Blackberry French Toast Casserole

When I went to the ornament exchange party/brunch hosted by Wendy of Simply Brookes, one of the casseroles she served was a Blackberry French Toast Casserole.

I think she got the recipe from Kristy at Mi Casa - San Diego (that's the person I would call for a good recipe recommendation, too).  Fortunately for me, Wendy put a link to the recipe on her blog.

I will include it here also:

• 1 cup Blackberry Jam
• 1 loaf (12 Oz. Loaf) French Bread Loaf, Cut Into 1 1/2 Inch Cubes
• 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Cubed
• 4 whole Large Eggs
• 2 cups Half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ½ cups Firmly Brown Sugar

Cook jam in a small saucepan over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring once.

Place half of the bread cubes in the bottom of a lightly greased 13×9 inch baking dish. Top with cream cheese cubes and drizzle with melted jam. Top with remaining bread cubes.

Whisk together eggs, half-and-half, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour over the bread mixture. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Cover tightly and chill 8 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake covered 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until bread is golden brown and mixture is set. Serve with desired toppings such as maple syrup or whipped cream

I was going to make this while our house guests were here but I couldn't get my act together (sorry house guests).

 I made it today because one of my kids is going away to camp.

The recipe called for 1 cup of blackberry jam, but I had a jar with a little less than 12 ounces and I used the whole thing.  I didn't think a little extra jam would hurt.  The recipe also says you can top it with maple syrup or whipped cream, but honestly, I don't think it needs a thing.

Except a cup of coffee and a back porch.  Thanks for the recipe Wendy and Kristy.

Do you have any great breakfast recipes?

Giant Bubbles

The nice lady at The Home Depot wanted to

know what I was going to do with this pile of stuff.

Make giant bubbles, of course.

Here is a link to my post last summer that has the recipe.

I just love making these bubbles.

Once you start making bubbles, it's hard to stop.

Sometimes we do this at night.

They seem to last longer without the hot sun.
So if you drive by my house late, you might see
people in polka dot pajamas making huge bubbles in the dark.
That's hot.

This cutie took most of the photos.

Mesmerizing.

There was also a sneak hug attack after the bubbles.

And then, unfortunately, our

amazing, wonderful, beloved house guests

had to go on their way.

Hilarious Corgis

Corgi Addict posted a photo of my very nerdy Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Rascal, today.  And yes, he does cuddle up in blankets like that.  All the time.  He makes tents, too.  Nerd.

Go check them out here and see all the other insanely adorable and funny little doggies.

Today's Lunch

Today's Lunch:

Cooked and chilled quinoa

Chopped tangerine (or orange)

Organic raisins

Chopped raw almonds

Organic chopped spinach

Tangerine (or orange) juice

Lemon olive oil

This amazing lady always has great lunches if you want more ideas.

Teacher Appreciation Week

I don't have any big Teacher Appreciation Week projects going this year.  I let someone else decorate the teacher lounge this year.  Saying "no" feels good.  I am going to do one thing for the lounge, and thought it was an idea worthy of being shared.

I have a lot of magazines, and I do not need them all.  I am going to go through the piles and donate the nice ones to the teacher's lounge.  If I feel nice, I might even put them in a basket.  They enjoy having something to look at during lunch, and I'll be recycling and decluttering at the same time.

Here are some of my past teacher appreciation projects:

Paper Strawberries filled with candy



Topiaries and butterflies

Vintage tags, sunflowers and lanterns

Beach towel and magazine

Beautiful Sideboard

I really was decluttering and dropping things off at the thrift store when I saw this.  I haven't been buying any new stuff, furniture or projects lately.  But if you ask me, is there one piece of furniture you would want to score, my answer would have been this exact piece.  A woman even came across the parking lot and told me she couldn't believe it was sitting there for three days, and when she saw me she hoped I would be the one who would take it home and take good care of it and love it.  That's a sign that the universe wanted me to buy it.
Now I'm motivated to get rid of more stuff in my house, so my special things will shine.  Preferably before the endlessly patient Mr. Jones gets home from work.

Breakfast Smoothie

Today's breakfast ... Kale, frozen blueberries (or banana) and filtered water.  Add some agave if you need more sweet.   Blend, blend, blend.

Kale is a pretty stiff leaf and I find it blends better if I chop it up really well before I put it in the blender.  It's worth it because raw kale is hands-down one of the best things for your body.   Bananas have a strong flavor and they hide the kale tast well.  They are also very sweet and don't need any sweetener.

Mid-morning snack will be a big glass of fresh carrot and green apple juice.  Green apples are another strong flavor, and I never feel like I'm drinking carrot juice.