French Toast Bake

Oh this was fantastic.  Me and my husband absolutely loved this sweet, warm, buttery goodness.  And it takes hardly any time to prepare.  Took me maybe 10 minutes is all.  Put it in the fridge the night before and then take it out and bake when you are ready to eat in the morning.  Oh so easy.  And it is sooo good.  Just a side note: if you forget to make it the night before, as long as it has time to sit and chill in the fridge for at least an hour, then that's better than nothing.  I've made it that way before as well and it still turns out great.


Ingredients
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar
1 loaf Texas toast
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar for sprinkling


Directions
1. Melt butter in microwave & add brown sugar….stir till mixed.
2. Pour butter/sugar mix into bottom of 9 x 13 pan….spread around
3. Beat eggs, milk, & vanilla
4. Lay single layer of Texas Toast in pan
5. Spoon 1/2 of egg mixture on bread layer
6. Add 2nd layer of Texas Toast
7. Spoon on remaining egg mixture
8. Cover & chill in fridge overnight
9. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
10. Sprinkle with powdered sugar
11. Serve with warm maple syrup

Gluten free: use GF bread of choice.  I just used my Udi's brand sandwich bread and it turned out great.

 Recipe and photo from vippins.com

Bacony Chicken and Rice

This recipe is delish!  I make something similar, a recipe from my great-grandmother (which I will have to post sometime in the near future), but this one was fun because it uses different spices and herbs to flavor it so it was the same idea, with different flavors.  So so good!  I love the use of bacon at the bottom which just adds so much to the flavor of the dish as well.  The chicken comes out so moist and juicy.  Mm mm.  Me and my husband really enjoyed it.

Ingredients
4 slices of thin bacon, cut in half
1 cup of long grain, uncooked rice
4 chicken thighs
Couple pinches of Kosher salt, or to taste
8 turns of the pepper grinder
Couples shakes of paprika
Couple dashes of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of water
Sprinkle of garlic salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of oregano
Small palmful of dried parsley

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Cut 4 slices of bacon in half and layer them on the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch baking dish. Pour the rice on top. Add the chicken over the rice and season with the salt, pepper, paprika, and Cajun seasoning. In a separate bowl add the cream of chicken soup, water, garlic salt, nutmeg, oregano, and parsley and whisk together well. Pour over the chicken. Cover tightly with heavy duty foil, or add one layer of regular aluminum foil, seal tight and repeat with a second layer. Bake in the middle or upper part of your oven, at 300 degrees F for 2 hours.

Gluten free: use GF cream of chicken soup.

Recipe and photo from deepsouthdish.com - thanks for sharing!!

Alfredo Potatoes

Me and my husband absolutely loved these!! They were super quick, with just microwaving the potatoes too. We served them as our main dish, with a side of corn, green salad, and garlic toast. They were very filling and delicious. I couldn't get enough. I refused to leave even a drop on my plate, even though I was so full. Oh so good. I added a tad more (maybe 1/2 cup) of the alfredo sauce, and sprinkled some onion salt in also. We were just loving all of the flavor! I hope you enjoy them as well too!

Ingredients
2 large baking potatoes
1 cup prepared Alfredo sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions
Pierce potatoes several times with a fork and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 4-1/2 minutes or until tender. Allow potatoes to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the Alfredo sauce, garlic powder, pepper and thyme. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and add to the sauce mixture; mix well. Spoon into potato shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Microwave on high for 45 seconds or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.

Gluten free: use a GF alfredo. I used Classico brand.

