No Excuses French Toast

French toast is a family favorite, I think we made it every Mother's Day for as long as I can remember (take note, Tom!) It pleases every palate and is worthy of the extra carbs/calories/sugar intake (enter whatever diet excuse here). The mere thought of this recipe makes my mouth water, and once you try it you will understand why. It truly is pure decadence!

Serves 4 people, or 3 gluttons!


1 cup milk (the more fat the better)

1 pinch salt

4 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon white sugar

Zest of 1/2 orange

1 loaf Hawaiian sweet bread (under no circumstances can you substitute another bread)

Raspberry Topping

1 (6 ounce) jar raspberry preserves

1/4 cup orange juice

Zest of 1/2 orange


Whisk together , milk, salt, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla and orange zest until smooth.

Cut the loaf of hawaiian sweet bread in half and then take each have to cut 1/2 inch slices.

Heat lightly greased griddle over medium heat

Dip, dunk and soak bread slices in mixture until no dry spots can be seen. Cook bread on each side until golden brown.

Raspberry Topping:

 

In a small saucepan over medium low heat mix raspberry preserves and orange juice and orange zest. Stir occasionally while the french toast is cooking. Add raspberries just before serving french toast.

No syrup needed here! Serve you french toast with the raspberry topping and powdered sugar, I promise you there will be no leftovers!
 

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner!

"So, what is it like being married, do you feel any different?"

No, I don't... well, other than the fact that I can't come home and munch on pita chips and hummus for dinner, or eat leftover brownies for breakfast (try it sometime!). The adjustments from single life are few for me, and maybe that is just my newlywed naivety popping though, but for us, it hasn't been too hard, except for when it comes down to the food...

Now, every Sunday I sit down and meal plan for the week before I go grocery shopping, I probably should have done that before I was married too, but oh well! At first, I would try to plan a meal for each day of the week, and before I knew it we were running out of Tupperware, and fridge space to store our leftovers! Not to mention the grocery bill was starting to leave little room for red wine! So, now I am trying to be more "inventive" shall we say. Coming up with meals that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. So far our favorite is quiche, which can be prepared in a variety of ways, but this one really stands out!

Green Chile Spinach Quiche

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 eggs
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (feel free to replace with what you already have in your fridge)
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies
1/2 cup melted butter
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Yummy Additions:
1/2 chopped sautéed yellow onion
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F(200 degrees C). Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture until no lumps remain. Stir in shredded cheese, cottage cheese, spinach, green chilies and melted butter until evenly blended. Divide mixture between two pie crusts.

Bake the quiches in the preheated oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350. Continue baking until quiches are lighted brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Want a healthier option?
This can easily be made without using the pie crust, and is still just as delicious!

*** Big THANK YOU to AllRecipes.com for this recipe!****
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Green-Chile-Spinach-Quiche/Detail.aspx 

Good Old Fashioned Sloppy.... Taco?

The quintessential childhood meal.... sloppy joes. Every mom's secret into hiding some veggies behind meaty saucy deliciousness!

I love sloppy joes, there is just no getting around it, and to be honest, I am not exactly sure why I love them so much. I think I could eat them at least once a week and never get sick of them. Come to think of it, I do make this meal about once a week... poor Tom.

Anyhoo... you may be wondering why this recipe is called a "sloppy taco" and not the traditional "sloppy joe". Well my friends, tortillas are cheap, less calories, and the best part, they hold the saucy meaty goodness mixture in, so that really... the meal isn't actually all that sloppy!

Serves about 4 hungry, but not starving people.

1 lb ground beef

1 jar of your favorite bbq sauce

1 yellow onion

1 green pepper

1 package flour tortillas

A Little Spice Never Hurt Anyone...

1 pinch of red pepper

1 jalepeno (minced)

In a large pan brown the beef and add chopped onion, bell pepper and jalepeno. After the meat is browned and onions and peppers are tender, drain the fat... this is optional, but I recommend it. Add bbq sauce and red pepper, stir and let simmer for at least 20 minutes.. or longer if you need to kill some time.

One your Sloppy Taco mixture has cooked down, throw tortillas into the microwave for 15 seconds to heat up. Add meat to tortillas and wrap just like a burrito... voila, you just made your first not so sloppy taco!


Have some leftovers?
Add your sloppy taco mixture on top of hot dogs for a delicious take on a chili dog...YUM!

Italian Beef Made Easy.

When my husband and I first started dating I would often join in on his mother's home cooked meals, an Italian mom... need I say more? One of the first meals she cooked was Italian Beef and I was instantly hooked! Of course, once we got married I needed to try to recreate this recipe so that I could keep up with his standards, so here is my version of Italian Beef!

 

Serves 2 with just enough leftovers for lunch the next day.

1 lb thinly sliced rare roast beef

1 packet au jus (I prefer McCormick brand, but any will do)

1 package of good italian sandwich buns

2 green bell peppers

1 yellow onion

2 tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Optional Additions

Pepperoncini

Cheese

Giardiniera

Whisk together au jus seasoning packet and cold 3 cups water in small bowl (amount of water may vary depending on seasoning packet). Pour Au Jus into large pot, and add  roast beef 1 or 2 slices at a time, bring pot to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes... or really until you are done with the next step! :)

 

 

Cut up bell pepper and onion into slices (works best for the sandwiches) and add to pan with olive oil, oregano, garlic powder salt and pepper. Mix well so all the onions and peppers get covered. Cover and let simmer for about ten minutes. 

 

Meanwhile, prepare the buns!

Set you oven to broil and on a baking sheet open up sandwich buns and layer 2 pieces of cheese on them so that the bottom of the bun will be covered in cheese. Place buns in oven for about 5 minutes until cheese is just melted!

Pull those buns out of the oven and layer on the beef, peppers and onions... and hey, if you are feeling risky add the pepperoncini and giardiniera!! ENJOY!