French Bread

1/2 c warm water
2 c hot water
3 T sugar
1/3 c oil
2 pkgs. yeast
6 c flour
1 T salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine remaining ingredients using only 3 cups of flour. Mix well. Add yeast and beat well. Add remaining flour to make soft dough that still can be mixed with a spoon. Leave spoon in dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Stir down dough every ten minutes for 1 hour. Divide into 2 parts. Roll up each like a jelly roll or make 2 dozen rolls. Put on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg white and slash diagonally. Let rise until double in size. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

My camera has been lost for about two weeks. Well, not really lost, but misplaced. It was put away in one of my 37 bags and buried in my closet. So, although I don't have photo evidence, we've been having a fun summer.

My birthday was about a month ago and I was feeling pretty sorry for myself because Dave had to be out of town on the mark of my first quarter-century. Of course I got over it pretty quickly since my friend Jenny came over and we had a little movie-watching luau after Harrison went to bed. And then the next night the Smith's and the Allison's came over to help me celebrate...it was a fun weekend. A week or so later we headed north for Dave's family reunion. It was fun to see all of his cousins and their families. One night while we were there we left Harrison with his Grandma and Great Grandma and went camping for the night.

I was not as prepared as I should have been, so we had to make our fire and set up the tent in the dark. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it really was dark outside. We eventually got it together and toasted some delicious marshmallows.

Although there are no pictures of him, Harrison is doing great too...I'll put some up here soon. He's tottering all over the place these days...with plenty of cuts and bruises to prove it. He is pretty huge...he wore a size 2T shirt to church yesterday...and I'm afraid we may run out of diapers that fit before he's potty trained:) His dad gave him his first buzz cut the other day and it has finally grown back out enough that he doesn't look totally bald. We just finished swim lessons, which he loved, and have been going to the park a ton, now that he likes climbing around on the equipment. I can't believe his first birthday is only a few weeks away!

Pork Chops with Mustard-Sage Sauce

Okay, this is the BEST pork chop I have ever had. And really quite easy. I got it from Robin to the Rescue by Robin Miller. The sauce could really be used over anything, chicken, ham, maybe even veggies or tofu something. Anyways...
1 T vegetable oil
4 boneless pork chops
salt and pepper

mustard-sage sauce

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 T Dijon mustard
2 t cornstarch
1T chopped fresh sage or 1 t dried sage
1/2 t garlic powder


1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the chops to the hot pan and cook until golden brown, about 2 min per side.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the sauce ingredients until the cornstarch dissolves. Add to skillet, and simmer until the pork is just cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Christmas Pancakes

We tried a fun twist on Christmas pancakes the other day. I poured the batter into muffin tins. Try it!!

Apricot Bars

This is an easy recipe that kids can help with. Use apricot preserves or whatever else your family likes and you have on hand. This morning Cody and I used strawberry jam. I also used 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. Experiment and let me know what your family likes!

Apricot Bars

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 sticks (regular, salted) butter, cut into pieces
1 10-12 ounce jar Apricot Preserves

Mix all ingredients except Apricot Preserves. Press one half of the mixture into a buttered 8″ square (or small rectangular) pan. Spread with a 10-12 ounce jar of apricot preserves. Sprinkle second half of mixture over the top and pat lightly. Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes or until light brown. Let cool completely, then cut into squares

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

This is one of my favorites. Its pretty easy and you can make it the night before. I've served at before for brunch (at showers) and it was a big hit. Enjoy!


Blueberry French Toast Casserole

INGREDIENTS
12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
10 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight. Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast

Waffles

Life has been crazy around here as of late so we've been having brekfast for dinner at least once a week. My kids LOVE waffles and so I've tried a few recipes and this is the one we like best.

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 c milk
1/2 cup oil
2 egg whites

In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and set aside. In another medium bowl, beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk and oil. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be really lumpy.) In a small mixing bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold beaten egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white. Do not overmix. Pour 1- 1 1/4 c of batter into waffle iron and cook. Makes 8-10 waffles.