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?

Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes Recipe** Update

Today I'm giving you my recipe for the pancakes I make for my kiddos every morning. It's a bit of a combination of the Pancakes recipe in Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, and the Better Pancakes recipe in Rachael Ray's Yum-O!, the Family Cookbook (my awesome mil gave me this one for X-Mas ... thanks Betty!).

I thought Deceptively Delicious missed an opportunity with the Pancakes recipe to slip more protein in the pancakes by using a pancake mix that requires eggs. Yum-O's recipe beefed up the protein, but didn't add the sweet potato. I'm doing both.

By the way, sweet potatoes are just one of the best foods you can have in your diet. They ROCK. I eat them with dinner instead of white potatoes. You can read a good little article on them here. One of the reasons I like them in the kids' breakfast is because they don't spike up your blood sugar and are a good steady source of energy.

I'm always running late, so I like to whip up the batter at night and throw it in the fridge (this recipe makes enough for 2 days for my kids, so I just cook what I need and throw the bowl back in the fridge for the next morning). You can also cook the pancakes ahead of time and put them in the fridge or freezer.

Here's what you need:

2 cups Aunt Jemima pancake mix (make sure you get the kind that requires eggs)**Update: I've slowly been mixing in the Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend pancake mix. No one has noticed. Right now I'm using 1/2 cup Whole Wheat mix and 1 1/2 cup regular. Each week I'm adding another 1/4 cup. The cinnamon in the recipe hides the whole wheat and the sweet potato**

1 cup Milk

3 Eggs

1 or 2 4oz. jars of Sweet Potato baby food (I use two jars or one big jar, and Yes, I'm cheating and it's just as good!)

1 tsp Cinnamon

Smart Balance Light Spread (This brand is one of the healthier spreads)

Here's what you do:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together pancake mix, milk, eggs, 1 or 2 jars of baby food (you might want to start with 1 jar if your kids are picky like mine, and then try more next time) and cinnamon. Mix until combined, and add more milk to get to consistency you like. Put a little bit of spread on hot pan, pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook until little bubbles start to form on tops and then flip. Cook until light golden brown.

I like to give my kids a little bowl with the amount of syrup I want them to use, instead of letting them drench the pancakes in syrup. Dipping and not drenching. It's easier to keep it under control that way. I'm not a big fan of syrup. I just saw a recipe in Southern Living for honey-butter syrup ... You mix 1/3 cup butter with 1/2 cup honey (I used Healthy Balance Regular Spread and honey). It's not that low fat or low sugar, but it's real food and so much better than fake health food (ex. Hungry Jack Lite syrup which has High Fructose Corn Syrup as the first ingredient!! That stuff is SOOOO bad for you).
I've been Healthy Girl lately, so this is what I fixed up for me.
Good food isn't so bad. I like to have 2 egg yolks and 3 egg whites, scrambled. Just to the right of these beautiful eggs is a cute teenager looking at me like I'm a freak because I'm photographing breakfast.
I throw some spinach in my eggs while they are cooking. Chopped mushrooms are good too. Easy on the salt. If you need more flavor add a little bit of salsa when you're done cooking them. In addition to the eggs, I like to have either a bowl of oatmeal (banana is an AWESOME sweetener) or 2 pieces of whole grain toast with Smart Balance Light and sugar free jam.
Oops, this probably isn't on the healthy list. It's low sugar though. ;-)

Menu Plan Monday

I'm joining I'm an Organizing Junkie today for Menu Plan Monday. Here's what I've got cookin' this week:

Monday:
Baked Spaghetti, Salad and Garlic Bread

Tuesday:
Chicken Fettucini, Salad

Wednesday:
Hamburgers and Corn

Thursday:
Mango Crockpot Chicken Tacos from 4 Reluctant Entertainers (cooking on Wednesday) and Rice

4RE's post with the chicken recipe was about making a little extra for a friend. I have a friend who has a sick mother, so I think I will throw some extra in for her family, too, and while I'm at it, make some of those yummy snicker doodles Sandy made to go with the chicken.

