Eggnog French Toast

The colder it gets, the more I bake. I know it may sound impossible, but if I could bake everyday, I would and I do most days. Everyone migrates to the kitchen, the southern light comes pouring in, it's warm, cheerful and inviting. I baked a couple loaves of my English Muffin Bread this week and wanted to try making French Toast with it. French Toast tastes great using stale bread. But fresh bread is still very nice. English Muffin Bread is a hearty, thick dense bread full of nooks and crannies and has a great flavor.  I used a rich delcious eggnog from our Health Food Store. This week, we have been having so much fun wrapping gifts, singing Christmas Carols and drinking egg nog, I had to try dipping English Muffin Bread in the Eggnog Mixture. I think you will love it too! Perfect for Christmas Morning! Nettie

FRENCH TOAST 

Ingredients

Whisk together in a shallow bowl:

1/3 cup milk or half and half

1/3 cup eggnog
4 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

One at a time, soak both sides of bread, then place in a hot well-buttered skillet.Cook on each side 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot sprinkled with Confectioners sugar or maple syrup, or jam. 

Recipe adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Number of Servings: 8

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

This was supposed to be a weekend of catch up. But life doesn't always work like that.  Since there is a world record  storm coming up this way, FRANKENSTORM, worst storm since 1938, that is a priority. So we have been buckling down, getting the generator ready, putting away boats, furniture, draining pipes, and I have been been baking up my own kind of storm. Since I used most of my flour last week, I cut this recipe for Vegan Pumpin Bread in half, unfortunately, because this is such a delicious moist pumpkin bread, no eggs, no dairy, perfect storm bread!  The only ingredient that I switched was walnuts for pecans, still very good! If you would like the recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Bread, make sure to check out Joy the Baker Cookbook for so many amazing recipes including this one. Nettie

< Sunday's With Joy > Cheddar Chive Jalapeno Biscuits

Growing up, biscuits were a staple at my Grandparent's breakfast table. Hot flaky buttery biscuits, smothered in peppery sausage gravy.  How can you resist a simple buttery biscuit? Until now, my biscuits have not been adorned with other ingredients. Joy the Baker has brought my biscuit world to a higher level. The Cheddar Chive Jalapeno Biscuit is now the King! My mouth is watering now, craving another biscuit! These biscuits are like a meal in of itself.

I highly recommend that you get yourself a Joy the Baker Cookbook ( 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes) so that you can try these incredible Cheddar Chive Jalapeno Biscuits, you will be so happy that you did! Nettie

English Muffin Bread

We love bread in our home, oh yes, we do! But do I bake bread???? Oh goodness no...too difficult, too time consuming....too...oh I don't know....Scary!! Why is it so scary Nettie??? Because, what if I fail, what if it tastes like wood chips and is hard as a rock??? What if, what if....But then one day I was happily scrolling through Pinterest and there it was ..... a dreamy loaf of English Muffin Bread, "Fool Proof ", it said, "Easiest Recipe Ever", it said, "5 Ingredients"!!! Oh yeah, sure, right, Fool Proof....this I've got to try, ONE GOOD THING by Jillee, I am trying it, I think I held my breath most of the way, it smelled amazing, it was only 5 ingredients that you can whip up in your Kitchen Aid, EASY EASY EASY!!! I did it!! This bread reminds me of the fabulous English Muffin Bread that we used to get at Cappy's Bakery in Camden Maine, but they stopped making it and I was devastated!! But no longer, I can make this bread, anytime!! I am over my Bread Fear!! Thank you Jillee!! In Jillee's recipe, she makes 4 Loaves of bread, I halved her recipe to make 2, but go ahead and double the recipe if you like!!

5 Easy Ingredients: Flour, Sugar, Salt, Rapid Rise Yeast and Water!

Place all ingredients in a Kitchen Aid and mix until just blended.

Just takes about a minute, don't over beat.

Looks perfect, make sure to get every drop of this gorgeous dough!

Dough is super sticky!

Grease two Loaf Pans

I told you this was sticky and did I mean it!!

Divide dough into 2 Loaf Pans. Cover and place over your oven or a warm spot and let dough rise to the top, it doubles in size!

