Baked Raspberry French Toast
My rainbow baby is turning 3 tomorrow, and as I’m in Windsor taking care of my mom, I had my family over for a Sunday brunch to celebrate my little man. It was so good! This dish is relatively new for my family. I made this once before for my parents and sister, but not everyone else (I have 3 older brothers as well and 7 nieces and nephews). They weren’t all here today, but most of my nieces and nephews were here, so it was great!
The best part for me, once breakfast was served, the house went quiet! 12 people, including a handful of kids and you could’ve heard a pin drop. Everyone was enjoying everything so much, they weren’t talking! 🙂 Winning! 😀
French toast bakes like this are so satisfying, in so many ways. I made everything last night and put it in the oven this morning! So easy! It’s almost like dessert for breakfast. You really must make this! Would be perfect for Christmas morning. 🙂
Baked Raspberry French Toast
Ingredients
- Butter to grease the pan
- 10 extra-large eggs
- 2 3/4 cups half-and-half
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest plus extra for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 loaf of challah or egg bread cubed
- 1.5 pints of fresh raspberries
- Maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your dish with butter and set aside (I used a 9 x 13 x 2-inch oval baking dish). In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, orange zest, and salt.
- Spread half of the diced bread in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle on the raspberries in one layer. Top with the rest of the bread and pour on the egg mixture, pressing down lightly to moisten the bread. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight*.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the custard is set and the top is slightly browned. Check after 45 minutes; if the top is getting too browned, cover it lightly with aluminum foil. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm with maple syrup.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
Jamie Oliver’s Spinach Salad
My husband discovered this salad years ago when he was making me dinner. I was skeptical at first because the dinners he’d made for me before this time were…let’s just say, not what I would make. 🙂 The first bite of this salad and I was so pleasantly surprised! It’s sweet, but surprisingly, not too sweet. The almonds give it a really nice and needed crunch. We’ve since made this for my family and it has become an all-around favourite salad to make!
This salad is more of a ‘summer salad’, but as it’s one of my mom’s faves, I’ve made it several times already since I’ve been home taking care of her.
I, typically, serve this salad with barbecued chicken breast, but it can go with pretty much anything. Don’t be intimidated by the amount of sugar in this recipe. I know it’s a lot, but it’s not a salad you’ll have every day, and it’s a salad kids love because of the sweetness. A great way to get them to eat lots of spinach!
Enjoy!
Jamie Oliver's Cranberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup almonds blanched and slivered
- 1 pound baby spinach
- 1/2 to 1 cup dried cranberries*
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons onion minced
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup avocado oil**
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and avocado oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries and toss with the dressing.
Notes
**The original recipe uses vegetable oil, which is fine to use if you can't find avocado oil.
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Buns
Okay, so these are indulgent, but such a treat to wake up to on a special, lazy, morning with family. The BEST part about these buns is that most of the work happens the night before!
Important to note that this dough must rise for 1.5 to 2 hours before it can be rolled out, so don’t start preparing these too late the night before. I have made the mistake in the past of deciding to make something later at night and realizing the recipe needs to chill for so many hours in the fridge before moving on to the next step. Bah!
I like to add raisins to my cinnamon buns, but you can also add pecans if you like that kinda thing.
I first saw Valerie Bertinelli make these on her show for Christmas morning, and I thought it was such a nice idea! We’ve tried to do a big breakfast on Christmas morning, but it takes so long and with all the food we have to look forward to for dinner, it’s too much of a production to have a big breakfast and then a big dinner. Having something comforting and tasty like this that takes little effort in the morning is perfect!
I highly recommend you make these. Your family will love you all over again! 🙂
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- I cup warm whole milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 .25 oz package active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- vegetable oil for the bowl
For the filling
- 6 tablespoons salted butter softened, plus more for the baking dish*
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins optional
For the icing
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons of milk plus more as needed
Instructions
For the dough
- Combine the milk, sugar, melted butter, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment and stir to combine well. Add the eggs and stir until well mixed. Add the flour and mix on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and lightly flour a work surface. Lay the dough out and roll the dough out into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle.
