Peanut butter and Honey Sandwich

This is one of Trevor's favorite snacks. 

I made it for Michael also but he said he would stick with the Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich.  I don't toast the bread when I make the pb and j sandwich. 

My boys both love peanut butter and jelly tortilla's and tortilla's with butter and sugar.  I always heat the tortilla's on the stovetop before I add the butter/sugar.  

Gingerbread Loaf

Starbucks copy cat Gingerbread Loaf

 recipe adapted from "A cup of Mascarpone."

I am so glad I stumbled across this blog today  "A cup of Mascarpone,"  All of her food looks so delicious and the presentation is great.  I wanted a slice of her Gingerbread Loaf as soon as I saw it, so I check my cupboards for the ingredients and had everything but the orange extract.

  I just used orange juice and zest and it was fine. 

 This really does taste like Starbucks Gingerbread loaf.    

Ingredients:

for the loaf:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon orange fresh squeezed orange juice 

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 egg at room temperature

1 cup natural applesauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

for the frosting:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh squeezed orange juice

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Optional chopped candied ginger or candied orange peel for garnish

Create the Gingerbread Loaf and Frosting:

create the loaf:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9"x5" bread pan (not mini bread pans). 

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, stir in orange juice and zest, add egg and mix well.  Add baking soda, applesauce and flour and beat until smooth.

Scoop the batter into prepared loaf pan(s).

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. If baking the 2 smaller loaves, bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

create the frosting:

Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add orange juice and zest. Slowly beat in confectioner's sugar.

Once the cake has cooled, evenly spread the frosting on top. Garnish with chopped candied ginger or orange peel, if desired.

Adapted with slight changes from The Restaurant Recipe Blog.

Mandatory Mooch Apple Dump cake

Recipe from The Mandatory Mooch

I love Dump Cake recipes, so when I saw

Apple Dump Cake I had to try it.  I wondered

if I would like it because I am not a big fan

of apple pie.  But, It is really good.

I tried the same recipe but sliced 5 apples instead of the canned pie filling.  

I preferred the sliced apples over canned pie filling
.

Ingredients

2 cans apple pie filling or 5 evenly sliced apples
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix (I used french vanilla)
2 sticks butter
1 cup pecans, chopped

whipped cream or ice cream

Preheat oven to 375 Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Dump two cans of apple pie filling into a 9×13 pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Crumble the dry cake mix over the apple mixture. Sprinkle the pecans over the cake mix. Slice each stick of butter into 12 equal pieces, and place the pieces on top. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Rhonda's Amazing Bread Pudding

After trying so many bread pudding recipes I have finally

created my own.  So far this is my favorite.  King's Hawaiian Rolls

makes this pudding so creamy and delicious. 

The portion size is great if you have company but I will cut the recipe in half when I make it just for the family. 

 

Ingredients

16 Hawaiian rolls                            

8 eggs                                              

1/2  cups  brown sugar  
1 cup granulated sugar                            

2  cups heavy cream    
1 cup milk                

2 tablespoons vanilla extract          

1/8 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon cinnamon     
***I put 2 tablespoons of vanilla because I love it...if you don't love vanilla so much only put 1 tablespoon.  

Preparation

1. Slice rolls in half lengthwise; tear the bottom half of roll into pieces.
2. Layer rolls pieces evenly in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish, baking bowl or a cast iron pan. Place roll tops, crust sides up, over mixture. 
3. Beat together eggs and sugar. Beat in cream, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Slowly pour mixture over croissant tops; press bread to absorb liquid. Cover; chill 2 hours. 
4.  Put baking dish in a bigger dish ( I usually use Jelly Roll pan) Fill jelly roll pan with water.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until set. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake 30 more minutes.  Serve warm .

Baked French Toast

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman 

Baked French Toast  

• 1 loaf Crusty French Bread 
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• Warm Syrup optional
• Sprinkle Powdered sugar on top of your slice.
• butter for greasing the pan

*** I used a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin Bread instead of crusty French bread...it tasted great.

Ree's recipe has a topping but I didn't want the extra calories since I thought the Baked French Toast tasted great without it.   Click here for her recipe

Preparation Instructions

For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter. Cut bread into cubes or tear into chunks,  and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably). Or you can make it and bake it right away.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture.

After you have plated the french toast you can sprinkle with Powdered Sugar, syrup is optional.  Since I used the Cinnamon bread in place of the french bread.  I think the syrup makes it too sweet.