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French Toast Casserole

  • 12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 12 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup maple syrup
  • Debbie Leahman added raspberries too

Blueberry Sauce

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

  1. Prepare casserole: Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in the dish and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle blueberries over the cream cheese, then top with remaining bread cubes.
  2. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup together in a large bowl until well-combined; pour over the bread cubes. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Remove casserole from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  4. Bake casserole in the preheated oven, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking until center is firm and surface is lightly browned, about 25 to 30 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, prepare blueberry sauce: Mix sugar, water, and cornstarch together in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in blueberries, reduce heat to low, and simmer until all the blueberries burst, about 10 minutes. Stir in butter.
  6. Serve portions of casserole on plates and pour warm syrup over top.

Notes from people who made this:

It’s on the menu every year!. I use sliced italian or french bread and I spread the cream cheese on each slice. this assures that every slice has a good amount of cream cheese.

This was very simple to make and everyone enjoyed it. I made a few changes. I reduced the eggs, using 10 total which kept it a bit lighter. I used frozen blueberries. They worked out absolutely fine! I whipped 1 1/2 packages of cream cheese with 1/4 cup powdered sugar, put it in a Plastic bag with corner end cut out and distributed the cream cheese mixture over the bread cubes. Then placed the still frozen blue berries over cream cheese. Bakery Italian bread is perfect to cube. I made the sauce as directed with the frozen blueberries as well. One mistake I made was not to grease my baking pan well enough but we managed and it was still very delicious!!

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Apple Pie OR Pumpkin Pancakes with Vanilla Maple Syrup

The pancakes are a perfect breakfast on a fall morning or anytime you want to savor the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, which pair wonderfully with apples. The bits of grated apple lend just a touch of texture to the otherwise soft, fluffy, and lightweight pancakes. Your house will smell incredible after making a batch of these easy pancakes that remind me of apple pie.

Yields: 7-8 pancakes

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: About 5 mins

Total Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Dry Mix:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon)
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (original recipe calls for ⅛ teaspoon)
  • ½ teaspoon ground clove (not included in original recipe)
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

Wet Mix:

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix-In:

1 cup grated apple (about 1 medium apple) OR Pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice

Butter or vegetable oil for skillet

Cinnamon Cream Syrup (originally vanilla maple syrup)

  • About ½ cup maple syrup, warmed gently
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or the scrapings of 1 vanilla bean
  • Cinnamon
  • Butter
  • Heavy whipping cream
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LEMON CHICKEN ORZO PASTA – Brittney uses this recipe

  • 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup  chopped onion
  • 1 cup orzo
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup fresh asparagus cut into 1″ pieces
  • 3 to 5 ounces spinach, or kale
  • zest and juice from one lemon
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot add in the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until the chicken is thoroughly cooked then remove it from the skillet onto a plate.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet then add in the onion. Sauté for one minute or until the onion starts to soften.

Add in the orzo and garlic and sauté for about a minute. Pour in the chicken broth, stir everything together and bring it to a boil.

Once boiling, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes and then add the asparagus. Simmer covered for an additional 5 minutes, then add the spinach. Cook for one minute or until spinach is wilted. Remove the lid and if there is any excess liquid remaining continue to cook uncovered for another minute.

Add the cooked chicken back into the skillet and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese until everything is combined. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger grated
  • 16-oz (450g) tomato sauce or passata
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala click for recipe
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon granulated sugar or honey
  • 2 lb (900g) chicken thighs or you can use chicken breasts
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small cubes
  • ½ cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream double cream in the UK
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, mint, or cilantro for garnish

To the slow cooker, add ginger, garlic, tomato sauce, spices, salt and sugar. Give everything a good stir, then add the chicken thighs and coat them in the sauce.

Scatter the butter all over the top, cover and cook on HIGH for 1.5-2 hours, or on LOW for 4-6 hours. The chicken is done when its internal temperature reaches 165°F with an instant read thermometer.

Remove the chicken, and place on a cutting board to cool enough to be handled.

Stir in the heavy cream in the sauce, and whisk until the sauce is creamy.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, and return to the sauce.

Serve with basmati rice and naan bread, garnish with fresh parsley, mint, or cilantro.

