French Toast Sticks

Holy Cow....you will hate yourself for eating these. They are soooo not good for you, but totally worth it!

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What you'll need:

2 eggs

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups milk

1 cup flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

12 slices Texas style toast, cut into thirds

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3/4 cup sugar mixed with 4 teaspoons cinnamon

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In a large skillet, heat 1/4" of vegetable oil over medium heat (you may need to add more after a few batches). In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, flour and baking powder. Test oil heat by flicking some water into the pan. If it pops, reduce heat. If hardly anything happens, turn up the heat. If it sizzles, it's just right.

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Working quickly, dip each bread stick into the batter and shake off excess batter before placing in hot oil. Cook until puffed and golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Then roll into cinnamon sugar mixture. Place in a 200 degree oven to keep them warm while cookin' up the rest. Serve with syrup to dip them in. You won't be disappointed. They taste just like a donut. Delicious!

Morning Glory Muffins

We've made these muffins many times using the original recipe (found on zupas.com), but seeing as how we have plenty of zucchini, I substituted one for the apple. It made for a great muffin!
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2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins (sometimes we substitute chocolate chips)
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup coconut (optional for Amber!)
1 apple, peeled and shredded (or 1 medium zucchini, shredded)
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
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Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffins pans (it makes about 24 muffins). In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add carrots, raisins, coconut, walnuts and apple.

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In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil and vanilla. Add to carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened. Scoop into muffin cups and sprinkle on a little sugar to add a little crunch. Bake for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

"Potato Chips"

These are not really potatoe chips, its just they end up looking like them. They are baked potatoes that taste like a mix between curly fries and potato wedges if you do them right. These are SUPER SIMPLE to make and that's why I love them.

about 4 medium russet potatoes

2 tbsp butter/margarine - melted

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp seasoned salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease a baking sheet.

Cut unpeeled potatoes into 1/4-inch slices, but don't cut all the way through. Place potatoes on prepared baking sheet cut-side up. Spread slices apart without breaking.

In a small bowl, mix butter and oil together, then lightly brush mixture over potato skins and in between slices (ok I admit it, I just pour the butter and oil all over the potatoes!). Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 40 mins, or until potatoes are tender and edges are brown (best when edges are crispy).

When they come out of the oven, the bottoms are kinda hard so I just cut all the little circle (chips) off and then we dip them in ranch. (But you can do whatever you like with them!)

Lime Ice

A really refreshing summertime treat!

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2 1/2 cups sugar

5 cups water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh lime juice (about 5-6 limes)*

1 tablespoon grated lime peel

Combine sugar, water and salt in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring continually, over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and cover. Boil for 5 minutes, do not stir.

Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice and grated peel. Pour into a 9x13 glass pan. Cool at room temperature for 10-20 minutes before putting it in the freezer. Freeze, covered with plastic wrap, until frozen, about 3-4 hours. Break it up and put it into a chilled mixing bowl. Beat it with an electric mixer until slushy, but do not allow mixture to melt. Pour back into glass pan and spread evenly. Freeze lime ice for another hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Spoon into chilled dessert dishes and serve.

*The original recipe calls for lemon's, but since my bountiful basket was loaded with limes, I decided to change it up. I'm thinking of trying this out with watermelon juice...yeah, that's gotta be good!

Shaved Zucchini Salad

I saw this recipe on www.tasteandtellblog.com It was a great way to use up some of the veggies from our garden.
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2 tablespoons grated onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 zucchini, shaved with a vegetable peeler into ribbons
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved (or whatever you have in your garden)
1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced
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Whisk together the onion, lemon juice and mustard. Add the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add in the shaved zucchini, tomatoes and green onions. Stir to coat and serve.
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This girl of mine was all over the salad!
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I feel the need to explain her look....we were outside playing in the sprinklers. Otherwise, she would be dressed with her hair combed. There, I feel better.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Strawberry pie

I asked Amber to take some pictures of this pie, because goodness knows she's much better at that stuff than I am!
I will issue a warning about this pie: Be prepared for the whole thing to disappear in one sitting! Okay, here goes:

Pastry shell:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-5 Tablespoons ice water

Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture. Gently toss with a fork. Repeat moistening dough, using 1 tablespoon of the water at a time, until all the dough is moistened. You don't want it stick, just wet enough to make a crumbly ball. On a lightly-floured surface, roll dough from the center to the edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Generously prick bottom and sides of pastry in pie plate with a fork. Prick all around where bottom and sides meet. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 5-6 minutes more, until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Filling:
8 cups medium strawberries
2/3 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Remove stems from strawberries. Cut any large strawberries in half lengthwise; set aside.
For glaze, in a blender/food processor, combine 1 cup of the strawberries and 2/3 cup water. Cover and blend until smooth. Add enough additional water to the mixture to equal 1 1/2 cups. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in blended berry mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Cool for 10 minutes, off the burner, without stirring.
Spread about 1/4 cup of the glaze over bottom and sides of baked pastry shell. Arrange half of the remaining strawberries, stem end down, in the pastry shell. Carefully spoon half of the remaining glaze over fruit, thoroughly covering each piece of fruit. Arrange remaining fruit over first layer. Spoon remaining glaze over fruit, covering each piece. Chill for 1 to 2 hours. Great with whipped cream!

Green Beans with Prosciutto and Gouda

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I found this recipe on www.tasteandtellblog.com after receiving way too many green beans from my bountiful basket. It was pretty amazing, but had a little too much olive oil for me. So, I'm going to cut it down a little for the following recipe.

serves 8

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3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced white onion
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1/4 lb prosciutto, thinly sliced
1/4 lb Gouda cheese, cut into sticks
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Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, onion, 4 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add additional salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil for about 3 minutes or until bright green and a little tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.
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Toss the green beans and dressing together and let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.
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Heat remaining olive oil in a medium saute pan over med-high heat. Add the prosciutto to the hot oil and cook for just about 2 minutes. Add the prosciutto and Gouda to the green beans and serve at room temperature. It's also good cold the next day.