What I Have Been Doing…

So lately I have not been in the writing mood.  Life has been so busy, and my hands have hurt so bad, that it didn’t seem appealing.  Among other things!  Here is some of the craziness!

….visiting the surgeon.  Yep, it’s time.  My carpal tunnel has gotten so bad in my right arm, that next Thursday I get it fixed!  I am so excited!!  I am even more excited that I don’t have any anesthesia except local, since I am pregnant.

….being outside.  My boys love being outside, and Seeley LOVES the sand box.  We have enjoyed these beautiful days.

….making new recipes.  Even though I haven’t been sharing, I have been making new things.  Mashed Potato Casserole, Toffee Dip, Ultimate Lasagna…all good, and all shared in the future.

…getting big.  This baby is my third, and I am noticing a little….early growth!  I am big, but loving it now that the morning sickness seems to be gone.  This is the first time I have actually LOST weight during a pregnancy!

…enjoying yogurt and fruit.  I make a Strawberry Blueberry Compote with just the berries, a little sugar and a splash of water, cook it down and chill.  I like it over yogurt with honey and chopped walnuts.

What have you been up to?  Share your fun!!

Eggland’s Best Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our giveaway!  Our big winner is……

 

Christy! 

Enjoy your fun gift, and let us know what you made!!

Breakfast and a Giveaway!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Eggland’s Best eggs to try their product and see how I like it!  After receiving an amazing package in the mail, I got to work!

Last weekend I had a few people over!  Too bad none of them were over 7!!!  Who better to have breakfast on a Sunday morning with than my favorite group of boys! (and my firend Nicola!)

On to breakfast!  I had seen a few recipes I wanted to try.  One was a Carmelized French Toast from the Food Network Magazine, and one was an egg casserole I make on a regular basis.  The French toast was easy!

Simply cut a loaf of sourdough.  The recipe says to cut a round loaf into wedges.  After having made the recipe, I liked cutting it into slices better.  It seemed to absorb the egg mixture better.  The other thing is the recipe uses buttermilk.  I really liked the slightl flavor it gave, and the richness in the bread.  When you cook the bread, you sprinkle each side with powdered sugar.  As it cooks, it caramelizes and creates a beautiful crispy crust.

The egg casserole is a recipe I have used for a long time.  Again, start with bread!  Tear up half a loaf of Italian bread and put it into a 9×13-inch pan.  Top with choice of veggies and meat, and pour over an egg mixture.  Top with cheese and bake!

Both recipes are super easy, and I was glad I chose these to use Eggland’s Best eggs in.  I have always loved their eggs, simply because of the beautiful color of the yolks.  They are like sunshine in the pan!  They were great with the buttermilk from the French toast, they just added to the richness.  When it came to the egg casserole, the eggs were showcased, and they stood up to the challange!

When cutting into the egg casserole, it had a nice creamy, rich texture and flavor.  When combined with peppers, onions and cheese, they were perfect!

A few other benefits???  They are a healthy egg!  Look at all the fun facts about Eggland’s Best!

-  10 times more vitamin E

- Double the amount of omega-3′s

-Twice the amount of vitamin D

-3 times more vitamin B12

-25% less saturated fat

-38% more lutein

(When compared to regular eggs)

Here are some pics of our yummy breakfast!

Now on to the giveaway!!!!  Eggland Best has offered to send one lucky reader an awesome gift package!

Here is what you have to do!!!  Just leave me a comment and let me know your favorite recipe that you would use Eggland’s Best Eggs in.  On April 16 I will pick a winner and Eggland’s will send you your gift pack!  So simple!

Here are the recipes!

Caramelized French Toast

1/2 round loaf crusty sourdough bread

4 lare eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 TBSP butter, more if needed

Maple syrup

Cut the bread into 8 large wedges or sliced.  Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, cream, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a large baking dish.  Add the bread and turn occasionally until soaked through, about 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  Put the powdered sugar in a fine-mesh sieve.  Melt 1 TBSP butter over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet.  Add half the bread and dush generously with the powdered sugar; cook, turning onve and dusting with more sugar, until golden brown and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes.  Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.  Add 1 more TBSP butter to the skillet and repeat with the remaining bread.  Serve with syrup.  Serves 4

Egg Casserole

Tear up 1/2 loaf Italain bread into bite-sized pieces and place in bottom of 9×13-inch baking pan.  Add desired vegetables or cooked meats (about 3/4 cup each: I usually do peppers, onions and ham or sausage).  Combine 10 eggs and 2/3 cup milk in large bowl and whisk to combine.  Pour over bread.  Top with desired cheese and cover.  Refrigerate overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Uncover casserole and bake 35-45 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Serves 6-8.

