French Toast

Shawn is the master of French Toast. He taught me how to make it when we first got married. I continue to use the same method 10 years later. Thanks honey!

French Toast

2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla (or almond) extract
Dash of cinnamon
1 loaf good quality white bread

Crack eggs into a shallow bowl or container. (I use a square Tupperware made for holding sandwiches). Beat eggs thoroughly. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Beat into eggs. Beat in milk.
Working one slice of bread at a time, coat each side of bread in egg mixture. Place on a hot griddle heated to approximately 300 degrees. Cook until lightly brown, then flip and repeat. Serve toast hot with butter, syrup, powdered sugar, and jam. Very yummy, and fairly fast. Or make it for brinner. We love that at our house.

Cranberry Pecan Muffins

I found this amazing little cookbook at Borders for, get this. . . $2. Can you believe that? It is a great little book. Full of good recipes and lots of pictures (I love seeing what things are suppose to turn out like) and a really good variety of muffins, cookies, and bar cookies. So here is one that I tried that was super yummy.

Cranberry Pecan Muffins

1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 c. chopped fresh cranberries (I used frozen and they were great. Let them thaw on counter for about 5 minutes then coarsely chop.)
1/3 c. chopped pecan- we skipped the nuts because of Syd
1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins. I used mini-muffin tins.
Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, butter, and egg in a small bowl until blended; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in cranberries, pecans, and lemon peel. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.
Bake 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack. These muffins are best served warm. We had them for breakfast. The muffins will keep several days if stored in an airtight container.
Makes about 36 mini muffins

A Tip from Grandma: Involve the Kids

I'm not sure if this is a tip or just more of a philosophy Grandma had. She felt like kids should be involved with the cooking. She always told me to bring it down to their level. Grandma was really good at this and even let the kids help with dipping chocolates, and making yeast breads. Stuff that needs to be precise, but she was always very patient.
So in that spirit, I decided to involve my girls in dinner last night. We made waffles. Yes, I know, I pulled out all the stops. They were both cheering "We love brinner, we love brinner"!
Now I can't say that I always want to or enjoy involving my kids in the kitchen. Sometimes I just want to be left alone in my little domain. But the waffle-making was really fun. They asked for waffles, then were so eager to help, and so excited that it just made the whole event great. I let them measure and stir, pick their toppings and pour them on. They are getting old enough that pretty soon we should delve into reading the recipe and let them do things with no help.
As you can see the evening was a big success, the waffles were great, and the girls even helped clean up the dishes. After all that is part of cooking, right?
Waffles

1 3/4 c. flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. oil

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture, set aside.
In another bowl beat eggs slightly. Add milk and oil. Add mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just until combined. Batter will be lumpy.
Pour about 1 1/4 c. batter onto a hot, greased waffle iron. Close lid and bake according to manufacturer's directions. Makes about 6 6-inch waffles.