French Toast Casserole

Well last Friday was my turn to pick the  ROTW. Seeing that the upcoming Saturday, the 28th, was going to be National French Toast Day, I decided to pick a baked french toast casserole by Paula Deen. My original plan was to make this and post this on Saturday, but I forgot that both of my kids would be at Grandmas's that day. There was really no reason to make this just for myself(husband doesn't eat this kind of stuff) so, I decided to wait until today. My first impression of the casserole was that it was very good. The top was especially delicious, crisp and sweet. My second impression was.... I remembered that I'm not a huge fan of the moist bread in french toast casseroles. It tastes good, I just don't really care for the texture that much. I also am not a big fan of bread puddings for that reason. That being said...if you like french toast casseroles, this recipe would make a really good and easy addition to Christmas morning.

Ingredients

* 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
* 8 large eggs
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 1 cup milk
* 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* Dash salt
* Praline Topping, recipe follows
* Maple syrup

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Praline Topping:

* 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter(I used salted,softened)
* 1 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 cup chopped pecans(I left these out per my daughters request)
* 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

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Caramel Pecan Bars

We have posted this recipe as a "tart" before, but I thought I would show how they turn out as a bar. I made these for Thanksgiving yesterday and they were a huge hit. This is such an easy recipe to make.  To me, these are even better than a traditional pecan pie. I have a pretty hard time keeping my hands off of them and was even eating them for breakfast last time I made them....and lunch...and dinner...sigh.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, cubed(I prefer salted butter in this recipe)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup butter(I prefer salted)
3 tablespoons whipping cream
Preparation
1. Arrange pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes or until completely cool.

2. Pulse flour, powdered sugar, and 3/4 cup butter in a food processor 5 to 6 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture evenly on bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

3. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes or until completely cool.

4. Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in a 3-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in toasted pecans, and spoon hot filling into prepared crust.

5. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack 30 minutes or until completely cool.

Caramel-Pecan Bars: Prepare recipe as directed, pressing crumb mixture evenly on bottom and 3/4 inch up sides of a lightly greased heavy-duty aluminum foil-lined 13- x 9-inch pan. When completely cool, using the aluminum foil as handles, carefully lift the tart from the pan, and transfer to a serving tray. Cut into squares.

*recipe provided by www.findmyrecipe.com/Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2007

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Happy Thanksgiving

Today instead of sharing another recipe that I love, I thought I would share about what I love most of all and the reasons I am so thankful.

I am thankful for my mom and dad. I could not have asked for 2 more perfect  parents. They are both such a wonderful Godly example of what a parent should be. I am thankful for my Husband of 13 years who has always been a great support, a loving dad and a constant provider for our family. I am thankful my beautiful daughter who is one of  the brightest, most courageous little girls I know. Her strength while dealing with the daily struggles that diabetes brings amazes me. How can someone so young be so strong? I am thankful for my amazing little boy. He has more energy in one day than I have all year! I love watching him grow and change every day. I am thankful for all of my friends. I feel so blessed to have each of them in my life. I'm thankful for Kim and this little blog that we get to work on together. I love the ideas that she brings here. She is such a great blogging buddy! Most of all I am thankful to God for his mercy and grace and the life He has given me! I am thankful that He sent His Son to die for my sins!

I hope everyone has a Very Happy Thanksgiving! Pin It

Pumpkin Pie Parfait

I absolutely looove pumpkin pie. Especially  covered in cool whip! Well in honor of National Parfait Day, November 25th,  I made a pumpkin pie parfait. When I  found out that Parfait Day was coming up, my first thought was, parfaits aren't very fallish. When I think of a parfait I think of flavors like strawberry or raspberry. Something that would make a nice summertime treat. Well that doesn't really work for fall so off I went to find a parfait made with another fruit, pumpkin. I only tried one recipe and in my opinion it's perfect. The parfait tastes  like a bite of pumpkin pie smothered in cool whip. The gingersnaps give this recipe a delicious "crust". Another great thing about this recipe is that you can lighten it up by using sugar free pudding and light cool whip, making it a much healthier alternative to pumpkin pie.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cold milk(I used 2%)
  
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix(I used sugar free)
  
• 2 cups whipped topping
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup chopped pecans(I left the pecans out this time, although I do love pecans) (If I were to use them I would probably toast them first)
  
• 1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnaps
• additional whipped topping

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Stir in THE whipped topping, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice; mix well. Fold in pecans.
2. Spoon half of the mixture into parfait glasses; top with half of the gingersnap crumbs. Repeat layers. Top with additional whipped topping. 

