French Toast Roll-Ups

 French Toast Roll-Ups (otherwise known as Crack Sticks)

These are the most delicious deserts I have made in a very long time!! We did an Iron Chef activity with our youth group.  (12-17 yr old boys and girls) Our ingredient that we were to use was strawberries and we only had an hour.  This was THE best!!

Ingredients:

Loaf white sandwich bread
Strawberries 
8 oz package of cream cheese softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter melted
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Nutella

Directions:

Mix cinnamon and sugar in shallow dish and set aside.

Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.

Remove crusts from bread and roll flat using a rolling pin.  Spread small amount of cream cheese or Nutella (I did half Nutella half cream cheese.  Both DELICIOUS!) mixture on each slice of bread.  Add small amount of strawberries and roll up tightly.

Dip in melted butter then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at *350 for 20 min until golden brown.

These are delicious warm or cold!!

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Well, here is another dessert for you!  Haha 
I saw these on Pinterest a while ago, and they seemed way too easy - so I had to try them out for myself!

Okay, so here it is:

Get a couple cans of refrigerated cinnamon rolls (in the tube).  Spray your waffle iron and plop a cinnamon roll in each square.  Smash the lid down - slowly - wait a few seconds - ta da!! 

Seriously, you don't have to cook them very long.  At first I cooked them as long as I would a waffle, and they were a little crunchy!  Ooops!  :)

I squeezed the frosting into a little condiment bottle, and heated it up in the microwave.  Then, just drizzle onto the waffles.

I loved these because they weren't as messy as cinnamon rolls, or waffles either.  They were more like a big cookie you could hold with your hands.  Yum!!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

#17

The 17th day of Christmas treats…  (wow only 8 more days till Christmas)  I have never made cinnamon rolls from scratch, I always make the easy Rhodes 30 min frozen ones.  This year I am going to make these!  I will do it on Christmas eve so they will be ready Christmas morning! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, so I don’t know how good they are, but the reviews were great!  247 people couldn’t be wrong, right?  And 18,517 people are eventually going to try it some day if they haven’t already! Hehehe……   

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/2 cup white sugar

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

FILLING:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

GLAZE:

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons half-and-half cream

Directions:

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle.

Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and 3/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangles. Then sprinkle the raisins and chopped nuts over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.

Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, combine the corn syrup with the vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar and enough cream to make a thick glaze; set aside. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve.

Easy Breakfast Sandwiches

We made these last week while we were on our family vacation.  We had 32 people to feed and these sandwiches were perfect!  Super easy, filling, portable, and everyone gets what they like.  You could make them with Canadian bacon, sausage patties or regular bacon.  You could also make them with fried eggs, or use bagels instead of English muffins. Lots of possibilites...Yum!

Ingredients:
English muffins
eggs, scrambled
cheese, grated
Canadian bacon, sausage patties or bacon

Instructions:
Scramble eggs and add grated cheese.  (Or you could have a bowl of cheese separate if some people don't like cheese on them) Cook sausage patties, and heat Canadian bacon. Open the English muffins and lay them out on a baking sheet. Broil until lightly toasted.
Assemble the sandwiches, wrap in napkins and you are good to go! Easy!

Yummy Syrup

A friend of mine made this fabulous syrup a while back. I really hope she doesn't mind my sharing with you. Thanks Christa!

Ingredients:

2 cups butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup buttermilk

2T Karo syrup

2t vanilla

1t baking soda

Directions:

Bring butter, sugar, buttermilk, and Karo syrup to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Take off heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and baking soda.

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Okay, so I haven't made this before, but I thought I'd post it because it looks like a great Christmas morning breakfast! You can make this the night before, and then just pop it in the oven the next morning - my kind of meal!

Ingredients:

24 oz frozen shredded potatoes

salt & pepper

12 eggs

2 c half & half

1 tsp season salt

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 c shredded pepper jack cheese

2 c chopped ham (or cooked sausage)

Spray 9x13 pan. Place frozen potatoes in the pan. Shake a little salt & pepper over the top.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add half & half, season salt, cheeses & ham. Stir to mix it all together.

Pour it over the top of the potatoes. Cover with foil & put it in the fridge. (overnight or just for a little while)

Bake at 350* for 50 min.

Remove from oven & let sit for about 10 min before serving. This will help the pieces hold shape.

Enjoy!

PROTEIN FORTIFIED WHOLE WHEAT WAFFLES

Okay, I know the title sounds healthy, and healthy usually means disgusting. I make these waffles all the time & my kids LOVE them! (they don't even know they're not from a Bisquick box)
I make a huge batch, freeze them & then just pop them in the toaster.
(In case you're wondering, they have only 10g of carbs, 6g of protein & only 98 cals a piece. yay!)

1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 3/4 c skim milk
1/3 c canola oil
2 scoops whey protein powder (vanilla flavor)

Mix all ingredients together in blender for a couple minutes.
Bake in hot waffle maker until done.

Ham and Egg Wrap

This is a super easy breakfast alternative that you guys probably already know how to make but I just thought I would share it. :)

Ingredients:

1 whole egg
2 egg whites
3 slices Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Smoked Ham, chopped
1 whole wheat tortilla
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Beat whole egg, egg whites and ham until well blended. Heat nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add egg mixture; cook 3 min. or until set, stirring occasionally.

Spoon egg mixture down center of tortilla; top with cheese. Fold in opposite sides of tortilla, then roll up burrito-style.