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Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe – This is the recipe Brittney uses

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 5 cloves garlic about 5 teaspoons, minced or crushed
  • 2 inch (5 cm) fresh ginger root grated (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder optional
  • 1 teaspoon salt add more if needed
  • 2 pounds (900g) chicken thighs skinless, boneless, diced into bite-size pieces
  • 17 oz (500g) tomato sauce or passata
  • 1 cup (250ml) heavy whipping cream or coconut milk, or half and half*
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, mint, or cilantro for garnish

On the Instant Pot press on SAUTE and melt the butter. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Add all of the spices, and the salt, stir, and cook for a minute. You might want to deglaze the pot at this point if the mixture is stuck to the bottom of the pot, just add a splash of water and scrape off any stuck bits with a wooden spoon. Then add the tomato sauce (passata) and a ¼ cup of water. Switch off the saute setting.

Add the chicken thighs, give everything a mix.

Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 6 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 10 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.

Carefully remove the lid, and press on SAUTE. Stir in the cream, and allow the sauce to reduce a little (season with more salt if necessary). Taste the sauce and see if you need to add a little bit more salt. Serve warm over rice with chopped parsley or cilantro.

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Parmesan Italian Pasta

  • 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast (We didn’t use that much. Only about 1/5 a breast)
  • 16 ounce bottle Olive Garden Italian Dressing. (Or any Italian Dressing. We only used about 1/2 a bottle of Zesty Italian and it was great.
  • 1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese (we used the read stuff not the bottled stuff)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper (we used a little less of that too)
  • 8 ounce block of cream cheese

Add these after cooking time is up

  • 16 ounce package of penne pasta cooked according to directions and drained well
  • 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. Add chicken to slow cooker
  2. Pour Italian dressing over the chicken. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and pepper over that.
  3. Place cream cheese on top.
  4. Place lid on slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours.
  5. When cooking time is almost done cook penne pasta on stove top according to directions on the package.
  6. Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Drain the pasta and add to chicken and sauce mixture. Stir. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan Cheese over the top.
  7. Serve and enjoy!
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Alfredo Sauce – Andrea Morgenegg

1/2  C butter

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese   

2  tsp. garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves garlic)

2  C. milk

6 oz. (1.5 C) grated parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. pepper

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add cream cheese and garlic.  Add milk a little at a time with whisk to smooth out bumps.  Stir in parmesan and pepper.  Remove from heat when reaches desired consistency

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Whipping Cream

  • 1 Cup Whipping Cream
  • 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla

Beat till stiff peaks. Serve on pie or other dessert

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Lemonade Frosting

  • 12 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1/2 package (.23 oz size) of Kool-Aid Lemonade OR about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
  • yellow food coloring gel, a couple of drops, to get to your desired yellow color
  • 1- 13 ounce and 1- 3 ounce jar Marshmallow Fluff
  • 12 ounces Cool Whip Whipped topping

Bake cake in two 9″ layer pans according to package instructions. (Strawberry cake is delicious with this frosting and I don’t like strawberry cake even though Sydney chooses it for her birthday cake every year. When we did this frosting I actually ate the cake and ate the leftovers too.)

Cool on wire racks.

In your mixer, cream with a paddle attachment, cream cheese, kool-aid (or lemon juice) and food coloring.

Stir in Marshmallow Fluff until creamy, making sure to scrape the sides of the mixer bowl.

Fold in Cool Whip, place in the refrigerator until ready to frost.

Slice cake layers in half once. You will now have four layers. (We didn’t split the layers)

Spread frosting in between each layer of the cake, stacking the layers. 

Do a “crumb coat” over the top and sides of the cake. Place cake and remaining frosting in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Frost with remaining frosting and garnish with sliced strawberries.

NOTES

**Notes from internet post: I had made this with the Kool Aid for the first go-around. I threw away the remaining Kool Aid, and only had one package. When I made the send (half) batch, I used lemon juice, and it tasted perfectly fine. Next time I will probably just go that way to begin with. Then there is no waste.

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Oreos

  • 3/4 C shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 box dark cake mix-pudding in the mix (I don’t know if it really has to have pudding in the mix)

Mix together shortening and eggs. Mix in cake mix. Make into 1/2 inch balls and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until done.

Cool and frost

Frosting

  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cube margarine
  • 4 cups powdered sugar

Mix together till fluffy and frost cookies