Original recipe courtesy of  Lorraine Dorocha

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Chocolate Frosting

Sometimes when we are baking, especially if there are two parts to a recipe, we find one part to be perfect and the other to be, well... unsalvageable. This is the case in the recipe I am about to post. I am posting the wonderful, rich, delicious part of the recipe-the frosting-so that the next time you are making a chocolate cake, even from the box, you will have a fantastic, homemade frosting to go on it. There is nothing better than making a box cake your own by adding homemade touches. You will love this frosting so much you might find that you don't even need the cake.

Chocolate Frosting

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 tbl butter, at room temp

Put the chocolate chips and the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl, cook for 1-2 min, stiring every 30 seconds until chips are melted (cover bowl loosely with a paper towel). Add the vanilla and let cool. When mixture is cool, add butter and mix with an electric mixer until thick. Spread on cake of your choice.

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Deviled Eggs

Another holiday favorite in our family are these deviled eggs. They are so simple to make, taste great, and make the perfect little appetizer for your Thanksgiving dinner. I made them last night with my son Nathan, when we were finished he laid them all out on a plate waiting for his daddy to come home and eat them (they are his favorite). But, daddy was running late and I guess Nathan just couldn't wait, so when I went to cover the eggs and put them in the refrigerator there were 5 empty eggs on the plate, nicely put back as if we wouldn't notice and would still want to eat them. Nathan had sucked the inside out of the egg whites, licked the whites clean and put them back on the plate. He is thoughtful like that sometimes.

A nice thing to remember about deviled eggs is that you don't have to put the yolk in a piping bag to put back into their whites, a spoon works just fine. Now if you want them to look professional or more elegant then you will need at least a plastic zipperbag, cut the corner off, to pipe the filling into the egg whites.

Deviled Eggs

8 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise

¼ cup Mayonnaise

1-2 Tbl prepared mustard (like Heinz)

1/8 teaspoon salt (optional) if you salted the water you may not want to add salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Paprika for garnish

Dill for garnish (optional)

Pop out (remove) the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Fill the empty egg white shells with the mixture and sprinkle lightly with paprika and for a little color, dill looks beautiful too

Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to one day before serving

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Sweet Potato Cranberry Casserole

My favorite Thanksgiving side dish is sweet potatoes. My all time favorite sweet potato recipe is the one my mom use to make for Thanksgiving dinner. I believe it originally came out of one her old church cookbooks. This recipe uses canned sweet potatoes although I'm sure you can use fresh sweet potatoes if you sweeten them first.

Ingredients:

All of the amounts will vary depending on the size dish you want to serve

1-4  29oz size cans of sweet potatoes in syrup, drained (I used 1 can for a 1.5 quart casserole dish, but I have used as many as 4 when I'm using a deep baking pan.)
Fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained (about 3/4 cup for 1.5 quart dish)
1 jar of orange marmalade (about 1/2 cup for 1.5 quart dish)
1 bag of mini marshmallows (1/4 of bag for 1.5 quart dish)
Chopped pecans (1/2 cup for 1.5 quart dish)

Put the sweet potatoes in a greased dish/pan of your choice. I used a 1.5 quart casserole dish this time. It made enough for 3-4 people. Usually if I'm bringing this recipe to a Thanksgiving dinner I use a deep 9X13 pan. I also like using disposable foil pans, as the marshmallows get baked onto the sides of the pan. Sprinkle cranberries over the top then sprinkle the pecans over the top. Now, dot the casserole with orange marmalade. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes. Pull casserole out, cover with marshmallows. Put back in the oven and bake until marshmallows are golden brown. You can also broil if you prefer, but KEEP AN EYE on the marshmallows, they brown VERY FAST this way. Pin It