Stuffed Cinnamon French Toast with Peach Sauce

In honor of my son who brought back peaches from Georgia, and who loves bacon and anything sweet, I decided to make this breakfast that made use of the fresh peaches. It was very simple and very good!!!

Peach Sauce (recipe from Taste of Home)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
3 Tbs. sugar
2Tbs. cornstarch
Dash of nutmeg
1 cup sliced and peeled fresh peaches
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. almond extract

Directions



 In medium saucepan, bring water, sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg to boil, stirring constantly; boil for one minute.(I had to add a little extra water because it became too thick.)

 Add peaches. Bring to a boil; boil for about another minute until thickened.













When fully cooked, the consistency will look like what you see at right. Set aside to use later              






If preparing bacon you can take a cookie sheet, crumple up some foil and line your pan. The crumpled foil will allow the bacon fat to fall away from the bacon as it is cooking.

About 20 minutes before you're ready to serve, put the pan of bacon in a cold oven. Turn oven to 400 degrees and pull the bacon out after 20 mins. It makes perfect bacon every time.

Stuffed Cinnamon French Toast
(I made 5 "sandwiches" of stuffed french toast)
Ingredients
Loaf of cinnamon bread
Spreadable cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs beaten

Directions
1. Take 2 slices of bread and open up as if ready to make a sandwich

2 .Spread creamed cheese on one half of the bread
3. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle the cream cheese with  some of the sugar and and cinnamon mixture
4. Close your sandwich
5. While you are assembling your sandwiches, put your skillet on to heat on a medium setting, and spray    with cooking spray.

6. Once your sandwiches are assembled, coat them in the beaten eggs and place on the heated pan, making them just the way you make your typical french toast.

7. A little before you are ready to serve, heat up your peach sauce 
8. Cut your stuffed french toast on the diagonal, put a little warmed syrup on the french toast and dollop with the peach sauce.

(Substituting a apple topping for the peach sauce would also be excellent)
The stuffed french toast is a modified version of a recipe posted on the website of The Phipps Inn of Hudson, WI

Peach Crisp

Ingredients
7 to 8 peaches, peeled and sliced
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose whole wheat or regular flour (I used whole wheat)
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter

Directions
1. Put peaches in a shallow 2-quart baking dish

2. Sprinkle with lemon juice

3. Mix flour, oats, and brown sugar.

4. Cut in butter with pastry blender until it looks crumbly

5. Spread over the peaches and bake at 325 degrees for 30 mins. or until peaches are tender (check with a butter knife)

6. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

Deep Dish Fresh Peach Pie

My son spent the summer in Georgia and returned with some delicious fresh Georgia peaches. I decided to make a couple of desserts and a peach topping for stuffed french toast. Mmmm-mmmm!


 Ingredients
3 lbs. of peaches peeled and sliced
1 cup sugar
3 Tbs. cornstarch
3 Tbs. butter
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
(makes 2 pies)

Directions
1. Make your favorite pie crust. I purchased a double pack of frozen deep dish pie crusts.
2. Peel and slice the peaches
3. Combine sugar, spices and cornstarch

4. Combine peaches and half of the sugar mixture
5. Pour peaches into pie shells

 6. Dot each pie with the butter

7. Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the pies.
8. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

Allow to cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Discount Entertaining

I was looking online for a recipe that would make use of my Aldi Cornish Hens ($2.69each) and my home grown sage, and found a recipe that looked awesome and made use of everything I already had in the house...was very happy with the outcome!  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Herb-Stuffed-Roasted-Cornish-Hens
 The recipe calls for 12 leaves of sage, but it doesn't match up with the directions. I put 2 leaves of sage under the skin of each of the 2 breasts' of the hens. I added 2 leaves of sage cut in half into each of the cavities of the hens along with the lemon wedges and onions. I chopped up another couple of leaves and added them to the butter, oil, and garlic that the hen is basted with. The recipe includes red potatoes that are roasted along with the hens *The potatoes turn out better if you put them in 15 minutes into cook time, or the full length of cooking time with the hens. I sauteed left over veggies and fresh from the garden produce I already had in the frig. to go with the meal.

Wine glass, flatware, candelabra, and dishes are from Tuesday Morning (acquired over many years at very discounted prices.)...even the candles are from TJMaxx. The tablecloth is a find from an antique mall in Stillwater, MN. It takes a bit of time and the love of the hunt, but if you have an idea of what you're looking for, it's an adventure well worth taking and worth the savings.

Zucchini Crust Pizza

This is one of my favorite zucchini recipes to date. I love the flavor and the fact that it makes use of our fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and my herbs. You can definitely make this without fresh herbs, but I absolutely love oregano and basil fresh from the garden.

