July 2015 - Page 2 of 2 - NY Foodie Family

Kimchi Ramen Egg Foo Young

Posted on July 16, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I love Korean food, as I should since I am Korean. However, I was adopted from South Korea when I was nine months old, so I don’t speak Korean. As much as I love Korean food, I rarely cook it at home. I hope to change that in these upcoming months and look forward to cooking more Korean food at home. I enjoy Mika’s Pantry because Mika adopted a daughter from South Korea and cooks a lot of simple but tasty Korean food. While I’m not sure she’s actively updating her blog, there are several years of tasty recipes available. This is a dish that I’ve made a couple of times for the Weekend Chef and I. Kimchi is still a bit spicy for the kids! I usually buy kimchi at our “local” H-Mart (if you call local 45 minutes away – but it’s a huge Asian food market!). However, I have seen kimchi recipes around the internet and hope to try my hand at making some soon! For those unfamiliar, kimchi is a Korean fermented spicy cabbage dish. It’s allegedly one of the world’s healthiest foods and Koreans eat on average forty pounds of the stuff per person each a year! The original recipe called for scallions, which I didn’t have, but think would add some great flavor to this dish and will add the next time I make this. You may want to add even less than the recommended seasoning packet, as those seasoning packets are very salty. This is a super easy and super cheap dish to make if you like kimchi!

Kimchi Ramen Egg Foo Young
Recipe adapted from Mika’s Pantry

Ingredients:
1 (3 oz) pkg. ramen noodles w/seasoning packet (Oriental flavor)
2 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons kimchi, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
1. Cook ramen noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes then rinse, drain and set aside.

2. Whisk eggs, 1/2 of ramen seasoning packet, sesame oil, soy sauce, and baking powder in a small bowl; set aside.

3. Melt butter in nonstick skillet on med-high heat and add drained noodles. Let brown for a couple of minutes (without stirring) before adding the egg mixture. Cook until egg is set enough to flip, about 2 minutes. Flip the patty over and cook until egg is set, about a minute more.

***It is suggested that you serve this with Cantonese Brown Sauce and additional Kimchi. I found this tasty enough without the brown sauce.

My June Reads

Posted on July 15, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I had so much fun reading all the book posts yesterday that I decided to post a day late to the monthly Show Us Your Books link-up with Jana Says and Life According to Steph. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that my whole family loves reading. I love that I get to share my love of books with others in this link-up and get some ideas for new reads. This is an awesome resource if you’re looking for some good reading recommendations! Here’s a round-up of what I read in June. My top recommendation is The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This book has been on the bestseller list and I was waiting forever for it on hold from the library. Overall, I enjoyed the story (I enjoy historical fiction, especially books about WWII) but found the book too long and wordy in some parts.

Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss – This is the first in the Cooking Class Mystery series. Cooking class mixed with Romanian gun smugglers didn’t hold my interest. Wasn’t really impressed and won’t be continuing with this series.

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson – Megan from MeginTime had recommended this book for me when I was looking for a suspenseful read. This was definitely a suspenseful read with twists that kept me interested. I even gave it to the Weekend Chef to read. I wasn’t wowed by it, and it was a bit on the dark side, but fit my need for a quick, suspenseful read.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen – I hadn’t read Dessen’s books in a really long time. I decided to give her newest book a try and am glad that I did. While she’s a YA author, even as an adult I enjoy the themes she writes about. I really empathized with Sydney and disliked her mom a LOT! I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to getting back into reading some of her older stuff.

The Recipe Club: A Novel About Food and Friendship by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel – I love to eat food, watch shows and movies about it and read books about it as well. This book has a neat concept – you see the history of a friendship from little girls to adults told via letters and e-mails. Tons of recipes are included in the book as well. However, the story itself disappointed and it felt like a waste of my time.

