French Toast

French Toast can be an easy to make breakfast. You can make it plain, or add fresh fruits or other sugary toppings like caramel or powdered sugar. I’ve been making french toast for several years, and I find that adding sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract bring a whole new level of flavor to this bread based breakfast. Today I used Homemade syrup for our french toast since we were out of our usual Mrs. Buttersworth. Homemade Syrup is a treat for us since we don’t have much of it, since it’s been gifted to us by my In-laws who make it from trees on their property. I top my toast with a pad of butter, because who can have too much butter? I have also never tried this recipe with any other bread than standard white sandwich bread. If you try with something else, let me know if it works!

  1. Heat a large frying pan over Medium heat. In a wide mouthed dish, whisk together 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp sugar.
  2. Melt 1 Tbsp of butter into pan. Dip white sandwich bread and flip in wide mouthed dish before transferring to frying pan. Cook 2 minutes per side, or until you see color. This should make 4 slices of french toast.

Christmas Leftovers: Ham, and Mac and Cheese

Mac & Cheese is another one of my favorite childhood foods. It is cheesy and packed with carbs. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water! My mom made a roux based sauce, that is butter and flour, then we add milk and an entire block (8 oz) of cubed white sharp cheese. The recipe below is enough for pretty much just me and my husband since I love it so much, however there is enough in the recipe to serve another person if it is paired with a protein and a veggie.
Also, some cheese brands don’t melt as evenly as others, so if your cheese tastes a bit gritty once it’s cooked, you should probably use a different brand next time. I usually use Aldi’s brand, cracker barrel brand, or Kraft. We have had Cabot work out sometimes while other times it is gritty, and Helluvagood always comes out gritty.

  1. Cook 1 1/2 cup of macaroni to al dente and drain.
  2. While that is cooking, preheat oven to 375 F. Dice 1 small onion (1/2 cup) and cook in 4 Tbsp of butter until translucent.
  3. Once onions are translucent, add 4 Tbsp of flour stir, then add 2 cups of milk. Heat to a slight simmer.
  4. While that is heating, cube one block of cheese (8 oz) by cutting the block in half the short way, then slicing into slices 1/4 inch thick. Once milk is simmering, remove milk from heat and immediately add cheese and start stirring until all cheese is melted.
  5. Place drained macaroni into a 2 quart size or bigger backing/casserole dish. Then pour the hot cheese over top and carefully stir.
  6. Bake your mac & cheese for 30 minutes until the top has begun to brown and is bubbling hot.
  7. With only 10 minutes left, slice ham and fry in a frying pan with 1 Tbsp butter. Serve together.

Easy Tuna Noodle

Tuna noodle casserole is a staple of depression era cooking. It’s a simple dish that requires very little to feed many people for the night. Though I’m sure there are fancier ways to make tuna noodle, this is the way I grew up with and the way my mom grew up with too. This recipe makes enough to serve 3 adults, but the recipe can easily be stretched by adding more noodles, or doubling/tripling the existing recipe. You can also then stick it in a casserole dish once mixed and add a crisp topping and bake, however I’ve always had it without, and I tend to prefer it quick and easy. Since I don’t do the casserole step, I tend to just call it tuna noodle, since I don’t make it into a casserole.

  • Bring a pot of water to a boil
  • Add 1/2 a bag (8oz) of egg noodles and cook to al dente, and strain.
  • In a dutch oven add one strained can of tuna, one can of cream of mushroom soup, and one can of Milk. Bring to a boil and stir till smooth.
  • Once smooth, add the noodles and cook for 3-5 minutes, and serve. Sauce thickens upon standing. Best serves with buttered bread and sweet peas.

Stroganoff without Sour Cream

Beef stroganoff is one of my favorite dishes. It’s creamy, savory, and makes a meal that will keep you feeling full for hours. I like making stroganoff, but I almost never have sour cream in the house. If we do have sour cream, it’s a small container and is eaten within a few days, usually with baked potatoes.
For this recipe, like other recent recipes, I used sliced venison. I should have made my pieces a bit smaller, because they were definitely larger than bite sized. But, you can also use leftover steak to make this meal and it works really well!

  1. Cube your meat (1/2 lb.) into bite sized pieces/strips and start heating a pot of water for your egg noodles.
  2. Add 1 Tbsp of oil to a dutch oven, place over medium heat, then add and cook your beef/venison.
  3. Chop one small onion (approx. 1/2 cup). Slice 3 large mushrooms/open 1 small can of sliced mushrooms and strain. Add onions and mushrooms to meat.
  4. Cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked. At this point, start to make beef broth and add half a bag of egg noodles (8 oz) to boiling water.
  5. Add 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and heat. Add 4 cups of beef broth, then bring to a simmer
  6. Strain your noodles, then add them to your broth.
  7. Add 1 cup of milk to your broth, and begin adding flour until it begins to thicken (5-7 Tbsp).
  8. Slowly heat and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add more Worcestershire sauce to taste (3-4 Tbsp).
  9. Remove from heat and serve. Makes 3 adult servings.

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