Overnight French Toast

A friend of mine made this one time and I had to find a recipe for it. So my mom's church cookbook had it. It's great because you can make it the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning.

1/2 stick butter (room temperature)

12 (3/4 in. thick) French bread slices

6 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

1 T cinnamon (or less)

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. salt

Spread butter over bottom of heavy large baking pan with sides. Arrange bread slices in pan. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Pour mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake French bread 10 minutes (uncovered). Turn over and bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Italian Pork Sandwiches

I'm always looking for ways to use up the tomatoes and peppers from our garden.  And this one is just about my favorite. And it's low-fat too. Of course, it's one that my mom passed along to me.

1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced on diagonal, into 1/2" slices

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 medium plum tomatoes, diced

1 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow or red pepper, thinly sliced 

Seasoning:  3/4 tsp each of oregano, rosemary, salt

     1/4 tsp each of black pepper and crushed red pepper

Mix together the seasoning.  Sprinkle slices of pork with 2 tsp of the seasoning and press into meat.

Heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a skillet over medium and cook the pork slices 2-3 minutes per side until slightly brown and barely pink in center.  Place on a plate and set aside.

Add the onions and peppers and the rest of the seasoning to the skillet and cook for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and let cook for 3 more minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down.  

Add pork and juices back to the skillet and let cook over low until ready to use.

Toast some crusty Italian bread (it's really good if you rub it with garlic...) and top with the meat and veggies.

*I often just use 1 red pepper instead of two peppers.  And I will add extra tomatoes if I want more moisture.  

*The crushed red pepper in the seasoning is kinda spicy, so leave it out or reduce it if you don't like so much heat.

Emmie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here it is, I think. I just found this in my recipe book and I hope it's the original. I asked Emmie, but she's had a ton going on and hasn't had time to get it to me, so here is what I have. She did say that she was never able to make them as good as she did at your apartment, Erin, so maybe it was the oven or you being there! Anyway, hope this helps...

8 oz. chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. In another large bowl, mix butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Easy Cheesy Stuffed Chicken

This is actually from a Kraft Foods magazine that I would get free in the mail (not sure if they still send these). But these magazines usually had some good easy recipes. If you want to check it out and see if they still send the magazines by mail for free, check out their website kraftfoods.com. Anyway I hadn't made these in a while and forgot how easy and yummy these were...plus they look fancy. The picture is actually from the magazine...my chicken didn't look as pretty.

2 T butter

2 medium zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pkg. stuffing mix for chicken

1 cup shredded cheese blend (I use cheddar or whatever cheese is in the frig.)

2 pkg. chicken quarters (about 2 1/2 lb. each)

3/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat in saucepan. Add zucchini and onion; cook and stir for 2 min. or until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in stuffing mix and cheese until well blended. Carefully insert fingers between meat and skin of each chicken quarter to form a pocket. Fill pockets evenly with stuffing mixture. Place, skin side up, in roasting pan. Bake 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Brush with barbecue sauce and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.