Recipe found on tasteofhome.com

California Egg Casserole

This was a fun and different egg casserole. The only thing that took some time was chopping all of the ingredients up. Other than that it was just layering and baking. And it was fun to try a new kind of egg casserole. I highly recommend making this on a day where it will all get eaten in one sitting though. The left overs did not taste as good as the first day, plus the avacado goes bad fairly quickly. So it's nice to eat it when it's hot and fresh! Just a tip, but doesn't mean you can't use it as left overs if you want to! :)

Ingredients

12 eggs
3-4 cups shredded Jack cheese (I used two cups)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
2 large avocados, cubed
3/4 cup green onions, diced
8 oz cream cheese cut into small chunks
3/4 cup milk


Directions

Prepare 9×13 dish with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix eggs with milk, beat well.
Layer 2 cups Jack cheese and 1 cup cheddar in bottom of dish (I only did the two cups Jack cheese). Layer remaining ingredients: avocados, tomatoes, green onions, cream cheese. Cover with remaining cheese and cover all with egg/milk mixture. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.

This recipe is gluten free!

Recipe and photo found on skiptomylou.org

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (Slow Cooker)

I got this recipe from one of my mom's neighbors several years ago and it is one that I make on a regular basis now! I love it. And what a great way for me to use my left over Easter ham too. It is delicious and easy. I also adapted it this last weekend to be even EASIER. And it turned out just as good, if not better in my opinion. I will first give you the original recipe and with my subtle changes to the side. I hope it doesn't get too confusing, if it does, just leave me a comment to clarify and I would be happy to do so! Happy slow cooking! :)

Ingredients
7 cups sliced potatoes (I used two bags of Simply Potatoes- cubed potatoes with onion)
3 cups cubed ham
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups diced onion (I omitted this last time because there was already onion with my packaged potatoes)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 2.5 oz. can of sliced mushrooms
2 tsp parsley

Directions
Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray. Then layer your ingredients (Half of the ham, potatoes, onion, cheese- repeat layer with remaining half of ingredients). Once you are done layering your ingredients, in mixing bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup, undrained can of mushrooms, and parsley. Spoon evenly over the top of your layered ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Stir to mix ingredients and serve.
Makes great left overs!

Gluten free: use GF cream of mushroom soup.

Enjoy!! I know I always do! :)

Image from tablespoon.com

Taco Chicken Bowls (Slow Cooker)

What can I say? This was yummy, easy, low cost, and fresh. Loved it. And my husband did too.

INGREDIENTS
1.5 lbs.chicken breasts
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
1/2 lb. (8 oz.)frozen corn
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
to taste cracked pepper
2 cups dry rice
8 oz. shredded cheddar
1/2 bunch cilantro (optional)

STEP 1: Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker along with 1/4 cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.

STEP 2: Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.

STEP 3: Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to the package directions (Bring the rice and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot with a lid in place, as soon as it reaches a boil, reduced the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving).

STEP 4: After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily). Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

This recipe is gluten free! Bonus!

Recipe and photo from budgetbytes.blogspot.com Thank you much!!

Pistachio Cupcakes

These cupcakes were delicious! I honestly could not stop eating them. They have a few extra steps, but overall pretty easy to make. And they are worth it in the end! Since this past weekend was the last weekend in March, I decided to make them to end the month on a delicious note! :)

Ingredients
For cupcakes:
1 box of white cake mix & all ingredients that it calls for
1 box of pistachio pudding mix
1 batch of Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (I used pre-made, but you can make your own)

For white candy/chocolate shavings:
7 ounces weight white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening or vegetable oil

Instructions

For cupcakes:
Combine cake mix and it's ingredients as packaging instructs.
Add in pudding mix and combine well.
For cupcakes, fill cupcake liners about halfway full with batter.
Bake as directed on cake mix packaging.
Cool and decorate as you like.

For white candy/chocolate shavings:
Melt chips according to package instructions.
Stir in vegetable shortening/oil until combined well.
Using a spatula, spread melted candy/chocolate thinly on a baking sheet.
Let harden for a few minutes.
Using a spoon, scrape across hardened candy/chocolate to create curls and shavings.

If you want to make your own frosting, here is an excellent Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe that was recommended by shewearsmanyhats.com.
http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/


Gluten free: Use a gluten free vanilla cake mix... I used Arrowhead Mills brand and loved it.

Recipes and photo found on shewearsmanyhats.com- thank you!