Pretty much all breakfast items mixed together

Hello all, I'm trying to think of ways to make my blog more interesting or more topics to talk about. With my crazy schedule for work.. it is hard for me to do alot of things unless I do them all on weekends. Until I find more topics I'll be sticking with just my recipes for now. That being said....

This weekend we decided to pick an item for breakfast to shake things up a bit. The recipe for us this week was a French toast casserole. Its pretty much a recipe where someone said "Lets mix a few normal breakfast items together and call it a breakfast casserole" . The best part is that the idea worked for whoever thought of it.

Heres the recipe:

The only drawback is that I didn't read the recipe completely at first and didn't see the step where you leave it in the fridge overnight. So we started it at breakfast time and finished it for dinner

Here is out adventure:

 I didn't get a picture of my oldest cutting the french bread but here is the lay out

Then she cut and peeled the apples while I tried to look important

I laid the apples on the bread.... doesnt look like much huh?

 Then I cracked a few eggs...and by a few I mean 9 and mixed it with the other ingredients

I poured the egg mix in the dish with the bread and put it in the fridge and then waited.....

 ...and waited

Fresh out of the fridge. I only kept it in there for 6 hours

I put it in the oven for an hour and then pulled it out and covered it with some powdered sugar... Its so beautiful!!!

Got all the pieces for everyone and I just had to take a photo shoot with the finished piece. 

Overall it was an extremely easy recipe. I would have taken more pictures but there wasnt much more to take pictures of.... So that leaves one thing left to do. 

Rating time!!!

Girls: 3/3 thought it was yummy. They all added maple syrup because whats french toast without maple syrup?

My rating: The biggest taste was the egg so maybe next time I should try to add more cinnamon to it. But it still was very very yummy

If anyone has ideas on other things to add to my blog then please let me know. I was thinking of maybe doing some videos but Im not sure how well that will be received by those who actually like reading my blog. Let me know you thoughts and ideas!!

Chilling with some Chili when its Chilly

Last week we didn't do much cooking for Easter because our schedule was pretty full. So we made some key lime pies and took a break from posting to enjoy family and friends.

But this week we are back in the game with some new recipes to choose from. I bought two more cook books to choose recipes from and let my kids find what they wanted. This week is special because my meat hating oldest child chose a recipe that used beef. I had to check with her several times to make sure she understood that it had meat in it. She chose Smokey Chili with Rotini pasta.... yes chili with pasta... its a thing

Also this week my sister was in town from down south with her husband and my nieces. So we had a little extra help in the kitchen this week.  

Here is the recipe:

As you see it has 3 easy steps and not a lot of ingredients so even for the unskilled chefs like me it isn't too hard

Here is our adventure:

My oldest showing off her skills with the knife again. Shes come a long way since we started

My middle child getting the pasta ready

So much meat and I cant wait for my kids to finally eat a recipe with meat

Cooking the beef and the onions

My middle child and my niece adding the beans and tomato soup after we strained the pasta into the sink

What the mixture looks like before noodlization (disclaimer: not a real word)

 Noodlized (also not a real word)

And finished product  covered in Parmesan cheese.

Overall it was a very simple recipe and I think I could have used less noodles in it. I added more since I had more people to feed but I'm thinking I should have used less.

Rating time!!

Girls rating: They didn't really like it as much as I hoped but they still slowly ate it including my non-meat eater 

My rating: The pasta was most of the taste and I think I should have put less in but overall I like it

Ill have many more recipes on the way the hardest part is always choosing which one to make next. 

I know I don't have alot of readers but if anyone has any recipes they want me to try then please let me know

Until next adventure!!

Veggies are delicious in so many ways

Ive been enjoying this cooking time with my kids so much for many reasons. One of the things that makes it fun is the challenge and having that challenge pay off in the end. I like recipes that make me try new seasoning and new ingredients. This recipe is no different. I had my kids choose the recipe to make like i do every week. They chose Roasted mixed vegetables with garlic and herb sauce.

Here is the recipe:

This recipe was different because it asks for rosemary and thyme sprigs. Ive never used those before but was excited to try.

Here is our adventure:

My oldest doing her usual favorite thing...cutting veggies

and now she has an audience

Parsnips...thats another new ingredient for us

Some potato prepping

Starting to add the veggies to the pot

Almost there. All the veggies my oldest chopped are in the oven to cook

This was the only herb and garlic cheese we could find so the kids got to unwrap them hahaha

Cheese and milk mixture cooking on the stove while the veggies cook in the oven. The rosemary made the house smell so amazing while cooking

Here is my finished product.I didn't have any fancy dishes for the sauce so I used a soup cup. 

The food smelled so amazing that we couldn't wait to dig in. It tasted just as good as it smelled and that was before I dipped the my food in the cheese sauce.

Rating time!!!!

My girls rating: 3/3 ate their food in record time. I've never seen them eat so fast in my life. So its safe to say that they approved of the recipe

My rating: I think I ate mine in record time too and went back for second. I highly recommend this dish for anyone. It takes about an hour to make and its even good enough for my picky kids

My dads rating: My father tried some too and he really liked it as well.

So there you have it. What are you waiting for? Make this for you and your family. It looks good, smells good, and its easy to make. And don't forget to share my blog with your friends who are trying to learn to cook or want some new recipes. When I started I was about as inexperienced as they come but now I'm learning more and more each week. Thank you all for reading.

Huevos Rancheros just sounds fancy

This week we decided to mix things up a little and do a recipe that seemed more breakfast like. This week we chose to make Huevos Rancheros. I'm not sure if that is a breakfast item but it has eggs so...close enough right?

This was definitely a unique experience for me for the fact that I had to learn to poach eggs to do this one. I love learning new things and so do my kids.

Here is our recipe:

As a beginner cook I had to use videos to help me learn to poach the eggs. It such a neat way to cook them and I never really looked into it before. My kids like the way it looks while cooking too.

Here is our adventure:

I couldn't find all the ingredients at my local store for the recipe so I substituted other things as we went along. Like different kinds of peppers and I used Sunflower oil instead of veggie oil.

Here is a pepper that we chose that wasnt too spicy so my kids could eat without their faces melting off

All the chopped up veggies (thanks to my oldests awesome skills)cooking on the stove

Poaching an egg for the first time

While things are cooking my children start placing tortillas on the plates

Here was one of my prettiest looking ones we made. Turned out great

Bonus photos!

My oldest wanted to poach an egg too so I taught her and supervised the process

adding the egg into the water

Overall it was a really neat recipe and I'm really excited to say I know how to poach eggs now haha. My oldest daughter is really into cooking and its really fun to not have to cook alone. And I cant help but think that this weekly cooking idea I had is doing a lot more for their future and mine than I originally thought.

Rating time!!!!

My girls rating: 2/3 of my girls ate them up and my oldest suggested maybe a little less cayenne pepper next time. My third daughter is being picky about her food so she didn't vote

My rating: I have to agree that we need to cut back on the cayenne next time but it was yummy!

So all in all this recipe was fun and a great learning experience for my children and I. It took me out of my comfort zone and taught us a new style of cooking eggs that we never knew before. This weekly cooking project keeps getting more and more fun and I can't wait until next week. 

AS for now I'm about to head out with my kids to have some fun. I'll see you for our next adventure