Apple Chips

I am always trying to think of good snack ideas for my kids, things to give them for lunch or easy and portable breakfast ideas.  Thanks to my husband by kids also love chips.  So, that brought me to apple chips and I figured they couldn't be too hard to make, right?

So, a quick google search and I landed on this recipe.  It stood out to me because of the sugar water soak.  Any other recipe I read about just seemed like the chips would kinda be leathery, like dried fruit and not all that  sweet.  I'm not usually a fan of added sugar but I also want to make something that they will EAT and something that the baby can (physically) eat and fruit leather isn't going to be easy for him.

In true me fashion I used what I had on hand, which happened to be granny smith apples.  I figured they have a nice bite to them, bake well and the sugar soak should counter their tartness, I was right.  

I simply sliced the apples however I could manage, as thin as I could manage, but a mandoline would work much, much better and they would be prettier.

First make a batch of sugar water for the soak dissolving 1 1/2 cups of sugar into 2 cups of water on the stove top. 

Then, slice 2-4 apples paper thin and squeeze lemon juice on them as you go to prevent browning and drop them into your sugar water.  

Soak your apple slices in the sugar water overnight.

The next day pat them all dry and then lay them out on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake in your oven at 200 degrees for an hour to an hour and a half.  The apples will be CRUNCHY like chips and oh so wonderful.  I also sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar on half of my batch and that was equally as yummy. 

Easy Banana Bread

I am big on making things from scratch.  It saves money, I know what goes into it and nothing tastes better than homemade.  But, as the title of this blog points out, I'm also pressed for time and sometimes dragging all of the ingredients out (if I even have them) and then cleaning it all up is a PITA.  Have you ever looked at the ingredients in a box of banana bread?  There are no bananas in many of them.  Krusteaz does have some in its ingredient list, but they are pretty far down on the list.  As a general rule though I like Krusteaz brand products and looking at the label on the Banana Nut muffin mix it's pretty good.  Sure, it has enriched flour but... I'd be using that anyway.  It also has wheat and barley flour as well as ground flax seed and that's a plus.

So, back to making it...




YUM.

What you'll need.

1 box of Krusteaz Banana Nut muffin mix.
3 eggs
1/4 cup of vegetable oil (you could probably skip this depending on if you used more banana or wanted to sub applesauce, I like the richness it adds though)
4 (around 16 ounces mashed if you want to measure) very ripe bananas mashed up.
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (optional add, but I like a little more)

Directions:
Mix it all together in a bowl (adding the walnuts at the very end).  Bake according to the box directions.

Voila.  Banana bread, with real bananas.  The awesome thing about boxed mixes like this is that they are very forgiving, and that's saying a lot when it comes to baking.    You could alter this recipe a lot to suit your tastes.  Less banana, butter instead of oil, applesauce instead of oil, no nuts, use 1 tablespoon flax seed and 3 tablespoons water to replace an egg...    It's a lot like these pumpkin muffins using cake mix.

And by the way - if you ever find yourself with very overripe bananas but don't have the time to bake at that very moment, just toss them in a zip-loc bag in the freezer.  When you are ready to make the bread let them sit on the counter for a few hours and you'll be ready to mash them up.

Happy Baking!

Perfect scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs eluded me for a long time. Well, the *perfect* rich, fluffy wonderful ones did. I was always told to beat the eggs in a bowl, add a little milk and then scramble.

That is the wrong way to do it folks.

This is the right way.

Melt butter in a non stick pan (1-3 tablespoons depending on how many eggs you are using)

Break eggs in the pan. Yep, directly in the pan.

Use a fork to whisk them slightly.

Cook as usual.

By breaking the eggs in the pan you keep the yolky goodness in tact and that is what gives you that rich, yummy buttery goodness. Butter just adds to that velvety texture.

Right before I take them off the heat I also add some shredded cheese.

There you have it, perfect scrambled eggs.

Easter Brunch

Easter is my holiday. I host it every year for the in-laws because it's the only holiday my family doesn't really celebrate and I really can't fit my side AND the in-laws in my house, there just isn't enough room. So, what does a Mom of a toddler and a newborn make for 10+ people you might ask? Easy items that can be prepped ahead of time.

Baked Ham - as in, pre cooked. You could get one from the honey baked ham store or just a regular one with a glaze from the grocery store.

Maple Bacon Breakfast rolls. These lovely things appeared in my in-box the other day and I had to make them. I cooked the bacon in the oven ahead of time, you could buy pre-cooked but it's expensive for what you get.

