Yummy but Deadly...

I love brunch. I know, its silly and not something you have too often, but I think brunch get togethers are some of the best! We had a get together with some friends to watch General Conference and at a delicious brunch!! I made this...

Stuffed French Toast. And just because I'm feeling generous, I'm going to tell you how I did it! First I must tell you that it has only been recently that I have begun to like french toast. Growing up, I thought it was disgusting, soggy warm bread. Gross. However, I discovered a secret (which most of you probably already know, but was new to me!) and it made me actually like french toast! The trick is not to put in too much milk. Many people use equal parts milk and eggs. No good! Check out the ratio in my recipe here!

French Toast

• about 2 loaves Texas toast
• 8 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• cinnamon to your liking
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• pinch of nutmeg

Mix eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dunk toast in egg mixture and cook on griddle or in frying pan.

While its cooking, make your toppings!

Sticky Maple Pecans

• 1 cup pecans (chopped or not)
• 1 cup maple syrup - this is not exact, its really more of an eyeball it thing!
• 1-2 Tbs butter

In a frying pan, melt butter. Add pecans and cook for 1-2 minutes. Watch pecans carefully to make sure they don't burn!! Cover with syrup. Bring to a boil and allow to boil down. If it gets too thick, add a tsp or so of water at a time and stir.

Carmelized Apples

• Peel and cut 5-6 medium/large size apples
• 1-2 Tbs butter
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

Melt butter in a frying pan. Add apples and toss quickly. Add brown sugar and cook down. If needed, add 1-2 tsp water to help make caramel sauce.

Cream Cheese Filling

• 1 brick cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tbs icing sugar
• 1 Tbs whipping/heavy cream

Mix together until smooth and creamy. Add more cream if too thick.

Cinnamon Kiss Whipped Cream

• 500 ml whipping cream
• 2 Tbs icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix together and whip until desired consistency is reached. For this recipe, I like it somewhere between soft peak and stiff peak. Not super runny, but not too thick!

Assembly

Take warm toast, spread cream cheese filling on and top with pecans, apples and whipped cream. Enjoy!

This is one you want to save up for. Eat really well for a few days so you don't feel guilty consuming this much yummy, sugary gooiness!

AHH

Ok, I haven't posted in FOREVER and mostly its been because James has had the computer, but I've been trying to put a pot up ALL day and blogger isn't co-operating. I can't move my pictures, or edit my drafts or anything. GRRRRR!

Happy Birthday...A little late!

Back in August ( I told you it was a little late!) James turned 30!

We started out the day going golfing. James loves to golf and I enjoy it, but am no good at all! It was super fun, though! To celebrate, we had a big ol' barbeque with lots of our friends and family. The weather co-operated and it was a BEAUTIFUL day!

We had barbeque steak and everyone brought a salad to share. It was quite a feast. And then, I put out a desert bar. The theme of the evening was James' favorites. Can you guess what is favorite color is? Hard to believe we're getting so old, but I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else!

Walk it 'Til you Drop it

I am not a runner. I don't understand it. I've never enjoyed it, even when my knees were good. I do love, however, a brisk walk. I could walk for hours. I could also go to the gym for hours, but my kiddos probably wouldn't appreciate it and it really makes no sense to drive into town to get to the gym.

The past several months I've been REALLY trying to lose weight. I have a medical thing that makes it so that my body holds on to fat like crazy. Really, I'm not making it up. The way it was explained to me was that if a normal person has to work out for 10 minutes to burn 50 calories, I'll have to work out for 20 minutes to burn 50 calories. Its awesome. Makes trying to lose weight super frustrating, but I've had enough of being ginormous, so I'm sticking with it.

Back to walking, I love walking outside, but have to work out early, before my kids get up. When James has to work early, leaving the house isn't an option! Luckily, I found an awesome program a while ago. I LOVE it!

There are several different dvds and I don't really know that I have a favorite. She's a little cheesy sometimes, but I haven't really found a workout dvd that isn't!

Once I actually make some signifcant progress, I'll post some numbers, but in the meantime, I'm feeling much more energetic and generally healthier, so that's a great step!

What's In A Name?

I'm lucky enough to be named after my Grandma. She was an amazing lady who loved the her family and the Gospel fiercely. She had a talent for crafts and loved scrapbooking. We spent hours scrapbooking or crafting together and if I ever had a sewing question, I'd call her. For the most part we got along fabulously. The biggest exception was about a yeat and a half ago when I told her I thought it was pretty rotten that she and my aunts all seemed to accept my Mom's lies and toss us aside so easily. Recently, though, she (and my aunts) began to see just how many lies were told. I had just started to get my Grandma back when she was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer. They sent her for five radiation treatments. Unfortunately, she lost her battle with the cancer on August 18, 2010. I already miss her, but I'm so glad she went quickly and with relatively little pain.

At her funeral, her sisters were reminiscing about her and it constantly amazed me how much we had in common. I always knew we had a lot of similarities, but I didn't realize quite the extent of it.

I also have the great priviledge of being named after my Grandma. I've always loved my name and my Grandma, but now I'm even more aware of the special meaning it has and the responsiblity I have to make her proud that I have her name. I love and miss you Grandma!!

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