Fresh, Healthy, and Tasty!

I've adapted this recipe from taste of home. I changed some of the ingredients and added some of my own.

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded zucchini
3 eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tbs. fresh chopped oregano or 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano (divided)
1 tbs. fresh chopped basil or 1tsp. dried basil (divided)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sliced ripe olives
1/3 to 1/2 cup red onion chopped (could also use 2/3 cup green onions with tops)
1/2 cup either yellow, orange or red bell pepper (original recipe called for green pepper)
2 cups (8ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I probably use more, I cover the pizza to my taste)
 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 to 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced. (I substituted some cherry tomatoes from our garden for some of the pizza)

Directions
Press excess liquid from zucchini and place in a bowl (I squeeze the water out a handful at a time to get most out possible). Add eggs, flour, 1 1/2 tsp. fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tbs. fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried basil, and salt; mix well.

Add caption

Spread evenly over bottom of a greased 12" pizza pan. Bake at 450 deg. for 10 to 15 mins. check after 10 mins. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 350 deg.

Sprinkle zucchini crust with olives, onion, yellow bell pepper or pepper of your choice.

Add mozzarella,  Parmesan cheeses, sliced tomatoes, and remaining oregano and basil.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. I sprinkled a little kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper on the top before eating.  Enjoy!!!

Zucchini & Avocado Salad w/ Lemon-Thyme Dressing

No you're not seeing double...

Because my husband appears to have a  zucchini fetish, I find it impossible to use or even give away the amount he grows. I challenge myself to find new recipes each year.

I was so excited to come across this recipe that I adapted from Inspired Eating! It makes use of two of the herbs I grow, and I had all the ingredients in my home.(How often does that happen?) It was delicious!

I'm sure I'll be posting many more zucchini recipes this summer!

...this is the amount my husband plants each year.

Ingredients:

1 pound zucchini (about 4 small zucchinis)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tbs. minced thyme or lemon-thyme leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1 ripe avocado

Romano or Parmesan cheese (I used Parmesan)

black olives

grape tomatoes

sea salt to taste

fresh pepper to taste

(I find it best to mix the dressing ahead so it can meld 

together.)

1. Whisk oil, lemon juice and thyme together in a small bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. (Let sit for a bit while you prepare the rest of the salad) 

 2. Trim and discard stems from zucchini. Using a vegetable peeler, and holding zucchini as if you were going to peel it, slice thin ribbons from the zucchini into a large bowl, including skin and white flesh. When you get to the center seed portion of, stop peeling. (I also peeled down the one end of the zucchini that has the fleshy part.) Discard center and seeds.

3.Stack basil leaves and thinly slice crosswise into very thin strips. Add to bowl with zucchini. Pour dressing over the zucchini and basil and put in the frig.

4. Heat a small skillet over low heat, and toast pine nuts for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently, until fragrant and just starting to turn golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. Right before serving cut up avocado, grape tomatoes, and black olives and add to the zucchini along with the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately

Served with whole grain bread covered in pesto

Asian Wonton Salad

I'm not sure why, but in the summer I LOVE Asian salads, I find them so refreshing! I'm serving this salad at a Reception/Reunion up in Sparta, WI. I've served it to groups from our church and they have loved it!

Sweet Sesame Dressing

2/3 cup rice vinegar

1 cup canola oil (I used grape seed oil)

2 Tbs. sesame oil (store in frig after opened)

4 gloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tbs. sesame seeds (store in freezer after opened)

Place all ingredients into a quart jar (or something equivalent) and shake vigorously. If desired, make ahead of time and store in the fridge. (dressing recipe from ourbestbites.com) Sesame seeds and sesame oil go rancid quite quickly, be sure to refrigerate the oil, and put the seeds in the freezer for future use.

For the salad:

1 large head of Napa Cabbage cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
1 large bag of Romaine lettuce
5 or 6 green onions cut up
slivered almonds
 Wonton strips (store bought, or you can bake a healthy version-recipe below)
(you can also add a little chopped cilantro to the salad like Panera does in their Asian Sesame Chicken salad)

I like to toss just the cabbage and lettuce with the dressing first (you won't use all of the dressing) to coat the lettuce, and then add the other ingredients so they stick. You can make a meal out of the salad by adding slices of chicken breast.

Wonton Strips

Stack wonton wrappers on a cutting board and cut them into 1/2 inch-wide strips. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Separate the strips, lay them on the baking sheet, and mist them lightly with the cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Scrunch each strip to give it a wavy shape, if you like. Bake at 375 until golden, 7 to 9 minutes.