baked french toast casserole*

This week the regional NATSAP conference was held on the Heritage campus and we were assigned to serving breakfast and lunch to approx. 370 people! For lunch we served Cafe Rio type salads, which were pretty darn good if you ask me. But the cherry on top were the Dreamy Oreo Brownies that we served for dessert. If you haven't made these yet, go to the link and make them immediately! They are pretty rich and definitely aren't skimping on chocolate and Oreo's, but even if you can only handle a bite you will not regret it!

By popular demand, I bring you this recipe! I haven't posted it yet because I wasn't satisfied with my picture of the finished product. I don't know what I was thinking, but I took a picture of the french toast casserole we make for our students who have nut allergies, so it just looked kind of plain and didn't capture the full amazingness of this fabulous breakfast! My suggestion box is constantly filled with requests for french toast casserole, so it must be pretty delicious!

Baked French Toast Casserole
from Paula Deen (LOVE her!)

blueberry granola parfait*

HOLY SMOKES it's September! Where has the time gone?? Awhile back I had mentioned that the most summerish thing I have done this year was paint a fence and weed my flowerbed. This is still the case, but I have been very productive-ish. We just moved! We are just getting settled in and deciding where to put all of our decorations and what furniture to buy and all that jazz. The worst part is that I was working the bulk of the time while my stuff was getting transferred from one place to another. Well, that really isn't the bad part - because I hate moving. However, now I don't know where a lot of my stuff is. Especially my kitchen gadgets and things. I need to go through and track everything down, and then organize so that I can actually find something. The good part is, now that the move is done and over with, maybe I won't be non-existent in the blogging world! Sorry for my complete abandonment, but I am back and better than ever!!!

I am IN LOVE with these parfaits! Seriously, they are unlike any parfait I have ever had! The students, however, aren't as in love as I am. At least not the boys. I think parfaits are a very "girly" food, but I'm OK with it. I would rather have one of these babies over a pancake any day!

Now, these are not your ordinary blueberries in these parfaits, people! They are marinated with the spicy goodness of none other than cinnamon itself! I have said it once and I will say it again, everything is better with a little cinnamon! Which, reminds me, it is almost FALL! Which means that the tastes of cinnamon and pumpkin and nutmeg can be found everywhere, and it is socially acceptable to arrive with a goody which contain these ingredients in tow! Can I get a HALLELUJAH! And it also means that I can put back up my fall decorations at work, since my office has been bare since Christmas :)

Blueberry Granola Parfait
from Mad Hungry

pumpkin chocolate chip bread*

I don't know about you, but I am always in the mood for a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. No matter the situation, I am 100% ceratin that I would never turn one down. If I am so full that I am on the verge of losing my lunch (literally) I would at least take one to go.

My relationship with pumpkin is a very strange one. I absolutely despise pumpkin pie. I know that it may seem extreme, but I really do not like the stuff. Every Thanksgiving I tell myself that this year is the year. I try it for the thousandth time, and every time I have to force myself to not spit it out. It really is one of those things that I couldn't even make myself eat just to be nice. Why - you ask? The texture. That is the only reasoning I can think of.

However, pumpkin cookies, breads, muffins, and rolls I am completely in LOVE with. The spices that people put with pumpkin things (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) just make them unbelievable. That is if there are no hidden raisins in there. Not a raisin fan.

We made this bread for the kiddos a few months back for breakfast and loved it so much I put it on my 5 week cycle rotation. Sarah (my awesome Coordinator) had the brilliant idea to top this amazing bread with non other that some amazing semi sweet chocolate chips! I was so excited to hurry and bake our bread and let it cool so that I could try it and pray it tasted like a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. Pretty darn close!! Let's just say I could eat the whole pan! (Oh, and we snuck some whole wheat flour in there, too. Shhh..don't tell.)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
adapted from Cooks.com

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. each nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon
1 1/2 c. each granulated sugar and packed brown sugar
1 c. oil
2 c. canned pumpkin
4 eggs

1/2 c. chocolate chips

 

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the sugars, mixing well.

Mix dry ingredients with the oil and pumpkin, stirring until well combined.