All Four Stars by Tara Dairman – This is a children’s middle grade chapter book that I had borrowed from the library for my daughter, but ended up reading. It’s a cute story about a 6th grader who likes to cook and her parents who don’t. The young food lover secretly ends up becoming a restaurant reviewer for a newspaper.

The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan – This book is told through five women who are contestants in a baking competition to become “The New Mrs. Eaden.” This was a 3 star okay book for me. Nothing special.

You by Caroline Kepnes – Jillian from Just Life: Take Two had recommended this book to me when I was looking for suspense recommendations. This felt very similar to The Kind Worth Killing in its dark and twisted style. The book is told in the second person which is different from most books that I’ve read. This is another suspenseful (and a bit psycho) page-turner.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – This was my favorite book by far this month. It’s another historical fiction book centered around WWII. Hannah ranks up there as one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. This book was very different from her usual contemporary fiction that I’m used to. It really focused on the women’s war taking place in France and the surrounding area during the war.

I Regret Nothing by Jen Lancaster – I’ve read a couple of Lancaster’s books and find her memoirs humorous. In this book she writes a bucket list and this book documents her attempts to achieve it. Not bad – a 3 1/2 star read for me.

I’m currently reading Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan. Looking forward to linking up again in August with my July reads!

Family Foodie Fun: Cupcake Wars

Posted on July 14, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I’ve mentioned that our family enjoys watching Cupcake Wars together on Netflix. I rarely if ever make cupcakes because of the quantity a recipe makes. We never end up eating them all and honestly, I don’t need a bunch of cupcakes sitting around the house or I WILL eat them! A couple of weekends ago my son requested that we make cupcakes together. Somehow this suggestion evolved into a family version of cupcake wars. I write this post today since today is my little guy’s birthday and not only was this his idea but it’s appropriately themed for his birthday! He is now 7 years old and not-so-little anymore (insert sad face here). We celebrated his birthday several days early while we were in Rhode Island since my parents and both my siblings were up for the holiday weekend.

(This is what happens when I let my sister help “decorate” the birthday brownies for my son’s requested brownie ice cream sundaes!)

So, back to our cupcakes! My son and I first thought we’d make a S’mores type cupcake. However, the Weekend Chef and my daughter decided they were making a chocolate cherry cupcake. Since we were going to end up with a gazillion cupcakes my son and I ended up changing our cupcake to a Pina Colada cupcake. While I’m not the biggest coconut fan, we all love pineapple. Between the shopping for ingredients, baking homemade cupcakes, letting the cupcakes cool and making and frosting icing, this was pretty close to an all-day affair. We had lots of fun spending quality family-time together and eating tasty cupcakes! My daughter now wants the family to have a Cookie War. So, which cupcake won after all was said and done? I thought the Pina Colada cupcake was better….but I’m not a huge chocolate lover. If you so choose, you can make both cupcakes and let us know which one you prefer!

Pina Colada Cupcakes
Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

**Coconut Frosting (slightly adapted):**

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For garnish:
12 maraschino cherries
12 mini pineapple wedges

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Make the cupcakes: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Once combined, whisk in the egg, pineapple juice, coconut milk, and vanilla extract.

3. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients stirring until smooth. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

4. Make the frosting: In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Turn mixer off and add confectioners’ sugar, cream and vanilla. Mix on low for 1 minute then increase to high speed and beat for 3-4 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (I usually add 1/4 teaspoon). Frost cooled cupcakes. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake. Decorate cupcakes with coconut, pineapple slices, and/or a cherry.

*Leftover cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 4.

Chocolate Cherry Ganache Cupcakes
Recipe slightly adapted from Life, Love, and Sugar

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup salted butter, softened but not fully melted

1 egg white

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

For the ganache:

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tbsp salted butter

1/2 cup cherry pie filling cherries, rinsed and roughly chopped

For the icing:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup salted butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa

5-6 tbsp water or milk

12 cherry pie filling cherries, rinsed, for the topping

Directions:

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-count muffin tin with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

3. Add butter, egg white, egg, vanilla, sour cream and milk and mix on medium speed just until smooth. Do not over mix.

4. Fill cupcake liners a little more than half way.

5. Bake 18-20 minutes.

6. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling.