Fried Green Tomatoes - Yes, like the movie. They are SO good. Slice tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick or so and salt liberally (this step is very important). Season with pepper. Put them in a bowl with about 4 tablespoons buttermilk (regular milk will work though). Then, dredge through flour. Then in some beat eggs and then through breadcrumbs. Fry in peanut oil. Vegetable oil will work but I prefer peanut oil. Voila. Soooo good. There are sauces and chutneys you can make to serve them with but I just like them as is.

Lemon Trifle - You can make this with any berry you want. I suggest doubling the lemon curd recipe and if you still don't feel you have enough you can always fold in some whipping cream or vanilla pudding.

Champagne Limoncello Cocktails

And, the in-laws are also bringing

Fruit Salad
Hash brown casserole
Another vegetable.

I may also add some roasted asparagus because it's easy :) The only thing I'll have to do the day of is warm the ham up a bit, toss the rolls in the oven and fry the tomatoes.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

This is moist and delicious AND low fat :)

Ingredients

• 3-4 very ripe bananas
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

Mash banana's in a bowl. Beat the egg and add to banana mixture, mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

If you just want regular pumpkin bread use 3 tablespoons of applesauce + 2 tablespoons melted butter in place of the pumpkin puree.

Chocolate Pumpkin Biscotti

My first attempt making biscotti and holy cow that was easy! I cannot believe I've ever paid nearly a dollar a piece for these things at coffee shops. Never again! I found this lovely fall version on Simply Recipes and because I've never made biscotti I didn't get brave so no alterations. Well, other than I used crystallized ginger because that's what I had. Oh, yeah, and the chocolate. They looked lonely without chocolate. I just melted some in a double boiler and spread over the tops of my biscotti. I threw them in the fridge to set.



It is not too early for Christmas. Ever.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• Pinch of ginger
• Pinch of cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and spices into a large bowl.

2 In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Give it a rough stir to generally incorporate the ingredients, the dough will be crumbly.

3 Flour your hands and a clean kitchen surface and lightly knead the dough. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Form the dough into a large log, roughly about 15-20 inches by 6-7 inches. The loaves should be relatively flat, only about 1/2 inch high. Bake for 22-30 minutes at 350 F, until the center is firm to the touch. (Feel free to also form two smaller logs for cute two-bite biscotti; just cut the baking time to 18-24 minutes.)

So, when they say "log" they are using the term very loosely. Actually, I think they don't want people to know to make biscotti so they can continue to charge $1 a cookie. By log they really mean a rounded, 1/2" thick, rectangle. Like so:

Ignore my baking pan, it's been loved... a lot. This is after the first baking process so you can see how to cut the biscotti too, on a bias.

4 Let biscotti cool for 15 minutes and then using a serrated knife cut into 1 inch wide pieces. Turn the oven to 300 F and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.

Biscotti may be still a tad moist and chewy, so if you prefer it crisp let it sit uncovered overnight in a dry space. Serve and enjoy.

Makes approximately 15 cookies.

Simply delicious pancakes

Everyone needs a simple pancake recipe. This one is very good and produces very fluffy pancakes that just soak up the syrup. Throw some bacon in the oven (375 for about 25 minutes) and you've got a wonderful breakfast with very little effort... or clean up! This recipe is good for 2 adults and 2 small kids, double for more people.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Beat egg. Stir in butter and milk. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture. Lightly grease a griddle. Heat griddle to medium heat and drop about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. When bubbles begin to appear around outside edge and break, turn with a spatula and cook the other side. Serve with warm syrup and butter.

Restaurant French Toast

This french toast is just as good as it is at your favorite breakfast joint. MMMMMMMM

• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 slices Texas toast thick bread (I really like to use cinnamon bread)
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• powdered sugar
• butter
• syrup

Mix first 7 ingredients in a shallow bowl or pan with a wire whisk until well blended.

Heat pan on medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon butter. If butter smokes your pan is too hot. Dip bread into egg mixture for about 30 seconds, coating both sides. Cook each side about 2 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve with butter and hot syrup.

Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Does your toddler love pancakes? Would you rather they have a more well rounded breakfast of oatmeal, cottage cheese, eggs and fruit?

Trick them!!!! Oh, and these are faster to prepare than regular pancakes, for an added bonus.

These do taste pretty good, but don't go in expecting buttermilk pancakes. They are more eggy than regular pancakes, but just as fluffy and moist and easily fooled my toddler. My husband knew there was something different and would have preferred regular pancakes, but he still ate them :) I served with syrup and some fruit on the side for a well rounded breakfast.

