French Toast Bread Pudding

Sunday night we have breakfast for dinner.

I seem to have a gluten sensitivity, so French Bread needs modifications.  Gluten free bread can be pricey, but sometimes I sacrifice the "dough".  I used Rudi's Gluten Free Original Bread, but would normally have gone for something whole grain or multi-grain.

I started here and made it my own; here's what I did ...

Preheat oven to 350.

1 loaf of Rudi's gluten free original bread torn into bite sized pieces

Separately, mix together:
9 eggs
1 can coconut milk
3 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cloves
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. grated orange peel

Pour egg mixture over bread and stir to combine, allow to soak for 10 minutes.  Spread into 2.5 quart baking dish, and place that dish into a 9x13" pan.  Pour at least 1 inch boiling water into bottom of 9x13", around other dish.  Cover with foil, leaving room for steam to vent.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 40 minutes, until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve with powdered sugar or syrup.

No-Guilt Granola Bars

The wonder of Dates are available at Aldi!  They're sticky, so I thought, "These could be useful in making granola bars."

On "The Google", I found ...

Minimalist Baker's 5 Ingredient Granola Bars

I liked them.  Better yet, the kids love them and yes, that includes the teenager.  They're guilt free with the fruit, whole grains, nuts for protein and just enough natural sweetness.

Why make my own?  It's pretty simple, I'm working on cutting back on sugar. Granola bars are hard to find with low sugar, especially when you're also looking for a high protein variety that don't taste strange.

I use most recipes as a guide, tweaking things as I see fit - cutting back on sugar, using whole wheat or oat flour, that sort of thing.

Here's what I remember from the batch I made yesterday:

Combine:

• 1 lb. package of dates 
• I pit them, chop them up, soak them, drain the water and then make a paste of them in my food processor; previously, I'd just pit and process, but it kills my food processor
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• I use the Old Home variety that only uses peanuts and salt; any butter should work just fine, so adjust to any allergy needs you may have to consider
• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• Optional:
• vanilla or other flavoring 
• honey or other sweetner if you need it

Combine separately:

• 3 c. oats (could be significantly more, depending on what else you add
• 1 c. nuts 
• 1 c. shredded coconut (I get the unsweetened variety)
• 1/2 c. add-ins (chocolate chips, dried fruit, M&M's, etc.)

Combine the two mixtures

Spread in a 9x13" pan and refrigerate

Slice and enjoy!

These may not do well in really warm temperatures due to the coconut oil

Cheesy Taco Jose's

Leftover taco meat  →  Cheezy Taco Jose's!

I had leftover taco meat.

So I put it in a pan.

I added some tomato sauce and brought it to a boil.

Then I tossed in some cubed cheese and let it melt.

Served on a bagel, or bread of any type.

It's a win!

Taco Chili or Taco Soup

Taco Chili or Soup


brown

• 1# ground beef

add towards the end of the browning process:

• minced onion
• chopped pepper

in lieu of a packet of taco seasoning:

• 1T chili powder
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 1/4 t. oregano
• 1/2 t. paprika
• 1 1/2 t. cumin
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. pepper

add:

• 1 can of corn
• 2 cans of beans
• 1 container of salsa
• 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 28 oz. water

I think there are some cans of corn or tomatoes that may have more chilis or peppers in them which could add more flavor

This could easily be done without the meat

Spiced Chai Mix

This recipe is based off of one I found on Allrecipies. I didn't want to use the French Vanilla Coffee Creamer, so I increased the amount of dry milk and added the vanilla powder which I had to order online. The recipe also called for sugar, which I omitted so one can sweeten it to their liking.

Chai Mix

3 c. dry milk powder

1 ½ c. instant tea powder

2 t. vanilla extract powder

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

1 t. ground cardamom

orange peel (optional)

Sweet Potato Salad

One day shy of 2 1/2 years since my last posting.  Pathetic.  Especially since I come across and create some good recipes in the foods classes I teach.

Right now, I have 2 foods classes; Super Foods and Satisfying Salads.  When it works, I use the same recipes or ingredients for both classes just to make my life a little easier.  Yesterday, in Super Foods we made Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs.  Yummy.  I used the opportunity to cook extra sweet potatoes.

For my Satisfying Salads class, I make sure we have something from each of the food groups in our salad.  That includes a whole grain, vegetable(s), fruit, dairy and protein.  We did not have a recipe to work from today, so I don't have measurements to share, but the combination was really good.

pearled barley, cooked and cooled
cubed sweet potatoes - steamed, but not too soft, then rinsed with cool water and refrigerated (I leave the skin on for the extra goodness)
chopped celery
chopped red onion
dried cherries
goat cheese
chopped pecans

The dressing was simple - mayonnaise and a dijon mustard.

Very tasty.  Try it.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

I'm going to try these soon ...
http://coleensrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/05/cookie-bowls.html