After an hour it has risen!! So excited, I really can't tell you!!

Bread Dough is ready to go in the oven.

10 minutes before bread is done ( Golden Brown) Brush Melted Butter over the top.

Your Bread should look like this, Golden Brown.

I think I have more pictures of my very first bread baked from scratch than my kids...just kidding kids..... kidding kids...hahaha

Let bread cool completely before cutting, it was torturing my son to wait until the bread was completely cool, but believe me, it is worth the wait!!

If you can't wait, just take a picture of your bread like I did!

Doesn't it look gorgeous? I know, just keep waiting for it to cool, go get a fun magazine to take your mind off of the amazing aroma....

Cappy's Bakery eat your heart out, not really, just be jealous, a little...

Recipe for English Muffin Bread

• 2 3/4 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 packages RAPID RISE Yeast
•   1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• 5 1/2  cups All Purpose Flour

1. Mix all ingredients in Kitchen Aid, then spoon into 2 well greased loaf pans. 
2.  Cover with a towel, let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pans, and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get too brown. You are looking for golden brown. 
3.  10 minutes before done, brush with melted butter. Makes 2 loaves. Bread will be moist at first. Allow to COOL COMPLETELY before cutting. Makes amazing terrific toast, I know, I ate a lot of toast with Stonewall Kitchen Mango Peach Jam! Happy Bread Baking!! Nettie This Post has been linked up to these FABULOUS Blogs!:
   
   <center> <a href="http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKoh1ojF0DslDOWu5yOYgyyovCTe7KhV5WZmNZ0p41TBKw9_n6QxkNQVix82goXLMMmawacsSt00LQsRppQFw-8FJnKOMyrqLYrqaRpQjFbLut_4Of6eCMpXrNG-o7qXAkbN51yECrVdp/h120/MakeitPrettyMonday.jpg"/></a></center>
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Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich

We eat a LOT of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in our home.  We love Grilled Cheese sandwiches so much, that my best friend bought us a Panini maker, oh what a world it is! So when I saw that Mom's Crazy Cooking was having a Grilled Cheese Cooking Challenge, the recipe combinations started going through my head. I typed in Grilled Cheese on Pinterest and it was a Grilled Cheese Extravaganza.........yes, I had made it to Grilled Cheese Heaven and I wasn't going back. There I found the recipe that had me drooling, Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich from Two Peas and Their Pod. ( For this cooking challenge, one must use a recipe from another blog in that exact recipe) Perfect! It is Cinco De Mayo, I am making this a traditional Cinco de Mayo Grilled Cheese!

Mash up two avocados, set aside.

Add chopped red onion, garlic, tomatoes to the mashed avocados.

Add chopped Cilantro. Squeeze lemon juice over guacamole, add salt and pepper to taste, mix well.

 

Use Crusty White Bread for sandwiches.

Butter outer side of bread, place tablespoon of guacamole on bread, top with sliced cheddar cheese, grill both sides of bread until golden brown.

 

This was the best Grilled Cheese that I have ever had.Perfect sandwich for Cinco de Mayo or just for a Saturday meal! Scroll down and click #82 if you love this recipe!

Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Yield: 2 sandwiches

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5-7 minutes

The guacamole takes this grilled cheese sandwich to a whole new level of goodness.

Ingredients:

To make the guacamole:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small jalapeño, stems and seeds removed, minced ( I didn't have this on hand, but I would make it with a jalapeno next time)
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice ( I used fresh lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
A dash of freshly grated black pepper
1 Roma tomato, chopped
4 slices crusty white bread
4 slices Cheddar cheese ( I used Sharp White Cheddar)
Butter, for buttering bread

Directions:

1. To make the guacamole-cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado from the peel, put in a large bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add the chopped tomato and stir.
2. Heat a pan or griddle to medium-high heat. Spread desired amount of guacamole on both slices of bread then top with cheese. Butter outer slices of bread and grill on one side for about 2 minutes or until golden and crispy. Flip the sandwich and grill until golden brown. Make the other sandwich the same way and serve warm. Vote for #82 if you love this recipe! Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. Go check out the other delicious grilled cheeses, they all look amazing! This post has been linked up to these fabulous blogs!