1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites OR 2 eggs

Mix everything in a blender (or use a hand blender)

Cook like regular pancakes.

Omelet in a bag

I heard about this genius idea a few weeks ago and just got around to trying it. The recipe is simple.

Crack 2 eggs in a heavy duty zip loc bag. Seal it up and mush the eggs inside the bag with your hands. Then, add whatever you want in your omelet. I used some left over veggies I had chopped up. I would have used ham or sausage, but I didn't have any on hand so we went veggie.

Green onion
Chopped onion
Salsa
Shredded cheddar cheese.

Add everything to the bag and mix well. Squeeze all the air out of the bag and seal. It is important that you get the air out, or you'll end up making egg drop soup instead of omelets.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add your omelet bags and cook for 13 minutes. The omelet should slide right out of the bag and onto your plate when it's done.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich

Tired of serving your tot waffles for breakfast? Try something new that they just might like :) And, you might like it too.

• 1 tablespoon(s) reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) honey
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) freshly grated orange zest
• 2 slice(s) very thin whole-wheat bread
  
• 2 medium strawberries

Combine cream cheese, honey and orange zest in a bowl. Spread bread with the cheese mixture. Place sliced strawberries on 1 piece of bread, top with the other. You could serve it with a side of yogurt too.

Pumpkin Bread

I know it's not really the right season for pumpkin bread but I always have it in my house and use it quite frequently in things like grilled cheese and quesadillas to sneak a veggie in my son. I had an open can in my fridge I needed to use up as well as some pureed squash and sweet potato so I decided to make bread. I found 2 or 3 recipes online that looked good and merged and modified to make my own recipe.

• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup pureed sweet potato or pureed squash. You can just put in another 1/2 cup oil instead, or more pumpkin. Or, even applesauce will work.
  
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Heat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, water, vegetable oil, sweet potato puree and eggs. Beat until well mixed. Measure the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves into a separate bowl and stir until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth. Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans and dust with flour. Evenly divide the batter between the two pans. Or you can make muffins. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. For muffins, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pans by inverting onto a rack and tapping the bottoms. Slice and serve plain, buttered, or with cream cheese.

Banana Bread

It isn't often that I find a recipe that I don't alter, but this is a GREAT banana bread recipe. I found it here.

Ingredients

* 2/3 cup oil
* 4 large eggs
* 2 cups mashed ripe bananas
* 2 cups flour
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 (3 1/2 ounce) box French vanilla instant pudding
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Mix oil, eggs and mashed bananas.

Combine remaining ingredients and add to banana mixture.

Now here comes the tricky part... I made this in a loaf pan but ended up cooking it for a good 1/2 hour beyond the cooking time stated to get the middle to cook through. I'd suggest using this batter to make muffins so you don't have that problem, or mini loafs.

Grease your loaf pans and fill with batter. For mini loafs bake about 45 minutes to an hour. Muffins I'd set the timer at 25 minutes or so and check them periodically until the tops start to brown a bit and you can insert a toothpick and have it come out clean.

The next time I make this, and there WILL be a next time I plan on adding 1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts. Another good addition would be chocolate chips. You could even play around with the flavor of pudding you use. This is a very good banana bread though, very moist.

Biscuits and Gravy

My last few posts seem to be an homage to my childhood, lol. This was one of my Dad's favorite meals of all time and he made it for us quite frequently growing up. His parent's used to make it as well and they grew up eating it during the great depression. So here we are full circle. And, in a recession no less, so it's quite fitting. My husband was just laid off for the second time this year. Wonderful huh? You'll probably see that I'm going to stray from my menu plan a bit, or at least alter some recipes, because I didn't make it to the grocery store before he was laid off. So... we're eating from our pantry for a bit.

First up... Biscuits and Gravy! I had some cooked ground hamburger left over from spaghetti and nothing to make Tacos so this is what I came up with. Oh, and I threw in some leftover breakfast sausage I had too. Cheap and easy.

1 or 2 packages of white gravy mix depending on how much you like (or you can make your own, it's pretty easy).
1/2 pound of ground meat (sausage, beef or a mix of both )
Biscuits (refrigerated, make your own or use Bisquick mix)
Pepper

It's pretty easy... Pop the biscuits in the oven, then prepare the gravy and add your cooked ground beef. I add plenty of pepper to my gravy mix too. Then, open your biscuits up on your plate and serve lots of warm gravy on top! Voila, a very filling yummy meal!