For the filling
- Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Spread the softened butter evenly all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border, then sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle raisins, if using. Roll up the dough and press and crimp the edges to seal. Cut the dough into 12 slices and arrange them in the buttered baking dish. If you want to bake them the same day, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Otherwise, refrigerate overnight; take out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon buns until puffed and golden brown all over, about 25 minutes.
For the icing
- Put the icing sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the melted butter, vanilla and milk Whisk until smooth. Add additional milk, about 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed to achieve the right consistency. Drizzle the icing over the warm cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.
Notes
Ina’s Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
It’s been a while since I’ve written, even though I think about this blog all of the time. I take pictures of almost everything I make and then I never seem to have the time to sit down and post about them.
Life has taken a turn recently, and so quickly. I’ve found myself on leave from work and back home to help take care of my mom, as she is very ill. So far, her appetite has been amazing, so I have been cooking up a storm, making sure she has whatever she wants on hand. All my cooking has brought me back here.
These muffins are easy, fresh and light.
Something I have never done with these muffins is gotten all the ingredients to room temperature. The buttermilk ALWAYS ends up being colder than the cooled melted butter, and that butter gets chunky once stirred in. Not to worry! I’ve had no issues with the batter.
This recipe makes 2 dozen muffins. As you can see, 2 muffins are already missing from this pic! 🙂
I really hope you make these. They are one of our go-tos.
Ina's Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup butter, melted My preference, generally, is to bake with salted butter. But, use whichever works best for you.
- 1.5 teaspoons grated lemon zest When using the zest of a lemon, buy organic lemons, so that you aren't consuming any pesticides sprayed on the fruit
- 2 large eggs The original recipe calls for extra large eggs. It won't impact this recipe at all to use large eggs.
- 2 cups fresh blueberries 2 half-pints
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with muffin liners.
- Measure out and mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, cooled and melted butter, lemon zest, and eggs.
- Make a hole in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well of dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until just blended.
- Fold in the blueberries into the batter. Don't over mix!
- Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes
Cookie Dough (flourless) Muffin Bites
A friend of mine from Sherry Thacker’s 6 week challenge – actually she was my amazing coach throughout my 6 weeks! – posted this recipe on Facebook and I made it that very same day! The trouble is, I made it all wrong! I like the blogger who posted this recipe. I’ve followed her in the past, but I found her page busy this time and I had trouble following the recipe. So, I messed it up! But, they turned out to still be tasty, in the end. Enough that I made them again (the right way) and have been making them ever since!
You MUST make these and keep them in your freezer! They really do taste like cookie dough, right out of the freezer! They are my little Sunday early morning treat, and I love them.
The original recipe calls for store bought (sugar added) peanut butter. I did use JIF on my first go at this recipe and it was good. The second time I made them I used natural peanut butter, and there was no difference in flavour (or sweetness, which is weird). Don’t waste your calories using the store bought, sugar laden peanut butter. The honey in this recipe does the trick for the sweetness (as does the chocolate chips) and they taste so good! You’ll feel even better knowing you’re using a natural peanut butter!!
I did make a batch of these using almond butter instead of peanut butter. It was interesting how different the consistency and texture was. I didn’t like them as much as the peanut butter variety when at room temp, but I’ve liked them from the freezer much the same.
If you don’t own silicone mini muffin pans, you need to buy them now. 🙂 They work brilliantly for this. I wouldn’t trust getting these little guys out of the metal pans. As you can see, I filled them generously. They don’t puff up too much, so don’t be shy. I added some chocolate chips on top for effect, but you really don’t need to.
Enjoy!
Cookie Dough (Flourless) Muffin Bites
Equipment
- Blender (or food processor
- Non-stick mini muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe banana
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup almond butter Can also sub for natural (no sugar added) peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt to taste
- 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips Plus more for sprinkling on top, if desired.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Add all ingredients except the chocolate chips to the blender and blend until combined well.Â
- Remove the mixture into a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, drop a mound of batter into each prepared muffin cup.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the tops are set and ‘springy’. Allow muffins to cool slightly in the pan, before removing them.
