Birthday Breakfast

This is a delicious twist on traditional French Toast.

Julie Smith's French Toast Strata

1 lb. Loaf of French bread (We used Whole Wheat)
8 oz. (1 package) Cream cheese, cubed
8 Eggs
2 1/2 c. Milk, light cream or half and half
6 tb. Butter, melted
1/4 c. Maple syrup

Cut French bread in cubes. Place half of bread cubes in bottom of a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle cubed cream cheese on bread. Add remaining bread cubes.

In a large bowl, beat until well blended the eggs, milk, melted margarine or butter and maple syrup. Pour mixture over bread cubes and press down with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. Remove wrap and bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with hot butter syrup. Serves 6 to 8.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 35 to 40 minutes

http://www.recipesource.com/main-dishes/breakfast/00/rec0083.html

Fettuccine with Roasted Garlic, Onions and Peppers

I made this for our anniversary. It was delicious! Try whole wheat fettuccine for a twist!

Fettuccine with Roasted Garlic, Onions and Peppers

Ingredients:

2 bulbs garlic
olive oil
cooking spray
3 medium onions, cut into wedges
2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 T. olive oil or vegetable oil
lemon juice
2 T. finely chopped parsley
1/2 t. salt
8 ounces fettuccine, cooked, warm

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 F. Cut a scant 1/2 inch off tops of garlic bulbs, exposing ends of cloves. Wrap garlic bulbs loosely in aluminum foil. Spray jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Arrange garlic, onions, and bell peppers on pan. Bake vegetables uncovered until garlic is very soft and vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool garlic slightly; squeeze pulp into small bowl. Stir in oil, lemon juice, parsley, and salt. Spoon garlic mixture over pasta and toss; add onions and peppers and toss. Serve warm.

Yield: 8 servings.

Source:

http://www.vibrantlife.com/vl/recipe-31.html

Vegetarian Recipes

For those of my readers who are observant Catholics or Orthodox Christians who observe fasting/abstinence, I thought it would be fun to share good vegetarian or vegan recipes for Fridays, Lent, or other periods of fasting during the liturgical year.

This is a recipe I found at Katherine's blog, Gloria in Excelsis Deo. I had a feeling we would like it since it includes two of our favorite foods: couscous and black beans. Another bonus is that all the ingredients are things the baby can eat too. (Well, just about-- he hasn't had corn yet, but once he does...) It's made with chicken broth, but that could easily be swapped for vegetable broth if you are avoiding animal products all together.

I think this would also make a good side dish with roasted chicken.

This was also very quick to make. I had it completely assembled, in the fridge to chill, and the kitchen cleaned up in 30 minutes. Now that's my kind of meal!

Anyway, without further ado:

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste

**Note: I inadvertently used the last of my green onions the other day (didn't plan ahead!), so I substituted a Vidalia Onion. I also added about half a green pepper.**

DIRECTIONS
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.

Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sources:
http://luke2-14.blogspot.com/2007/05/learning-to-sit-unsupported.html

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-and-Couscous-Salad/Detail.aspx