IHOP French Toast

I got this basic recipe from The Sisters' Cafe. I added cinnamon to mine because I love french toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon

2 eggs

½ c. milk

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 T. flour

6 slices of thick sliced French bread (I used homemade bread ---sooooo good)

Cinnamon

First beat eggs, then add remaining ingredients with electric mixer. Dip both sides of bread, sprinkle one side with cinnamon and place in hot buttered pan. Flip over when browned. Serve with any delicious syrup!

Creamy Pasta with Asparagus

I got this recipe from Favorite Family Recipes. It is really delicious. We loved it! The guests we served it to raved about it.

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Creamy Pasta with Asparagus

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1 pkg. bow tie pasta
1/2 c. (1 cube) butter (the real stuff)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pint heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
10-15 spears asparagus, blanched
1/2 c. bacon, crumbled (Honestly, can you ever have too much bacon?)
1/4 c. toasted pinenuts (I left these out.)
Parsley, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Boil bow tie pasta in salted water until al dente. Do NOT over cook. In wok or heavy skillet melt butter. Add minced garlic and saute a minute or so. Add Parmesan Cheese and bouillon cube(s). When the bouillon cube is dissolved, slowly stir in heavy cream and salt & pepper. Add cooked pasta to cream sauce and toss until pasta is well covered. Add blanched asparagus. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, toasted pinenuts, parsley & Parmesan cheese and toss together. Serve immediately.

I added Chicken to the recipe because my hubby likes to have a little meat with his meal. I just cooked about 3-4 small chicken breasts in a skillet and seasoned it with lemon pepper. It was a great addition to the pasta!

Brownie Pie

This is my brownie pie done Halloween style. The Decor is done with Nutter Butters, chocolate grahams and Halloween candy. We usually eat this every year at some point for a Halloween dessert. This dessert is great year round though without all the decor. I usually cook the brownie part in a chocolate graham cracker crust. You don't need to though. It can all be done without the graham crust. It is a delicious dessert.

Brownie Pie

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Melt the chocolate chips and butter. Mix in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the flour and then the nuts. (If desired, pour into a chocolate graham cracker crust to bake.) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool.

Place on Top of Brownie Layer:

1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding

1 1/4 cups cold milk

Mix well. Let it set. Then place on top of the brownie.

Place whipped topping over pudding. Refrigerate.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

(This is the finished product.)

(Here's the pumpkins on the baking sheet ready to be cooked for the second time.)

We make this meal every October before Halloween. We love, love, love having it because it is both festive and tasty-licious! Since I've been feeling a little sickly, Mikey made it for us this year! What a great husband!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

4 small pumpkins (pie pumpkins)

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion chopped
1 teaspoon garlic
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 can mushrooms
1 can corn
1 can green beans
2 cups cooked rice
(Any other vegetables or spices you want to add are welcome. Leave any out that you don't like.)

1. Scoop out insides of all 4 pumpkins. Heat oven to 350. Put the pumpkins on a baking sheet covered in foil with the top off. Cook the tops on the same baking sheet to the side of the pumpkin. Cook pumpkins for 30-45 minutes. 30 minutes if you don't want the sides to be so soft they come off easily. Longer if you want the sides to be softer. We like the sides softer because a little pumpkin mixed with the mixins inside tastes delicious.

2. Brown ground beef with onion until the onion is tender and beef is browned. Stir in garlic, salt, pepper, cream of chicken soup, and water. Stir. Then add sour cream, mushrooms, corn, green beans, rice, and anything else you want to add.

3. Spoon this mixture into the 4 pumpkins. Cook the pumpkins again with the mixture inside with the tops off for 30 minutes at 350.

4. Serve. You can then put the top on to serve or leave it off.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This could quite possibly be the best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted. It is absolutely delicious, and it stays so moist. You won't want to miss this recipe. I got it from a friend in Kentucky, Stacey White.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups pure pumpkin
6 eggs
1 ½ cups oil
4 ½ cups sugar
3 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 ½ cups water
4 2/3 cups flour
1- 24 oz. bag chocolate chips (save back some chips to sprinkle on top of loaves)

Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients mixing well. Add chocolate chips. Sprinkle a few of the chips on top of the loaves before baking. Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for about 1 hour and 5-10 minutes. Makes 5 large loaves.

Sloppy Monsters

(One eye got a little crazy!)

This recipe comes from Rachael Ray. We thought it was really good. I love the fall, pumpkins, Halloween, and everything that comes with it. Since Kira is almost two and started to appreciate a little creativity, I decided to make her a sloppy monster. She loved it! You can do this with hamburgers, sandwiches, whatever comes with a bun.

Here's the sloppy joe recipe.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan (I didn't add this.)
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin (I used 1 lb.)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped (I left this out.)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I left this out, but I would add it next time just so it's a tad thicker.)
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

Garnish: Add American cheese in triangles for the teeth. Put pickles on top with a dab of ketchup for the eyeballs.