Thursday Night Bunco:

Brie baked with pineapple preserves, crackers, Prosciutto Panino (I bought this log of mozzarella and prosciutto from Costco and I'm not sure what to do with it. I think I will slice it and serve on crostini. Any advice on this one?), and Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars from Tea in My Cup. I've never tried this but they look yummy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Friday:

Pizza. I'm putting goat cheese on mine. Yumm.

Saturday:
Carne Asada (Bill Bailey's from Costco). This stuff is awesome and too easy. I would love to stop by the international market and find some uncooked flour tortillas to go with. There is no better tortilla friends!

Sunday Morning:
Orange Sweet Rolls (Pillsbury)

Stop by I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menus and recipes!

Deceptive ... and Delicious?

A while back, I bought this book

and I've slowly been testing the recipes. In case you haven't seen it, Jessica Seinfeld wrote this book on how to sneak pureed veggies into food. Some recipes have been good, some not so good. I'll get back to you on those recipes, but today I tried the recipe for donuts, and this is what I ended up with:

They were really good, and very easy to make. I did get lucky a couple months ago, and I found a donut pan at a yard sale, but the recipe says you can use muffin tins instead. They have sweet potato and pumpkin in them, and they are pretty low fat because they have egg white and just a table spoon of low fat margarine. Ok, they are not going to taste like real donuts, but my super picky kids ate them and liked them. I can't stop eating them.

Tasty Little Muffins and Children's Cookbook

*A note to add to yesterday's post: If you like the mirror I got on clearance, Bed Bath and Beyond still sells them, and the regular price is only a little less than $20.00 (an amazing price compared to the other store). I didn't see them online, but I did see them in the mirror section at the store.*

A while back, I tried OliveJuice's recipe for Fruit Filled Scones, and they were *so* good that I thought I would try another one of her recipes.!

This time I made her recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins. Yum! They are really good. Easy too ... you start with a box mix and add the cream cheese filling. Click on the link above to get the recipe. You have to see her aprons, too. They are amazing!

I am going to have to try all the recipes on her blog, now, since the first 2 were very tasty. Thanks OliveJuice!

I also saw this great children's cookbook the other day. I have been looking for a good cookbook for my kids, but haven't been able to find one until now. I don't want anything with weird recipes, just the basics please.

Well, I was very happy when it arrived, because not only is it absolutely adorable (it has vintage children's cooking pictures throughout), but it covers the basics of cooking and the good old standards for recipes (tomato soup, meatloaf, muffins, etc.). Tween actually picked it up and made a recipe for blueberry muffins all by herself. She substituted chocolate chips for blueberries, and she even wore a vintage handkerchief apron! *I'm so proud that she accessorized before baking ... I wish I had taken a picture!*

You can get it at Amazon.com among other places. I get the used books from them for a better price. They also have them on ebay and P.O.S.H. Chicago (this is a fun store to look through).


There is a sewing version of the book, called See and Sew, a Sewing Book for Children. I haven't purchased this one yet, but I would love to check it out. Either of these books would make a great gift.


This past weekend, my Honey went to Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction. He is *wild* about baseball. I have always enjoyed tagging along with him to baseball stadiums and to get autographs. I also love the old vintage baseball photos he has. (This particular photo is courtesy of HistoryImages.com)

My Honey has been fortunate to meet many baseball players through his job, including Tony Gwynn. We are big Tony fans anyway, because we are from San Diego. We live so close to Cooperstown, that Mr. J was able to drive right over to see Tony's big day. He and our son also had a chance to meet Cal Ripken, and he was so kind and humble. As a mother of two young sons, I truly appreciate two baseball players who are a good example to kids, and who use their fame and talent to do good things for others. Congratulations to both of you, and thank you!

I will finish my post with a picture of Puppy's Very Bad Day.

Menu Plan Monday

Every Monday, I'm an Organizing Junkie hosts Menu Plan Monday, which is just what I need, since I tend to make up my mind at the last minute and go to the grocery store every day. Aaaand I shop on Mondays anyway because I like to do my Grocery Game coupon shopping that day.