Deconstructed Egg Roll – Must Make!
Don’t judge all of my food based on my pictures. I’m still learning. lol But, you need to make this tonight! Or, at least, this week. It’s so good and such a perfect weeknight meal. Works great as leftovers for lunch as well.
Michael sent me this email with a bunch of different Keto recipes attached. Most of them were meh. But, I saw this one and I was intrigued, mainly because it was super easy and quick – and healthy!! Requires no weekend prep, which is so nice, because much of my Sundays are spent prepping our food for the week.
Bonus, my kids gobble this up!! This dish is at my finger tips if I’m in a pinch (or if I’m not) for dinner or lunch on the weekends.
First things first. If you have not tried Coconut Aminos you MUST!!!! Ladies, especially, throw the soy sauce away! Replace it with this. Soy is no good. Honestly, this tastes sooooo good with sushi and is a direct substitute for soy sauce. I LOVE this stuff! You don’t have to get this brand (although it’s good). I’ve tried others that are also good. I get this at Whole Foods, but I’ve also picked it up at Noah’s Natural Foods.
As long as you have a bag of coleslaw in your fridge and 1 pound of ground beef (grass fed preferred) in your freezer, you are on your way to making this dish! Easy peasy.
You are going to finish this dish with Sesame oil, so use a good one, if you can. I love this brand.
One last note I would make to this recipe is that you must use the required amount of garlic and ginger, especially. There’s a real lack of flavour if you chince on these two ingredients.
Let’s get to it!
What you need to do:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves of minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger (or 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
1 lb Ground Beef (Grass fed preferred)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb shredded coleslaw mix
1/4 cup coconut aminos
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup green onions (optional)
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant.
Add beef. Season with S&P. Cook until browned – 7/10 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium/low. Add coleslaw and coconut aminos. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in toasted sesame oil.
Enjoy!!
Source: https://(https://www.wholesomeyum.com/recipes/low-carb-crack-slaw-egg-roll-in-a-bowl-recipe/)
Flourless Black Bean Brownies!
I have neglected this blog for FAR TOO LONG! Life has been crazy busy, and I just couldn’t fit this in. That changes TODAY! I realized that I started this blog because of David. This blog will be something my kids will always have to remember me by when I’m no longer around, so it needs to be a priority. Plus, I take (albeit mostly crappy) photos of my food alllll the time in anticipation of posting, so I have a lot to catch up on! These brownies were a good one to start back with because they are sooooooo good and pretty good for you!
I started Sherry Thacker’s 6 week Challenge on August 1st, 2018, and it has honestly changed my life. I lost a whopping 40 lbs over the course of 3-4 months! Every recipe I make, I think of Sherry’s Challenge and if it lines up with what’s healthiest for me. These brownies have 3/4 cup of sugar in them, so let’s be clear, they aren’t entirely in line with the keto/paleo plan that I follow. But, they are better than many other brownie recipes that are loaded with sugar, flour and chocolate. And, in moderation, they are a great option for something sweet!
You would never know there are black beans in these brownies. That’s one thing I love about them so much! Who discovered this?! Something else that I pay closer attention to since following Sherry Thacker’s Challenge is using quality ingredients. For cocoa in this recipe, I use this:
My husband swears by the Bulletproof products. Of course, you don’t have to use this, but I appreciate knowing that there are good quality ingredients in this recipe.
Let’s get to these brownies!
Flourless Black Bean Brownies
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon avocado oil If you don't have avocado oil, use any neutral oil, like vegetable oil.
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk If you don't have almond milk, use dairy milk.
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coffee or instant coffee This is optional. I don't add this because of my kids.
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Spray a 9X9 pan generously with cooking spray and line it with parchment with an overhang, so you can lift it out easily like this!
- In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips until combined. Pour into a bowl.
- Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips.*
- Bake the brownies for 30 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean – keep in mind that if you poke through a chocolate chip, the toothpick will never come out clean. I found 31 minutes worked well.
- Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting. Wash knife after each cut because these are ooey gooey and you will lose half your brownies on the knife! 🙂
Notes
Broccoli Slaw Summer Salad
Please don’t judge this recipe on my poor picture taking! I’m still learning! And, I was doing it quick, as dinner was about to be served!! I came across this recipe on Pinterest, and it is a keeper!!! It’s perfect for a picnic, a pot luck or lunch the next day…. You name it! It’s yum. We had it for lunch with BBQ chicken drumsticks AND for dinner with hamburgers and sausages. Happy Canada Day!!
Here’s what you need to do:
Slaw:
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 cups shredded broccoli slaw (purchased in the prepared salads area of most grocery stores)
Honey Mustard Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil*
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
*the second time I made this, I used Grapeseed oil and it was just as good!
Rinse quinoa thoroughly before cooking. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to a pot with the rinsed quinoa. Bring to a low boil, medium high heat, with the lid off the pot. Turn temperature down to medium low until the water has evaporated. Shut off the heat and place the lid on the pot and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let sit until ready to add to the salad.
Meanwhile, toast the almonds over the stove until they are lightly browned. Don’t leave these unattended! They can burn easily!!
Add all of your dressing ingredients into the bowl you intend to use for your salad. Toss in your slaw, quinoa and basil and toss to coat. Add in your almonds. Don’t worry if your quinoa is still warm. It won’t damage the slaw.
Enjoy!!
(Source: Adapted from: cookiesandkate.com)
2017…A New Year Indeed!
A lot has happened in my life since my last blog post. I got pregnant in April 2016, and, basically, didn’t feel like cooking for 9 months!
Because we lost our second born son, David, prematurely, this pregnancy brought with it a lot of fear. For that reason, there wasn’t a lot of celebrating and excitement for our baby-to-be. At least not from me. Of course, I felt so blessed to have been given another chance at growing our family, and finally giving our daughter a living sibling. But, I needed to get through months of scary waiting until we would finally be able to meet him.
I remember when 2016 began, I said that it was going to be my year. The two years prior to that were so hard for us, and we were due a year of happiness. When we found out we were expecting, everything felt like it was going according to plan! I was due to have him on January 17th, 2017. This felt like a good sign for me, as my husband’s birthday is January 18th. I had my daughter on October 1st, one day before my birthday! It’s only fair that his birthday be obliterated much like mine was once our daughter arrived! 🙂
One of the biggest challenges I had during this pregnancy was dealing with illness. I think I had a cold through most of it. At first, the worst head cold I have ever experienced. I remember wondering if I would ever know what it felt like to breath normally again! I, also, started teaching Kindergarten for the first time in September 2016. I have normally taught Grade 1. Not a huge stretch. But, germs seem to be exponentially worse in the kinder room! I developed a chest cold that I just could not kick! Eventually, I coughed so hard, I popped a rib. The upside to that, is that I was able to go on leave from work a couple weeks earlier than expected. Funny how things work out, because this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
On December 16, 2016, I picked my daughter up from school, and we were ready to celebrate the start of her Christmas break! I was looking forward to spending the week with her ahead of the holidays and get in some mommy/daughter time before the baby arrived.
That night, while my daughter was in the bath, my water broke! 5 weeks early! I texted my husband, who was still at work. I called my mom. I got my daughter out of the bath, and we made the stressful trip, in rush hour Toronto traffic, to the hospital, where my husband met us.
At 11:12PM my rainbow baby boy was born.
I didn’t get to hold him when he was first born because my perfect baby had to be whisked down to the NICU and then to SickKids Hospital the next morning for a surgery. The picture above was the first time I really got to spend time with him, after I was discharged a day early, so that I could be with him.
From SickKids, we went to St. Michael’s Hospital, since our baby was getting better and our chances of getting him home were growing closer. There, I met many wonderful moms who would show up to the NICU every single day, and stay all day long, to be with their babies. Some had been there for weeks and weeks. We were among the lucky ones who only needed to stay in the hospital for 8 days.
We got our Christmas wish and were able to bring our baby home on December 24th. The perfect Christmas gift!!
His sister agreed….
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