Add eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 1/2 x 5 1/4-inch loaf pans. Top batter with chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans. Place on wire rack to cool.

How could you not love this bread?? You could always mix the chocolate chips right into the batter, but I love them on top, too. Hey, I've got an idea. Do both! You can never have too many chocolate chips. And if you choose to do the 1/2 whole wheat flour idea, you can almost not even feel guilty about these little guys swimming around your batter!

-alyssa*

dutch apple bread*

So yesterday I forgot to recap the weekend. It was pretty awesome (sort of). First of all, I didn't have to work. That's always a good start to the weekend. Second of all, I went shopping. That was fun, but I remembered why I like to stick to online shopping. It's so much easier to find cute stuff online, rather than searching through an entire store (or 10). Third of all, it was like 70 degrees! I wore flip flops and a short sleeve shirt! Heaven I tell ya. Then guess what happened??! IT SNOWED! That is not an excited "IT SNOWED", it's a shocked "IT SNOWED". Only in Utah would it be 70 degrees, and then a few short hours later would it be snowing. And last but not least, my Coordinator Sarah found out that she got accepted into the Utah State University internship to become a Registered Dietician. GOOD JOB Sarah - but we are definitely going to miss you! Several of these recipes wouldn't be made possible without her help :). She doesn't leave us until August, so there are still many creations that we need to squeeze in! So there's my weekend in a nutshell.

This bread is so freakishly good. I LOVE cinnamon. Anything with cinnamon as an ingredient and I'm down. Although, a lot of cinnamony things also contain raisins. That is not ok. Just makes eating it so much more difficult to pick all of those little buggers out. Luckily, this recipe contains no raisins.

We made these a couple of weekends ago for the kids for breakfast. Last Thursday the biggest loser ended at work, and I made this bread Wednesday night so that I could come home Thursday night it would be there waiting for me! When I made it the second time I actually added about a teaspoon of cinnamon into the batter as well. As I said earlier, I love cinnamon. And honestly, you really can eat this batter plain. It is AMAZING. Just grab a spoon and go to town!

Dutch Apple Bread
from Allrecipes

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped, peeled apple
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

TOPPING:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter or margarine

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Fold in apple and nuts. Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. 
 

For topping, combine the first four ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. 

Sprinkle over batter. 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. 

Yummy yummy in my tummy! And shhh....the husband liked it, too :)!

-alyssa*

orange waffles with buttermilk syrup*

March Madness. I LOVE March Madness. I just finished watching the tail end of the BYU game. Sorry for all those die-hard BYUers out there, but it worked out good for my bracket :). I am not a huge BYU fan, but they are from Utah so when someone from Utah is doing well - I will back them 100%. Otherwise, they are dead to me. JUST KIDDING! I am currently watching the Jazz. I think I am in the minority when it comes to watching the Jazz these days. Those guys just do not know what they are doing anymore. Oh well, I still love them.

These waffles are AMAZING. My sister-in-law Andrea made them on our weekend at the cabin. I love citrusy, orangy, lemony things - so these waffles were right up my alley. And the syrup. OH the syrup! I could probably drink it plain. Seriously it is THAT good!

Orange Waffles with Buttermilk Syrup
from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook

6 egg, separated
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
3 1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk


Buttermilk Syrup

1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. white corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla


Waffles:
In one bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

In a separate bowl, mix egg yolks, salt, orange juice, butter and sugar. Beat until smooth. Alternate adding flour and milk. Fold egg whites into batter.

Bake in waffle iron. Serves 5.

Syrup:
In a 6-quart saucepan, combine all ingredients except vanilla; boil for 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Serve on pancakes or over ice cream. (Double this recipe for a family of five). Using a 6-quart saucepan is important because it froths a lot while cooking.

SO GOOD! And so easy too. I was shocked that it was only orange juice concentrate in there! I always have that on hand for my orange julius' that I just have to have from time to time!

Oh my gosh I almost forgot!! Look at these CUTE cupcakes some of the kids made all of us in the kitchen!

They are the cutest things, and delicious, too! It's little things like this that make our jobs worthwhile :). THANKS to everyone that was involved in making these! We absolutely love them!