Remember to leave a comment about your favorite breakfast!!!

** The Eggland’s Best coupon, information and two gift packa shave been provided by Eggland’s Best**

Ninja Bread Cookies

These are what Keegan took for birthday snack at school!  Thanks to our good friend Sheri Francis for letting us borrow her cutters!  The kids loved them!

Simply Syrup

Ok, so this post isn’t necessarily about waffles, since you can use both of these syrups on pancakes, French toast, or pound cake, but I thought I would pass them on because we love them!

Don’t you love my tablecloth?  Thank you, it is from Ikea, and has been in the package for the last 3 years.  I never had a table that it fit on, but now I do!

Ok, now on to more important things!  Syrup!!  A few weeks ago we had our great new friends Harry and Erika, Zak(Keegan’s best friend from school) and their daughter Kendal, over after ice skating lessons(oh yes, Keegan on ice skates.  Thank goodness he is not AS clumsy as his mother.) for waffles.  I had a taste for waffles, and brought out a whole bunch of recipes for different ones!

Then I thought about syrup……..yummmmm.  There is a recipe my mom made a few years ago for an Orange Syrup.  The recipe she had was for a baguette-style french toast.  The syrup is fabulous.  Then I remembered a buttermilk syrup recipe I had come across……more yummmmm.  Ok, so I made some syrup too!

On to syrup recipes!  Try one of these on your next pancake or waffle morning!

Orange Syrup

1/2 cup orange juice

1/3 cup corn syrup

1/4 cup sugar

4 teaspoons butter

1 teaspoon grated orange peel(optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring.  When thickened slightly, remove from heat and keep warm until use.  Makes about 1 cup.

Buttermilk Syrup

* This is a great way to use leftover buttermilk!

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter(if you are watching calories, you can use 1/4 cup butter with no issue)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

In a large saucepan, bring buttermilk, sugars, and butter to a boil over medium heat. Use a large saucepan, since when you add the vanilla, it will bubble up a LOT.  Remove from heat and whisk  in soda and vanilla. It will bubble up a lot. Hopefully you used a large saucepan like I told you. As it cools, the bubbles will go away.  Let cool slightly, and keep warm until needed.  Makes about 2 cups.

Enjoy!

Cheddar and Bacon Waffles

I think these might be my favorite……or maybe the chocolate ones…..or the apple cider ones…..or maybe just plain…..so many choices.

These are a dense, flavorful waffle.  Don’t expect them to be like your normal waffles, light and airy.  With the addition of cheese and bacon, they are heavy, and kind of rich.  The batter is easy to mix up and you can use ready-bacon if you like.  I added chopped green onions as well.

We liked these waffles with syrup, but they also make a good bread substitute for an egg sandwich!

Bacon Cheddar Waffles

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 TBSP sugar

1 egg

2 TBSP vegetable oil

3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP milk

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup cooked bcaon, chopped

1 whole green onion or chives, chopped finely (white and green parts)

Combine all ingredients in large bowl, mixing to combine.  Cook according to manufacturer’s directions for your waffle maker.  Serve with syrup or sour cream and salsa!  Makes 8 to 10 waffles depending on the size of your waffle maker.

Chocolate Waffles: Cake Mix Style

Waffles are so easy to adapt!  Who wouldn’t want chocolate waffles??

These waffles were good, but I am not sure if I would make them with a cake mix again or if I would do a traditional recipe.  This is super simple, and in a pinch, when we have a chocolate craving, these are the way we go!

A few things to keep an eye on.  These waffles have a high sugar content, so when they cook, make sure you keep and eye on them.  They will be a lighter, airy waffle, and do burn easily.  Also, when removing them from your waffle iron, use two forks, or a fork and spatula, since the texture of these is very loose and they will tear easily if not supported.  As they cool slightly, they will firm up a little.

Chocolate Cake Mix Waffles

The recipe for these is SUPER easy!  Just mix up your cake mix!  Use the directions on the back of your box, and the ingredients the mix suggests.  When cooking on your waffle iron, use 1/4 cup batter per waffle.

One recipe I have seen for these frozen them between parchment paper when finished cooking and used them to make ice cream sandwiches with!  If you don’t want to wait that long, top the hot waffles with ice cream, chocolate syrup and enjoy!