Eyeball Toast

Yes, I know it sounds disgusting. But, it's really just a fried egg sandwich. My Dad used to make them for us when we were little. SOOOO good and fun for kids :) This would be a good Halloween breakfast too.

What you need:

1 slice of bread
1 egg
butter
mustard (optional)

Butter both sides of your bread.

Then, find a small juice cup (a kids cup works well) and cut a small circle out of the center of your slices of bread.

Heat your pan and spray with non stick spray and put one slice of bread down. Then crack your egg into the hole. Cook on one side until your bread toasts and then flip it over and cook on the other side. Serve with mustard if you want.

Eat with a fork and enjoy!

Yo Baby Yogurt Copycat recipe.

I included this recipe at the very bottom of my yogurt post but oh.sweet.baby. this is so good. It's yogurt. No, it's dessert, no.... it's heaven. Heaven on a spoon. The cream rises to the top, the fruit is on the bottom and it's pure bliss in the middle. And, it's good for you. And SO much less expensive than buying it.

My son eats Stonyfield Farms YoBaby yogurt, and lots of it. It's organic, it's lower in sugar that other kids yogurts, it's creamy, it's good and it's expensive. So, I decided to come up with a copy cat recipe and let me tell you, I'd eat this over YoBaby any day, and it seems so would Dillon! Yaaay!

3 1/2 cups organic whole milk
1/2 cup organic heavy cream
1/4 cup natural sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the above in a pot and heat, slowly, to 180 degrees on your stove (no hotter and don't allow to boil!).

Allow to cool to 110 degrees and stir in:

1/2 cup organic, unflavored room temperature yogurt (I use stonyfield farms, regular not yobaby since they don't sell yobaby individually.)

Pour into a preheated yogurt maker and allow to incubate at 110 degrees for about 6 hours.

Set out 8 five ounce (or whatever) containers with lids. Spoon in about a teaspoon of your favorite fruit puree.

Then, spoon in the yogurt put the lids on and put them in the refrigerator. You can do larger or smaller portion sizes. I made them about the same portion size as Yobaby is because I was making them for my son.

Once you refrigerate for a while the cream will rise to the top, just like Stonyfield farms does.

Even with the 1/4 cup of sugar this recipe has about 2 grams less sugar than Yobaby per 4 ounce serving. All other nutrients are just about identical. It makes about 8 four ounce servings and will keep for about a week.

Enjoy!

Yogurt

As you've probably noticed from our weekly grocery list we eat a lot of yogurt in our house. My son eats the full fat version, usually yo baby and I have a love affair with Fage or Greek yogurt. My husband isn't a fan of eating it straight, but he does eat it. I substitute yogurt for sour cream and mayonnaise in many recipes. It's also great to add to chili or curry dishes if you find they are too hot.

Yogurt is incredibly healthy too, and new research shows it just may add years to your life. It's loaded with calcium, phosphorous, b12, potassium, protein... Yogurt boosts your immune responses, lowers ldl and raises hdl cholesterol, it increases fat loss, helps prevent osteoporosis, helps prevent and heal arthritis, protects against ulcers and reduces the risk of high blood pressure among a list of many other things.

While store bought yogurt is good, nothing can compare to homemade yogurt. And, since we're all about pinching those pennies, it's cheaper! You don't need any special equipment but I do own a yogurt maker just because I don't like to sit around checking the temperature of my yogurt all day. I bought a Salton on Amazon for about $20, well worth it. It doesn't have any bells or whistles and you don't need them. All you need it to do is incubate your yogurt at a constant temperature.

I use yogurt for smoothies, in recipes, mixed with flax seed meal, topped with granola, mixed with berries, you can even use it to make frozen yogurt. I started giving my son yogurt when he was seven months old and mixed just about any baby food puree possible into it. He LOVES it.

See :)

Isn't he a cutie :) And, I'm in total LOVE with his eyes. I have hazel eyes, my husband has green. Somehow this child ended up with one green eye and one blue eye! But, I digress. Back to the yogurt...

The process for making homemade yogurt is easy, this will make about one quart of yogurt.

4 cups of fresh, organic milk (your choice of full fat, 2%, skim or fat free)
1/3 cup of powdered milk (I always use non-fat) or 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (this is your thickener)
1/2 cup organic room temperature yogurt, unflavored (this will be your starter)
2-4 tablespoons of honey or sugar (optional)

A pot and a stove :)
A candy thermometer
Something to incubate the yogurt in.