-alyssa*

creamy crepes w/ lemon strawberries*

I am definitely a crepe lover. However, I have never ventured off to "savory" crepes. I am sure that they would be equally delicious, but right now I am hooked on the sweet crepe variety. Once in awhile the husband and I have to go to Village Inn so that I can have an order of their yummy strawberry crepes with hashbrowns and some crispy bacon. Mmmmmm....

You know what I just discovered? You know how it is a BAD idea to go shopping when you are hungry because you could possibly end up buying out the entire store? I think it's the same thing about blogging. It is not a good idea to food blog when you are hungry. Right now I am mentally going through each cupboard in my kitchen trying to decide if there is anything I want to eat. Rather, if there is any one specific thing I want eat so I don't end up snacking on a little bit of everything.

Sorry, I have a problem getting off track (man I wish I had some strawberries on hand so I can make these crepes RIGHT NOW!!). This past weekend I made these for breakfast when we were at the cabin with my sister-in-law and her husband. I really liked how everything turned out. I think I added a tad more sugar to my strawberries (and still could have gotten away with adding even a little more), but other than that I followed it to a T. I really liked the filling. It is definitely not too sweet, and the strawberry topping balances it out. I also really like the crepe recipe. The first couple of crepes I made weren't keepers, but once you get a couple of ugly ones the rest turn out beautifully!!

Creamy Crepes w/ Lemon Strawberries
from Heritage Kitchen

simple crepes

makes 4 servings, 2 crepes each

1 c. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt, a generous pinch

1 tsp. white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. cold water

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. butter

powdered sugar, for garnish

1. Sift together the flour, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl with the milk, water, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Refrigerate while preparing any fillings or toppings.

2. Spread 1 teaspoon of butter on the bottom of a small cast iron or non-stick skillet (or a crepe pan) and heat over medium low heat. Once the pan is hot, reduce heat slightly to just above low. 

3. Using a 1/4 c. scoop, pour the crepe mixture into the pan using a circular motion. Spread it into a circular shape using the bottom of the scoop. Flip when the edges begin to look dry and the pancake slides easily in the bottom of the skillet. Place a small piece of wax paper between each crepe until they're all ready to be filled.

Strawberries & Cream

1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed, hulled and chopped

1 lemon, zested, and the juice of half

2 tsp. white sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 c. cream cheese, softened

1. Combine chopped berries, white sugar, and lemon juice and zest. Let sit for at least 3-5 minutes before use.

2. Combine brown sugar, cream cheese and sour cream and roll in warm crepes. 

Top crepes with strawberries and serve.

 

-alyssa* 

doughnut muffins*

So, my little sister is turning the big 21 on Wednesday, so I am giving you time to prepare for the birthday cake that I am going to make her and share with all of you! I am SO excited! I went and bought all of the ingredients today because I just couldn't wait any longer! I am going to keep it a surprise, though, because this cake is going to need it's own unveiling!

Also, my hubby really doesn't eat sweets very often, so I told him that he needs to be thinking of a cake that he wants me to make him for his birthday(which is in May - hey, you can never prepare too early). I told him that I could just surprise him, but he said that he wants to eat it. RUDE! But, he did commit to start researching a cake for me to make! This should be interesting...the only cake he really even likes is his moms chocolate sheet cake and her strawberry sheet cake. But I am bound and determined to win him over with one of my creations! This could be my toughest task to date!

Doughnut muffins. We made these for the kids for breakfast over the weekend. These things are so cute and so yummy! The dough is really thick, so you can fill up your cups all the way to the top and they wont flow over the edges, they just raise beautifully. They remind me of a snickerdoodle. Give me anything with sugar and cinnamon and I am one happy girl!

 
Doughnut Muffins
from Genesis of a Cook 

For Muffins

3 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar, plus 1/8 cup of sugar
1/2 tbs. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

For Topping

1/4 cup butter, more if needed
1 cups sugar
1 tbs. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a standard muffin pan with muffin cups.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Combine the vanilla, milk and heavy cream in a measuring cup.

With a spoon or rubber spatula, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture. Then add a third of the milk mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don't overmix.

Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup.

Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, about 25-30 minutes.

To finish, melt the butter for the dipping mixture in a small bowl. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.
 

Makes 12 muffins

Eat up :)

-alyssa*

nutella banana crepes*

We attempted to make these for breakfast this last Monday, not realizing that the kids were out of school and would be coming late to breakfast. Unfortunately there was no way the bananas would have lasted that long without going all brown and nasty, so we had to come up with a plan B. It was a sad day, but we will be serve them again and the kids will love it! They are obsessed with Nutella! I had never actually had it until a couple of weeks ago. I don't know why, but it has never appealed to me. Then one day I tried it with an animal cracker. I have truly been missing out on something that is amazing and it has been right under my nose for 3 years now. For those of you that have also never had the Nutella experience, this is the goodness in a jar!

Speaking of 3 years, I have been working at Heritage for exactly 3 years on Wednesday, January 26th (same day I get to go see the Jazz take on the Spurs! GO JAZZ!!). I was talking to the husband yesterday and told him that Heritage is probably the best thing that ever happened to me (next to him of course :). I cannot think of a better place to work or better people to work with. I LOVE my job!!!

Anyway, let's talk Nutella banana crepes. I attempted to make strawberry crepes a couple of months ago for the first time, and the crepes turned out ok but the cream cheese filling I had made wasn't my favorite. I'm still looking for a good recipe for a cream cheese filling, so if you have one please do share! This recipe for crepes I used today said to whisk the flour with the eggs, and then add the wet ingredients. DON'T DO THIS! I would add all of the wet ingredients, and then sift in the flour. I did it according to the directions and it resulted in a lumpy batter. No matter how fast I whisked, the lumps would not come out. It still tasted good, but you will have a much smoother batter this way.

Nutella Banana Crepes
crepes by allrecipes.com

Yield:  8 crepes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter, melted
8 tbsp. Nutella
2 large bananas, sliced

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and eggs (please see my tip above). Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side.

Let crepe cool for about 5 minutes, just so the Nutella can spread easily. Take 1 tbsp. of Nutella and spread it right now the center of the crepe. Take some of the banana slices and place them on top of the Nutella.

Then roll it up like a taco. Dust the crepe with powdered sugar. You can also top it with some whipped cream or a drizzle of chocolate syrup! Mmmmm..

If you are a crepe lover (like me), a chocolate lover (like me), and a banana lover (like me) you will LOVE these! And they literally took me about 10 minutes. I had one for dessert tonight. Shouldn't have because I'm doing the biggest loser, but I have ate good all week and I needed just one little treat. I figure it was probably better than a big piece of chocolate cake!

-alyssa*

waffles*

I grew up eating these waffles my whole life. I would have to say that they are one of my favorite breakfasts! Although I'll admit, I'm weird. I don't really like syrup, and I like my waffles really really crispy. I let it cook until they are dark brown. I mostly only eat them with a little bit of butter, or once in a while I will top them with some strawberries and whipped cream. But these really are delicious!!

Waffles
from Marla Sperry (my mom!!)

2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 2/3 c. milk
6 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs - put yolk in batter

Mix all ingredients except the egg white.Whip egg white in a separate bowl until peaks are formed.

Fold into batter.

Keep folding softly until the the egg white is completely incorporated.

Cook in waffle iron for about 3-4 minutes

or until golden brown (or if you are like me, for about 8-9 minutes, or until dark brown :) )

And walah! You have some beautifully fluffy and tasty waffles! Top them however you like. You can even add your blueberries, strawberries, etc. right into your batter. Mmmm..that sounds good! This recipe makes about 12 3x3" waffles, but if you want to use a belgian waffle maker I am not sure how many it will make. I actually half the recipe for the hubby and I, and we still have leftovers. But don't fret! Put your leftover waffles in a ziploc and put them in the frewzer, then in the morning and throw them in the toaster and you will have an Eggo waffle, only better!!

More reason to make much more than you actually need! ENJOY!!

P.S. I must apologize for some of these pictures. The lighting in my house is not the greatest and I have yet to find a place where I won't have a million shadows. I'll keep working on it!

-alyssa*