….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!!

Christy! 

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

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**

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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!

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!

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.

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!

Aren’t these a beautiful color??  They scream fall or cold weather, and their flavor is light but full.

Apple Cider waffles are another easy recipe.  I used just store bought apple cider, but if your hitting the apple orchard, it would be great with some fresh pressed!  I am thinking you could use apple juice as a substitute, but I would add a little more cinnamon.

These waffles do get a crispy crust on them.  The sugar content is high, and almost caramelizes when cooked in your waffle iron, giving the waffles a crispness.  I didn’t have a problem with burning, but I supposse if you started a batch and forgot about it, they would probably burn.  If your going to reheat them in the toaster, they might get a little brown.

I will also be posting a recipe for Buttermilk Syrup which is fabulous with these!

Apple Cider Waffles

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg

1 cup apple cider

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and spices in a large bowl.  Whisk lightly to combine.  Add egg and apple cider, stirring to just combined.  Cook in your waffle iron, following manufacturer’s directions.  Serve with maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, or apple butter.

Rolos+Cake Mix=good?? Not so much…..

I have recipe fails too.  And this one seemed to be a recipe fail for me, but others seemed to enjoy them.  Maybe I was expecting to much….or maybe I just like my Rolos plain and simple right out of the foil paper.  Maybe I am just a purist.

This recipe was super easy.  The batter is made from a cake mix, and the only time-consuming part is cutting the Rolos in half.  As it baked, the Rolos melted and created a caramel-ly chocolate glaze over the crust.  Warm, they cut easily. Once cooled, it was harder since the caramel got sticky and firm.

If you like Rolos and need a quick dessert, give it a try.  If you do, I would like to know your opinion!

Rolo Bars

1 box (18.25 oz) yellow, vanilla or white cake mix ( I used Duncan Hines), dry

5 oz evaporated milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

40 Rolo Candies, unwrapped and cut in half

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.  In a bowl, combine cake mix, evaporated milk and butter.  Stir to combine.  Mixture should be thick and sticky.  Press half the mixture into your prepared pan.  Lightly wet your hands and it will be easier to spread.  It won’t look like you have enough, but it will cover the whole bottom.  Bake 8-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with Rolos, cut side down.  Take remaining batter and sprinkle it over the Rolos.  Bake for 20-22 more minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on rack.  Cut into squares.  Makes 24 bars.

I love anything cheesy……and potato-y……and crunchy.  So this recipe is for me!

Potato Hash Brown Casserole is so easy to make, and tasty!  You can make it ahead of time, and refrigerate it until needed.  I made this with Sloppy Joes one night for dinner and it got eaten!

Some recipes call for cream of chicken or potato soup.  I don’t like that flavor, so I left it out!  This is a good recipe for breakfast or side dish!

Potato Casserole

1 bag frozen hash browns, shredded (you can use them frozen or let them thaw-it will jut be harder to stir everything together if they are still frozen)

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed

1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.  In a large bowl (or I guess you could mix it in the pan) combine the hash browns, butter, sour cream and 1 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.  Add salt and pepper.  Pour into prepared pan and spread.  In a small bowl, combine cornflakes, remaining cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup melted butter.  Stir and spread out over casserole.  Bake 30-45 minutes until warm through and topping is lightly browned.  Serve warm.

**NOTE:  Some recipe have chopped onion in them.  If you like that flavor, add 1/2 cup chopped onion when combining the potato mixture.