Cereal Crusted French Toast

I have to admit that I did see this technique done on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I love that show and one day when I was watching an episode I saw that this girl was making cereal crusted french toast using Captain Crunch. I didn't have Captain Crunch, but I did have some Oat Blenders Cereal and it has some sweetness to it, so I thought - why not!?

What you need:
About 2 cups of crushed cereal
4-5 eggs (yolks optional)
Bread (about 4 pieces)
*Please note that this recipe is based on using four pieces of bread and I had egg left over, so I probably could have done six pieces.

Whip your eggs and crush your cereal in different bowls (or plates).

Next take your bread, dip it in the egg mixture, then press each side of the bread in the cereal. You are going to get messy, so be prepared for it.

Next make sure you pan is on medium so you don't burn your cereal. Let cook just like cooking regular french toast, flip, repeat. Simple!

What you get is a great delicious mix of cereal and french toast. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or syrup and you are ready to eat.

I came up with this after deciding I needed something fun for my boys to eat for breakfast. Hope you enjoy! I might try a different cereal next time.

Mac and Cheese

My cousin asked me if I had any mac and cheese recipes and I forgot about posting it until now. I don't have any pictures, but you don't need pics of mac and cheese because you know what it's going to look like - DELICIOUS!!!

This is probably one of the easiest mac and cheeses (non box kind) that one will ever cook and frankly, I have given this to a couple of people who use it regularly.

Snort's Mac and Cheese
1 package of either big or small macaroni (or shells or twists)
1-2 cans of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese

Cook packaged macaroni as directed and stir in the cans of cheddar cheese. It's going to be sticky and the heat from the cooked noodles will help loosen the cheese. Stir in the shredded cheese and put in the oven for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Take out and enjoy!

You can add crumbled bacon or any type of meat product you would like (I prefer bacon). I also like to take some bread crumbs and mix them with melted butter and sprinkle it on top before popping it in the oven for 10 minutes. It adds a nice flavor to the dish.

Shem, this is for you!

Apple Pie with Brandy Soaked Cranberries

I didn't get to try this pie out, but my husband said that it was "very well" received at his work on Thanksgiving. I think a lot of it had to do with the crust - it was a crust that I had never tried before and I definitely will be using this crust for ALL of my pie crusts. I also tweaked it to incorporate what I had in my cupboard (mainly for the alcohol).

I found this recipe on Epicurious and I have had it forever but haven't used it. And when I say forever - I mean from 11/6/2007 forever! haha

APPLE PIE WITH WHISKEY(BRANDY) SOAKED CRANBERRIES (OR CHERRIES)

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup (or more) ice water

Filling:
1 cup dried tart cranberries (or cherries)
2 tbsp of brandy (or whatever whiskey-like alcohol you have)
3-3 1/2 pounds of medium-sized apples (I mixed between red and green)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
*I also added a little bit of white sugar to add a different sugar effect

You can do a topping (which it calls for but I didn't use) which is 1 tbsp whipping cream beaten with 1 tbsp sugar (for glaze)

Preparation
For Crust:
Blend first 4 ingredients in processor 5 seconds. Add butter and blend, using on/off turns, until coarse meal forms. Add 1/4 cup ice water. Blend until dough comes together in moist clumps, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball, Divide in half. Shape into disks. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

For Filling:
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Mix cranberries and brandy in small bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir apples, sugars and cinnamon in large bowl. Fold in cranberry mixture.

Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12 inch round. Transfer to 9 inch diameter glass pie dish. mound filling in crust (filling will be high). Roll out remaining dough disk and drape over pie. Fold top and bottom overhangs together it seal. Crimp edge of crust decoratively. Brush glaze over top of crust, but not crust edge. Cut several small slits in top of crust.

Bake pie 10 minutes. Cover crust edge with foil and bake until apples are tender, about 50 minutes longer. Cool pie 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp with cream or vanilla ice cream.

My 2 year-old son helped cut out the decorative pieces that are supposed to be stars. He had a blast helping me.