A New Twist on an Old Breakfast Favorite

It seems like we are always having the same things for breakfast over here. French Toast is one of my kiddo's favorites that we have at least once a week. This morning I switched things up a bit. I mashed a very ripe banana into the dish first before I added the rest of the "dip" ingredients. YUMMY! I also added a bit of crunch by dipping the moist bread into a crushed cornflake and wheat germ blend before throwing on the griddle.

Banana French Toast
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg, beaten
11/2 cups milk (might have to add more or less, depending on the thickness)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Sliced bread
oil or butter for griddle
Mash banana in a bowl that is suitable for dipping the bread. Add egg and mix. Add milk and mix. Add more milk if too thick. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Dip sliced bread into mixture. Place moist bread on warm, oiled griddle. Cook until both sides are golden, and no liquid comes out when bread is pressed on with spatula.

To add some crunch-
1 cup of a cornflake, wheat flake type cereal, or a crisp rice type cereal. If using the flake type, crush with the bottom of a glass. Might have to crush the rice cereal just a tiny bit.
1/4 cup wheat germ
Mix crushed cereal and wheat germ together in a bowl suitable for dipping bread. After bread is dipped in wet mixture, dip in cereal mixture. Add to pre-warmed, oiled griddle. Remember to add more oil or butter to griddle before adding next batch or the topping will stick!

Almost Daily Bread

So I have finally gotten myself back in the habit of making my own bread!! It has been months since I last bought a loaf of bread or a bag of buns. Logan is now bringing a lunch to school, so I have been making a loaf about every other day. I use my bread machine on the "dough" setting and bake my breads in the oven. I try to switch up my recipes and will be sharing my family's favorites.

White Bread

3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup of wheat flour
2 teaspoons of yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine in order suggested by the manufacturer.
Select basic bread setting, normal crust if cooking in machine.
OR Select "dough" setting if oven baking. When "dough" cycle complete, punch down dough and form into loaf, place in greased bread pan. Let rise again for about an hour.
Pre-heat oven to 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Homemade Graham Crackers

The kiddos are huge graham cracker fans.  We eat them like they are going out of style.  Since I try to cut out on preservatives by making what I can at home, I thought I would give homemade graham crackers a try.  Would they notice?

The first time I made them, Logan helped me. We used the same cookies cutters we used for our Christmas cookies. I think he was expecting the finished product to taste like the cookies, so he wouldn't eat them.  The next time I made the graham crackers I cut the dough into rectangles so they looked more like the store bought ones, and he loved them. Kids are weird.

Graham Crackers

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter or shortening (I use butter)
* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I use light brown sugar, because that's what I have, but dark brown sugar     might make them darker)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sometimes I use a little more)
* 2 cups whole wheat flour (I use graham flour)
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon cinnamon (we like cinnamon, can use less or omit)
* 1/2 cup milk

* cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter (or shortening) and brown sugar. Stir in the vanilla. Combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Cover and chill dough until firm. It may seem really hard after chilled, but it softens when rolled.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into rectangles, or use a cookie cutter for fun shapes. Place 1/2 inch apart onto the greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crisp. Edges will be golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to cool on wire racks.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I started making my own laundry detergent a while ago. I found this recipe and it works great. I am saving money- costs less than $10 for the ingredients. The boxes of Borax and Washing Soda make at least 5 batches (I think I am under estimating here). Only one tablespoon of this soap is needed for a regular load, 2 tablespoons for a large or extra dirty load, so a batch lasts a while. I am also lessening my carbon footprint, as I am no longer buying a plastic bottle of detergent every other week. I use it in my He machine, but I do NOT use it on my cloth diapers. I am afraid that the soap might leave a build up on the diapers.

 

Ingredients:

1 Bar of Fels Naptha Soap (I have found this soap in the hand soap aisle and the laundry soap aisle of the grocery store)
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda (not the same as baking soda)
1/4 Cup Oxy Clean powder (optional, I don't use it)
Oil for scent (I use lavender oil, but I'm out right now)

Other:
Grater
Bowl
Large spoon
Something to store final product in

Grate the soap using the holes on the grater that are this size, or close:

After grating 1/2 the bar, I stop to check on Sophie.......

                                                                             
                                                                 ......and to switch grating arms.

When done grating, soap will look like this:

 

Add rest of ingredients. It will look like this when done:

Sophie will look like this when done:

I store my final product in this:

 

Enjoy!

Carrot Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's a cool day in my neck of the woods. A great day to bake some cookies. Here is my favorite "healthy" cookie recipe. Gotta sneak those veggies in any chance I get!

Carrot Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup fat free milk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup raisins

In a large bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, milk and oil. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and nutmeg. Add to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in chips, oats, carrots, and raisins. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets covered with nonstick cooking spray. Flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 10-13 min or until golden brown. Remove to racks to cool. Makes about 7 dozen.

Sometimes I substitute some of the all purpose flour with wheat flour- the cookies just end up a bit squishy.

Homemade Baby Food

I am sooo not a fan of processed food of any kind. I try to make most of my family's food from scratch, so why should the baby's food be any different? At the suggestion of the kiddos doctor, I started Sophie out on avocados and sweet potatoes, instead of the boxed cereals. She started at about 4 months, when she was holding her head up and taking food off my plate. The avocados I would just mash and give them to her as needed. The sweet potatoes I would boil and toss in the food processor with either the water from boiling, or breast milk if I had any on hand. I would do a whole sweet potato and freeze it in the ice cube trays with covers. I LOVE these trays. The covers keep the germies out and the tray makes the portion size easy.

When it came time to introduce new fruits and vegetables, I found the site Wholesomebabyfood.com really helpful. Actually, I am addicted to it and have it on bookmark tab. For each fruit and vegetable, the site lists the vitamin and mineral content, the recommended age of introduction, and recipes.

Another thing I love when making Sophie's meals is my immersion blender. Honestly, we had gotten this thing as a wedding present and I had no clue what to use it for. One day (4 years after it had been shoved in a drawer) it clicked that I could use it to smash baby food. I will throw some organic frozen veggies (right from the bag that I bought at the grocery store) in the microwave (enough for one serving). I use the water it's cooked in to thin out the consistency and maybe add some apple sauce, or a cube of sweet potato (thawed) and blend it all together. Voila, one serving of baby food!