Caramel French Toast

Our breakfast this morning, which was a huge hit. And since I am not having any sugar, I didn't take one bite. just had eggs. stuck to my decision. sneaked just a tiny taste. Ahhh. Heavenly! I thought I'd share it with you.

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c butter

2 T light corn syrup

In a small saucepan, bring these 3 ingred. to a boil. Remove from heat and pour half of caramel mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Place 6 slices of bread on top of caramel.

Mix together 1/2 c. white sugar with 1/2 t. cinnamon. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the bread, and then pour the remaining caramel over top. Layer 6 more slices of bread over the caramel.

6 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. cinnamon

Beat together well and pour over the bread. Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture over all. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the moring, uncover and bake for 30-35 min. at 350*. Enjoy!

Feliz Navidad!

Was your Christmas weekend special? We sure had some fun days. But, we are still anticipating the best yet to come!! =) Chuck & Katie, Jim & Rachel, and Pete & Audrey are all due to arrive this week, and then the fun really begins. I think I have been more keenly aware this year than any before, how important, special, irreplaceable, and comfortable it is to have siblings, family, & loved ones to share life with. And the more my siblings & I grow up, the more amazing it is to relate to other adults, on adult terms, who think & act alot like I do! =) It is SO much fun.

Back to this holiday weekend ... it was kind of a challenge to come up with fun, creative ways to celebrate the day, when our main celebrations are still a week ahead. We had a big snow storm on Christmas Eve, so Daddy & the boys were out for 3 days straight getting all the snow removal customers taken care of.  I feel bad that Jason didn't get a single day off just to relax, but again, that is still coming. Thankfully, the cabin we are headed to is far enough away that he won't be able to come back for work if it does snow again. =)

On Christmas Eve we had a fun snack-supper & family night. Squirt cheese, summer sausage, crackers, cookies, Bugles (!), nuts, drink, etc. The children thought it was pretty fun to eat as many snacks as they wanted. Plus, they were allowed to eat them in the living room while we watched Touched By an Angel. Double fun.

After the movie, we tucked the little tots into bed, and brought out all the fun items for making gingerbread houses! I mixed up small batches of frosting-glue, made with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 2 t. of water. I put it into ziplock bags with a tiny corner snipped off, and it worked wonderfully for gluing all the little houses together. I had thought we would just make one large house, but each person wanted to make their own, so we ended up with a whole village.

Josiah & Micah creating their masterpieces.

Christi was delighted with the whole cady idea. She plastered as many pieces on as possible.

The whole town on top on the piano.

By the time all the houses were done, it was way past bedtime and Mama got to clean up a very messy kitchen. It's good that some things happen only once a year.

Christmas Day dawned beautiful, with fresh cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate for breakfast. Jason & the boys were gone for the morning shoveling snow, so the rest of us had a relaxed morning with bubble baths and games. Then mid-afternoon, my family came over for a genuine Guyanese supper.

I made Bhunjal Beef.

And curried chicken & potatoes.

And roti.

It was very delicious, very authentic, and received rave reviews.

Not your normal Christmas fare, but special just the same.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

 

Homemade Fajitas & Flour Tortillas

Need a fresh supper idea? Try this.

Cut a piece of beef into thin strips. Stir-fry with Italian dressing, sliced sweet peppers, and plenty of sliced onion. In your heavy, cast-iron pan, of course. =)



Then mix together in a bowl 3 and a half cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 4 Tablespoons of shortening, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and about a cup of water (enough to make a soft dough). Knead a little into a soft dough. Divide into 12 balls, and roll out with a rolling pin into 8-inch circles.

And if your children all help with the rolling, do not expect them to look perfectly round. =) Place tortilla on a hot skillet or pan. I use my comal from Guyana. There is just nothing that works quite like this, and I love it! It is also perfect for making roti.

Fry for about a minute per side. The time greatly depends on how hot your pan is. You want lightly browned spots on your tortillas, but not dark brown or black.

Serve immediately with sour cream, rice, beans, hot sauce, or whatever else you desire. These tortillas, in my opinion, are super yummy and way better than store bought, however, they will not stay soft very long. They tend to get crispy & crunchy if they set out a while. So I cover them well, and as soon as we are finished eating, I wrap the left-overs in a dampened paper towel, then in a zip-lock bag to keep them soft and fresh.

This meal is always a huge hit at our house.

A Blueberry Morning

The perfect Sunday morning breakfast ... for a Mommy anyways! =) It's quick, easy, tummy, and not messy. You may want to try a batch of these. They taste like they came from a delightful bakery!

~ Blueberry Muffins ~

4 1/2 c. flour

2 1/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

6 t. baking powder

3 eggs

1 c. milk

1 c. oil
3 c. blueberries

Streusel

3/4 c. sugar

6 T. butter

1/2 c. flour

3/4 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400. Grease muffin tins. Combine dry ingredients. Mix eggs, oil, and milk well; add to dry ingred. and stir to moisten. Fold in bluberries. Top with streusel. Bake for 20-25 min. makes about 25 large muffins, or 36 smaller ones.