For the ganache:

1. Put the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl.

2. Add heavy whipping cream and butter to bowl with chocolate chips. Heavy cream should mostly cover the chocolate chips.

3. Microwave mixture until cream begins to boil, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Whisk mixture until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes, until the chocolate begins to thicken.

5. When thickened, cut out a hole in the center of the cupcakes. I used a melon baller. Pour ganache into hole, filling it.

For the icing:

1. Combine butter and shortening and mix until smooth.

2. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

3. Add cocoa and 3-4 tbsp of water or milk and mix until smooth.

4. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

5. Add more water or milk until desired consistency is reached.

6. Top cupcakes with icing and one cherry.

Children’s Camping-Themed Books

Posted on July 13, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Growing up my family did a lot of camping. We went from tent camping to a pop-up to eventually an RV. It was a cheap way for us to travel and vacation. Prior to having kids the Weekend Chef and I did some tent camping. We’ve taken the kids camping a couple of times when they were much younger, but haven’t had a chance to go more recently. This summer we are planning a weekend camping trip. In preparation, our bedtime reading books have been focused on camping! Here we share a round-up of some camping themed books for children.

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link I may receive compensation which is used to support this blog.

Picture Books:

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A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In this picture book, that is told in rhyme, Mr. Magee and his dog Dee take a camping trip. They tow a camper up to the mountains and find a perfect place to set up camp. Unfortunately, after roasting some marshmallows, they leave the bag of leftovers out, which attracts the attention of a bear. In trying to get to the marshmallows the bear accidentally unhitched the camper and sends it rolling down the hill into a stream. Before falling over a waterfall Mr. Magee and Dee are unintentionally saved by the bear. The two decide to head home and enjoy camping in the backyard instead. This was an adventurous camping story in which things end up getting a little chaotic, but ends well.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

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Just Me And My Dad by Mercer Mayer
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In this picture book Little Critter and his dad go camping, just the two of them. While he has the best intentions, Little Critter ends up finding himself in disastrous situations – from pitching the tent, trying to take a canoe ride and catching fish for dinner. Luckily, dad is there to help straighten things out! The illustrations add to the enjoyment of this story. This is a classic picture book that I grew up reading and it still has the charm and humor that I remember!

*This book was borrowed from the library.

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S is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet by Helen Foster James
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Like the title suggests, this is an alphabet book about camping. The main text of this book is told in rhyme touching on aspects of camping from hiking and emergencies to parks and s’mores. The sidebars of this book include much more detailed information about the things touched upon in the main text of the story. Colorful illustrations accompany the text. We are big fans of the alphabet book series from Sleeping Bear Press. I like that the books can be read on two levels – the main text with simple rhymes for my son and the more detailed text for my daughter. The sidebars always provide information that is new even to us adults.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

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Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping by Melanie Watt
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

If you are unfamiliar with Scaredy Squirrel, I recommend you start with the first picture book, Scaredy Squirrel. Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of everything and never goes camping. He realizes that he can enjoy camping through a television show that he’s found, but……he has to plug in his television. To do that he must cross the dangerous campground. Scaredy Squirrel always plans and is prepared. The book contains plenty of charts and diagrams to support this. This is a fun read that shows kids to enjoy new experiences and that sometimes you may end up liking things that you didn’t think you would.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

Poetry Book:

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Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems by Kristine O’Connell George
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This picture book is a collection of poems related to camping from the tent to hiking to toasting marshmallows and fishing. There’s a variety of different types of poems in this book as well including a shape poem, rhyming poems, poems that don’t rhyme and more. Each poem is accompanied by a colorful illustration.

