce

A few weeks ago, Greg and I got a serious craving for Portuguese/Brazilian rice pudding. We looked online and got an amazing recipe that is quite delicious :)

1 cup short grain white rice
5 cups water
1 slice lemon peel
1 tbsp butter or margarine
a pinch of salt
2 cups hot milk
2 cups of sugar (we're trying Splenda tonight as we are making this)
5 egg yolks
cinnamon to garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil with the lemon peel, butter and pinch of salt.

Add the rice and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. When most of the water has evaporated, add the very hot milk. Simmer for 5 more minutes and add the sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and add a few spoonfuls of the rice mixture to temperate the egg yolks. Then add the now warm egg mixture to the saucepan and stir quickly until even.

Serve in a large dish or small shallow dishes and sprinkle with ground cinnamon to garnish (Greg likes to spell the first initial in people's names with the cinnamon - like a big "B" for Blythe with a heart)

ENJOY! It is sooooo yummy :)

Random Recipes

Chicken Divan - healthier thanks to Marcy
1 chicken, boned and skinned (save broth) - about 2 cups of chicken, diced
1 bunch broccoli
1/2 c plain yogurt (instead of sour cream)
1/2 c mayo
1/4 t curry
1 t mustard
1/4 grated cheese
1/4 c margarine
1/4 c flour
3/4 c bread crumbs
Melt 1/4 c margarine in sauce pan. Add flour and mix, let bubble. Add 1 1/2 C chicken broth. Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Cut broccoli and cook until crisp-tender. Layer broccoli in 9x13 dish. Add to thickened cream mixture yogurt, mayo, curry, mustard and pinch of paprika. Layer diced chicken over broccoli. Pour sauce over chicken. Melt 1/4 c margarine and bread crumbs and 1 T parsly flakes. Sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 about 20min or until hot and bubbly.

Yummy Chicken Tortilla Soup - thanks to Kiersten (feel free to edit if you want, I actually never cooked this)
3 1/2 c chicken broth
32 oz can of salsa
1 lb chicken
1 can corn with juice
Cook chicken and add ingredients together in a pot. Cook until hot and then garnish with cheese, sour cream (or plain yogurt!) and tortilla chips.

Smoothies
1 c vanilla yogurt
1/2 c skim milk
6-7 ice cubes
fruit of your choice
Blend yogurt, milk and ice cubes together until smooth. Chop up fruit of your choice and place in blender with yogurt, milk, ice mixture and blend until the consistency you like. We've had berry smoothies, mango, peach, strawberry banana etc. If you was a low calorie sweetner, use a yummy 0 calorie sweetner called Stevia and enjoy!

Very Low Calorie but Yummy Foods!

As most of you know, Greg and I have been doing a pretty drastic HCG diet wherein we could only eat 500 calories a day while taking HCG. It was a pretty good diet - I lost 16lbs in 5 weeks, and Greg lost 12lbs in 2 weeks (men - grrrr!). But while on this diet we found some tasty low calorie recipes! So here they are:

Tomato basil chicken

Ingredients

100 grams cubed chicken (109 calories)

1 cup chopped tomato (around 25-35 calories / 5 cal per oz)

¼ cup water or chicken broth

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1-2 cloves garlic sliced

3 leaves basil rolled and sliced

1/8 teaspoon oregano fresh or dried

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

Cayenne to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Lightly brown the chicken in small saucepan with lemon juice. Add garlic,

onion, spices and water. After chicken is cooked add fresh tomatoes and

basil. Continue cooking for 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, garnish

with fresh basil.

Makes 1 serving (1 protein, 1 fruit or vegetable)

Total Calories: Between 134-144 calories. Would be very yummy if you add cheese or serve on top of pasta!

Chili

Ingredients

100 grams lean ground beef (less than 7% fat) (172 calories)

1 cup chopped tomatoes (around 25-35 calories / 5cal per oz)

½ cup water

2 tablespoons minced onion

2 cloves garlic crushed and minced

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of onion powder

¼ teaspoon chili powder

Pinch of oregano

Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Brown ground beef in small frying pan, add onions and garlic. Stir in

tomatoes and water. Add spices and simmer slowly until liquid is reduced.

The longer it cooks the more tender and flavorful. Add a little water as

needed to prevent burning. Serve with chopped green onion or tomato

garnish and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 1 serving (1 protein, 1 vegetable or fruit)

Total Calories: Around 197 to 207 calories. Would be totally delicious with a dab of sour cream, cheese and fritos or whole wheat crackers!
Probably my favorite recipe is one that we made up though! It's a strawberry lemonade slushy.
Put about 6 ice cubes, about 1 cup water and 2 packets of stevia (natural 0 calorie sugar) and blend in a blender. Squeeze half a lemon in separate bowl, remove seeds and add to blender with about 4 or 5 strawberries. Blend together and enjoy! Very refreshing and would be great with any type of berry, or really probably any fruit! And it's only about 30 calories for a large glass :)

Potato bar

I am so tired of my kids NOT eating potatoes that I decided to give them a positive potato experience...

Tonight we had a potato bar: baked potatoes, and then toppings of all kinds. The kids could put whatever they wanted on the potatoes (and I was surprised they actually did a decent job loading up - some had more toppings than potato, but I just wanted them to have a happy potato experience...!)

We had pepperoni, ham, cheese, sour cream, Chick-Fil-A sauce, ranch, peas, broccoli, corn, and even some random leftovers to use on our potatoes.

I also had some homemade bread (see recipe for sabotage bread...) to stuff everyone's faces AFTER the potatoes were gone.

THEY DID GREAT!!! Almost everyone said "This is so yummy!" after one bite of their specialized potato.

Just thought I'd share an easy dinner success!

Pioneer Woman's BBQ meatballs

This is a new found favorite, especially for Joe. I cheat and use Costco Italian Meatballs.

It is from the Pioneer Woman. She has lots of recipes I want to try someday, like this lemon pasta


BBQ Meatballs - Comfort Food to the Max

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
plenty of ground black pepper

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
4 to 6 tablespoons onion
Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.

Enjoy!

Shout out for more recipes PLEASE!!!

I am in such a dinner rut...

My kids are so into pasta that I can't handle it! What would be some fun/easy/kid friendly summer recipes?!?!?

THANKS in advance!!!