The first step is to slowly heat your milk, powdered milk (or gelatin) in the pot until it reaches 175-180 degrees, stirring often. If you want a sweeter yogurt add your sugar or honey during this step as well. You do NOT want the milk to boil, this will ruin the flavor of your yogurt. Once you reach 175-180 degrees remove the milk from the heat and continue to stir for a minute or so to prevent the milk from scalding. You want it to foam, but not boil. You do need to be sure you reach this temperature though, otherwise your yogurt won't set.

Next, allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees. If you pour the starter in now you'll kill the bacteria. Once the milk has cooled add the starter.

Stonyfield Farms yogurt seems to be the best starter I've tried, it incubates the fastest. I've also used Fage which creates a great flavor of yogurt but takes longer to incubate. You can use yogurt from your first batch of homemade yogurt but don't use yogurt from a second batch as it likely won't have enough bacteria in it to work. Stir the starter in gently until it incorporates completely.

Place the milk in a pre-heated yogurt maker for 6 to 12 hours. It can take as little as 3 hours though, it just depends on how firm you want your yogurt and what flavor you are wanting. It is VERY important that this container is clean and sanitized otherwise you run the risk of introducing unwanted bacteria to your yogurt. If you don't have a yogurt maker you can leave the milk in a pot and put it in the stove set at a low temperature (or with just the bulb on) or anywhere else in your house that will keep it at a constant temperature of around 110 degrees. Some ideas are to wrap the pot in a down comforter and set it on a heating pad. I've just found that purchasing a cheap yogurt maker was much easier. This way, I can make yogurt overnight, while I'm sleeping. I like sleep.

When your yogurt is done you should see a clear liquid at the top, called whey, and the yogurt will have set.

I pour off the whey as I prefer thicker yogurt but you can mix it back in if you'd like. You can use the whey to replace liquid in quick breads, it makes for wonderful southern biscuits. The longer you allow the yogurt to incubate the stronger the flavor will become. You can play with different time frames, different amounts of powdered milk, different fat varieties of milk and different starters (including powdered starters) to get the flavor you want. You can also flavor your yogurt with vanilla, honey, agave nectar, fruit purees, the possibilities are endless.

If you like Greek yogurt you have one more step to go. Once you've poured off the whey you need to strain the yogurt with a cheese cloth for one to two hours. Then, scrape the yogurt off the cheese cloth into a glass jar and voila, Greek yogurt! You can also add seasonings to this and use like a cream cheese spread.

Refrigerate and serve! YUM!

So, for sweeter thinner yogurt add sugar to the milk before heating and incubate for a shorter amount of time.

For thicker yogurt incubate longer, use a bit more powdered milk and/or you can use a bit of unflavored gelatin.

For tangier yogurt, incubate longer.

This is the recipe I follow for my son, it's similar to the full fat version of stony field farms:

3 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup natural sugar

Mix the top three and heat to 180 degrees. Allow to cool to 110 degrees and stir in:

1/2 cup organic room temperature starter (I use stonyfield farms for his yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla

Add to preheated yogurt maker and allow to incubate 6 to 8 hours. Once you refridgerate for a while the cream should rise to the top, just like stonyfield farms does. Add your favorite fruit puree (or your childs) and there you go!

Even with the 1/4 cup of sugar this recipe has about 2 grams less sugar than yobaby per 4 ounce serving. All other nutrients are just about identical.

Coming up next... homemade pita bread!

Copy Cat Honey Baked Ham

Ingredients

7 pound spiral cut smoked ham
1/2 cup pear nectar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.
Place ham cut end down in a large baking pan.
Mix together nectar and orange juice.
Bake ham in a preheated oven for 15 minutes basting twice with juice mixture.
Mix together brown sugar and honey in a small bowl.
Brush mixture over ham and bake one more hour.
Serve immediately.

French Toast Strata

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (1 pound) loaf cinnamon bread, cubed
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, diced
• 8 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• Cinnamon
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Cube bread and let set in open air for about a day, allowing it to become stale.
   
2. Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange 1/2 of the cubed bread in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the cream cheese evenly over the bread, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Top with remaining bread.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, butter, and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and press down so that all bread pieces are soaked. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
5. Drizzle remaining maple syrup on top.
   
6. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Hashbrown Casserole

INGREDIENTS
1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 cup melted butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal
1/4 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine hash browns, 1/2 cup melted butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chopped onion, Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Place mixture in a 3 quart casserole dish.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute cornflakes in 1/4 cup melted butter, and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole.
Bake covered in preheated oven for 40 minutes.