So here is the menu for this week:

Monday: Tacos

Tuesday: Salmon with Brown Sugar Pepper Blend (from Wegman's)

Wednesday: Breakfast Night

Thursday: Chicken Tettrazini (did I spell that correctly? I'm too lazy to look it up)

Friday: Leftovers

Hmmmmm, that was really easy. Why didn't I do this before? :-) Hope you all had a nice holiday weekend!

Blogger Potluck

Shabby in the City has graciously invited us to her blogger potluck, and as usual, I am a little late to the party. But I'm here, and this is the recipe I have made for you all. It is a great recipe, because you can make the crumble topping ahead of time and keep it in the freezer. This crumble topping recipe actually makes 6 cups of crumble (enough to make the blueberry peach crumbles recipe 3 times!) You can also use the crumble topping as a topping for fruit pies.

BTW, aren't the library cards cool?!! Inspire Co. shared this in a recent blog entry (thank you) . . . just stop by here to make one for yourself.

The Perfect Scone and Utility Closet Makeover

I absolutely love scones, so when I saw a recipe for fruit filled scones on the blog OliveJuice, I had to give it a try. All I can say is **WOW**. They are the best I have had. You can make fresh blueberry, strawberry or blackberry scones from this recipe. I didn't have oranges for the zest, so I used orange extract and that worked too. Thank you OliveJuice!

A few days ago I saw a linen closet on the blog Notes from a Cottage Industry, and that gave me an idea. I have wanted shelves in my closets, but even the wire shelving from the hardware store is more than I want to spend on closets. I saw the tall dresser Tracey used in her linen closet and I ran down to the store to see what I could find. I picked up a used, warped, pressboard bookcase that fits perfectly in my closet. Here is a very scary "before" picture (yes, many closets in my house look like this).
I primed the entire bookcase with spray primer. Then I took off the back and covered it with toile wrapping paper I bought at the grocery store. I painted the rest with a very light blue paint I already had.

It's not bad for a closet. It also helped me de-clutter because anything that doesn't fit on my beautiful shelf is getting the boot (the pile in the garage is growing, and I'm still debating whether to have a garage sale).

The closet is very tall, so I also put hooks in the ceiling to store the chandelier and plate stand that were previous hanging from the wire shelf.


"My soul finds rest in God alone; My salvation comes from Him."

~Psalms 62:1

Sneaky Mom Recipe

When it comes to food, I can honestly claim that my kids are about as picky as they come. I even have one child who hates cakes, cookies, pudding, ice cream, and especially chocolate! My daughter cried the first time I fed her (you know, that rice flake cereal that has no taste). They shiver, throw up, cry . . . you name it. They even called me out when I switched catsup brands. We're working through it though. Sometimes I give in, sometimes I force them to eat their food, and sometimes I get down and dirty. I'm talking about tricking them. I have put green vegetable fruit juice (Green Machine from Costco) in sippy cups with lids so they couldn't see it, and I put pureed baby food carrots in their spaghetti sauce (it took years for me just to get them to eat spaghetti!!!!)

And then there is my favorite recipe of all time. Those who know me have heard about this legendary recipe for years (ad nauseam). It is the famous spinach brownies recipe. I made them for my kids and they couldn't sniff out the secret ingredient. Now, I can taste just a hint of spinach, but if you don't know what's in them, they're not bad. Give it a try and see if they pass the test. WORD OF CAUTION: 1) Don't **EVER** tell them there is spinach in the brownies or it will ruin it, even if they like them; and 2) Don't get greedy, mom . . . I put more spinach in one day and I got busted! My daughter knows the deal now and she won't eat them anymore (see #1 above). I am currently working on a new spinach brownie recipe to trick my daughter, and I will post it later this week. But I would advise that you try this one first. Here it is . . .

Spinach Brownies:

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

3 Tbs. water

1 box (12.9 oz) brownie mix

1 tub chocolate frosting

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of nonstick 9"x9" or 8"x8" pan.

2. In bowl of food processor with metal blade or a blender, puree spinach, oil, egg, and water. Process 1 minute, or until smooth, scraping down sides. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add brownie mix and stir until well blended. Spread batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 20 minutes.

4. Frost brownies, cut and serve.

Tip: If you ever have trouble cutting brownies (you know how it sticks to the knife), use a plastic knife to cut them. It really works!