French Toast

Now, before you open this blog post with a preconceived notion of French Toast, I must warn you, Alton Brown would probably smack me silly for calling this breakfast dish French Toast. But, this is the French Toast that I grew up on, and so did Stuart! French Toast

You do not need fresh stale bread (oxymoron much?), you do not need to make it the night before, and you do not need to turn on the oven! What you do need are eggs, milk, vanilla, and sandwich bread. I like to sprinkle cinnamon sugar over top before eating too.

Before getting married, we had to go through Pre-Cana. One of the workbooks they had us talk through included a chart for chores. We’d agreed that Stuart would always make breakfast and I would tackle dinner. But then I became a “semi-professional chef” (Stuart’s words) and I knew I had to learn the breakfast world too. I haven’t tackled eggs yet, but I am a pro at waffles (our friends little boys have indicated they are the best they’ve ever had) and pancakes. I typically leave the French Toast to Stuart, as his father is the French Toast maker in their family too, but last weekend I stood at the griddle while he went on a run.

*Note: These amounts are all eyeballed. I prefer to use more milk in the egg mixture than my husband does. 

French Toast

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 C milk
  • pinch of salt
  • 8 slices sandwich bread
  • butter for greasing

Steps

  1. In a bowl wide enough to fit a slice of bread whisk together eggs, vanilla, milk, and salt.
  2. Melt butter over a hot griddle, or in a skillet over the stove.
  3. Dip bread in egg mixture, flipping to coat both sides. Place on griddle and cook until browned.

French Toast We always argue about syrup – my family and I like to keep our syrup in the fridge while Stuart and his like to heat it up. What’s your preference?

Nut-Free Basil Pesto

When I found a recipe that called for pesto I opted to make my own instead of buying it. So I scoured the internet and happened upon this recipe for Nut-Free pesto. My father has a nut-allergy so I found this to be an exciting discovery.

Even though I wasn’t cooking for anyone with a nut-allergy that night, it’s nice to know that these meatballs can be prepared anytime we’re hosting company.

Nut-Free Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

  • 4 C spinach
  • 2 C basil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 C parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/3 C + 1 tbsp olive oil

Steps

  1. Puree all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor.
  2. While the machine is running, stream in the olive oil.

*This recipe is from Maria and Josh at http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/spinach-basil-pesto/*

Nut-Free Basil Pest

I used this pesto in mini meatballs – ground turkey, pesto, panko breadcrumbs – on top of linguine pasta with jarred marinara sauce for a quick dinner that still tasted from scratch.Turkey Pesto Meatballs

Four Hour Quilts

Conveniently, my quilting hobby was born in time for the baby boom that occurred in within my circle of friends. These lucky children instantly became guinea pigs. The perfect baby quilt is the Four Hour Quilt (FHQ). I’ve completed 3 baby sized FHQs so far and even though the pattern is the same, each quilt has its own personality.

Here’s the How-To for a Four Hour Quilt:

For a baby quilt that finishes to 40×48″, you will need 67  4 1/2″ squares (this is a total of approximately 1 yd of fabric). You can use as many different fabric choices or as few as you like. I typically choose 3-4 different fabrics for these squares. The strips for the inner border are cut to 2 1/2″ and the outer border to 4 1/2″. I typically use the same fabric for both borders, but you can be as creative as you want! (this is a total of 1 3/8 yd of fabric)

The center of the FHQ is assembled from 35 of the 4 1/2″ squares in 5 rows of 7.

Once your center is sewn together, measure the sides and cut two of your inner border strips to fit the top and bottom. Measure again after the top and bottom are sewn on and cut the other two inner border strips to fit. You now have a framed center.

With the remaining 4 1/2″ squares, sew 4 rows of 8. Treat these new rows as if they were the border for the FHQ center.

Repeat the border process, attaching the 4 1/2″ outer border strips to the outer squares. Your quilt top is now complete.

Create a sandwich with the quilt top, batting, and backing (1 1/2 yd of fabric). With something this small I use my sewing machine to do simple quilting – the stitch in the ditch method is always a good go-to.

Once you have your quilt, trim it, and bind it (5/8 yd of fabric). And don’t forget to give it a name! 🙂

Below are the 3 FHQs I’ve done to date. The first (forgot to take a final photo w/ binding) was for my friends little boy, Evan, on his first Christmas. I’m told he kisses every animal on the quilt before going down for his nap. ❤ The second was for my best friend’s daughter, Elle, on her first Christmas. The Chevron FHQ was for a friend back home who didn’t know if she was having a boy or girl, but I had it ready before Mason was born. She’s sent me pictures of him playing on it.

Evan's Safari
Evan’s Safari
Bug's Garden
Bug’s Garden
Chevy
Chevy