Category: Recipes

I don’t have as much time to bake as I used to, but I still find a little time to do a quick and easy dessert.  I try to find one that the kids can help with or one that takes less than a half an hour because I know the baby won’t nap much longer than that.  He’s such a good baby too…so calm and happy.  Is this how all third-borns are or did I hit the jackpot?

I usually make my chocolate pudding pie with a graham cracker crust, but I recently came across a similar pie that was made with a coconut crust (here).  Put chocolate and coconut together and it’s like a little parta-y in the mouth :)  AND there are only 2 ingredients in the crust – butter and coconut.  Easy peasy.

After blending the coconut and softened butter in the food processor until a ball forms (approx. 1 min), you press it into the bottom and up the sides of a pie pan.

You then bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  There is no need to put it on a baking pan, but I seriously cannot stand the sound of a glass pie pan scratch across the metal oven racks – eeeeek!

Normally I use regular instant chocolate pudding, but I came across ‘chocolate fudge’ and it is a lot thicker and creamier than regular chocolate.  (Note to self:  purchase chocolate fudge from now on.)  This will be the filling for the pie.

This is the crust after baking.  Ain’t she perty?  The little golden brown on the edges looks beautiful.  Almost too perfect to eat…almost.

So flippin’ good.  Such a delicious and easy recipe to make.  And let me tell you, easy recipes are my thing lately.  Who said going from two to three kids would be so much work?!  At the end of the day, it’s all worth it…and so is this pie ;)

Coconut Crust Chocolate Pudding Pie

Crust
– 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
– 6 cups sweetened coconut (I tried using unsweeted b/c it’s what I had available and it’s too crumbly.  I might try half sweetened and half unsweetened next time.)

Filling
– 1 box instant chocolate pudding (6 1/2 serving-size box)
– 2 1/2 cups milk (I used skim.)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Place 2 cups of the coconut into the food processor.  Add the softened butter and blend      until a ball forms (approx. 1-2 minutes).
3.  Transfer mixture to a medium-sized bowl.  Add remaining coconut and mix together            with your fingers, until combined.
4.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until edge of crust is golden brown.
5.  Meanwhile, mix the pudding mix and 2 1/2 cups of a milk in a bowl and whisk until                firm (approx. 3 minutes).
6.  After crust has cooled, pour pudding mixture into crust and chill at least 1 hr. in fridge          before devouring eating.  Enjoy!

 

 

As mentioned previously, I heart breakfast food.  Any time, any place really.  Last Saturday, it was lunchtime and I was craving french toast.  Feed your cravings, right?  I’ve made this recipe twice now and it takes a bit of prep work, but it’s so good.  I love the honey in it.  The hubby thought it was alright, but he’s not a carb-lover like I am.  He’s more of a meat guy. (Don’t worry, he didn’t starve.  I also made breakfast sausage to go with it.)

The recipe states to let the bread sit like this for 2 minutes after you soak it in the egg mixture.

Now both times I’ve made this, I’ve failed to get out my griddle and get it done in one shot. Thus, I’ve stood at the hot stove and done two pieces at at time, just like the recipe states. Next time, I’d better use my brains and remember to get out the griddle that makes 8 pieces at a time.  With each child, I lose more and more brain cells.  I think I’ll have some super smart offspring at this rate ;-)  You’re welcome kids!

I failed to take a pic of the final product (mama was hot and hungry), so this pic is directly from the site.  Mine looked better because I used Texas Toast.  That stuff is delish and is the best bread (in my humble opinion) for making french toast.  Now to the recipe, shall we?

French Toast

Ingredients:

• 1 cup half-and-half (I used skim milk)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old or stale country loaf, brioche or challah bread (I used Texas Toast)
• 4 Tbsp butter

Directions:
In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.

Over medium-low heat, melt 1 Tbsp of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side (mine always take longer because I use a thicker bread…nothing worse than soggy french toast). Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

There you have it…a perfect recipe to make for a family breakfast on the weekend :-) Hope you all have a Happy Friday and a great weekend!

At our house, I’ve made it a tradition to have family pizza night pretty much every Friday night.  Normally I do a traditional pepperoni/sausage/veggie pizza or a Greek pizza, but this time I had some chorizo and a red pepper that needed to be used…so, I decided on breakfast pizza.  I love breakfast for dinner (aka brinner).  I could eat breakfast all of the time.  Pancakes, sausage, french toast, crepes…you name it, I like it (and now I’m getting hungry).

Here are the main ingredients for the toppings.  I only had 1 tube (9 oz) of chorizo, but next time I will use 2.  It got a little thin for my liking.  You could leave off the red pepper and top it with anything else you’d like too.  Have fun and play with it.  Just remember, if you see an ingredient you don’t like, just leave it out completely or put a substitute in its place.  (NOTE: I never use tomatoes, fresh or canned, on homemade pizza because it will make the crust super soggy.  I would suggest topping them on your pizza after it’s baked.)

In case you don’t own one or have never seen one, this is a pizza crust roller.  It is seriously the best device to use when making homemade pizza crust (which is the only way to go).  You can buy one for pretty cheap here.

Here is the wheat crust in all its glory.  I’m a carb-fiend…it gets to be a problem sometimes.  Bread is awesome.  The end.

You will dip the pizza roller in flour numerous times to roll out the dough.  The dough is super sticky, but don’t incorporate more flour into the dough because it will turn out really dense and taste pretty cardboard-y.  Just use it to roll it out and you’ll be fine.  (Clear as mud?  Mmmk.)

Here’s the crust all rolled out and ready for baking.

After you bake the crust at 425 for 14 min, you can add the toppings.  Normally I do a pizza sauce when I make homemade pizza, but I left it off the breakfast pizza.  I just spread the chorizo (cooked) onto the crust, sprinkled on the eggs (scrambled), cheese and then red pepper.  Bake in the oven at 425 for 10-15 minutes and voila!

I then added salsa to top it off.  You could also do sour cream or hot sauce.  Remember, anything to your liking…there are no rules :-)

Homemade Breakfast Pizza

• 1-2 tubes of chorizo or breakfast sausage (cooked)
• 4 eggs (scrambled)
• 2 cups cheddar cheese (Mexican cheese would be great too!)
• 1 red pepper or onion
• salsa, sour cream, hot sauce (toppings after pizza has been baked)

Homemade Pizza Dough (I got this recipe from The Lauren Elizabeth blog, which I read all the time)

• 1 packet yeast
• 1 1/4 c warm water
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 3/4 c whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and turn off once temp is reached.  Mix the first three ingredients together in a metal bowl and let sit for 10 minutes or until yeast has dissolved. Then stir in remaining 4 ingredients.  Cover bowl with a towel and place in the warm oven (make sure it is OFF).  Let rise for 40 minutes.

Generously grease pan.  Cover rolling pin in flour and roll out risen dough.  Sprinkle with salt.  Cover pan with a rowel and set on stove to rise until oven is ready.

Bake dough at 425 degrees for 14 minutes, remove from oven, add chorizo (or sausage), eggs, cheese, peppers/onions/mushrooms and bake for 10-15 minutes more.  Enjoy!

There you have a it!  A perfect recipe to try tomorrow night – pizza night :)