Beginning Readers:

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Flat Stanley Goes Camping by Lori Haskins Houran
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Flat Stanley originated as a character created by Jeff Brown in a chapter book series. He is now part of the I Can Read series. In this beginning reader book Flat Stanley and the rest of the Lambchop family go on a camping adventure. After setting up camp Stanley and Arthur go exploring but mom warns them, “Don’t get lost or fall off a cliff.” Of course they do both! While Stanley first feels bad about being flat he soon discovers that it is helpful in getting them out of some sticky situations. Tent camping, campfires, s’mores and hiking are all mentioned in this book.

*We borrowed this book from the library.

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Fred and Ted Go Camping by Peter Eastman
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In this early reader book Fred and Ted go on a camping trip. They set up their tent and then decide to go fishing. Unfortunately, after catching fish, they have a little accident and end up with no food. A little bird helps them out and the two don’t go hungry. This book is part of the Random House “I Can Read It All By Myself” Beginner Books. It has short sentences with simple text. This book contains lots of opposites and the illustrations are humorous and engaging.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

Chapter Books:

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Camping Catastrophe! (Ready, Freddy! series #14) by Abby Klein
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Our family has enjoyed the Ready, Freddy! series. If you are unfamiliar with Freddy, he’s a 1st grader who loves sharks. The series is aimed towards early to middle readers. Camping Catastrophe!, number 14 in the series, has Freddy and his friend Robbie taking a camping trip with Freddy’s father. It’s not a Freddy book without some type of trouble occurring. In this book trouble involves a bee hive, fishing problems, a bear and some skunks. This was an enjoyable read that touches upon aspects of camping like pitching a tent (remember the directions if you’ve never set it up before!), collecting firewood, fishing and making s’mores. Despite all of the “catastrophes,” Freddy ends up having a great camping trip.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

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The Case of the Marshmallow Monster (Jigsaw Jones Mystery #11) by James Preller
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In this book Jigsaw goes on a neighborhood camping trip with his dad. Mr. Hitchcock tells a ghost story about a lake creature. The kids leave a bag of marshmallows out for the lake creature and wake up to find the marshmallow bag gone. Jigsaw and Mila have a new case – to find out who (or what!) ate the marshmallows. This book is the eleventh book in the Jigsaw Jones Mystery series, a series aimed towards readers in middle elementary grades. This book touches upon aspects of camping like starting a fire, making s’mores, not leaving food out to attract animals and campfire ghost stories. The lake creature story may be scary for some readers and could possibly scare them away from camping and lakes.

*We own this book.

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Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In this chapter book, Ellie McDougal (a.k.a. Ellie McDoodle) and her baby brother Ben-Ben have to spend a week camping with their aunt, uncle and cousins, while their parents are out of town. Ellie loves to sketch (and spy) and this book is an illustrated diary of this family camping trip. It’s filled with games played, camping adventures and of course family drama. This is the first of Barshaw’s Ellie McDoodle books and has been compared to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

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Humphrey’s Creepy-Crawly Camping Adventure by Betty G. Birney
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Humphrey is the class hamster in Room 26 and this book is told from his point of view. Each weekend a different student takes him home. In this book, Heidi takes him home and they have a campout in her backyard with several other girls from Room 26. Richie, another student in Room 26 and Heidi’s neighbor is having a campout with some boys from Room 26 as well. The boys try to scare the girls and later, the boys end up being scared by Humphrey and no one ends up camping out! The girls in this book attempt to campout in a tent, take a hike around the backyard, stargaze and play flashlight games. This book is part of the Humphrey’s Tiny Tales series. There is also the original Humphrey series, for readers 8 and up, though we are unfamiliar with it.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

Friday Favorites: Rhode Island Edition

Posted on July 10, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

The past week we were vacationing in Rhode Island, at my parents’ beach house. This week’s Friday Favorites is Rhode Island themed! If you have never been, I highly recommend. While Rhode Island is the smallest state it’s nicknamed “The Ocean State” for a reason. There are a ton of beaches and lots of things to do! So on to this week’s favorites!

1. Aunt Carrie’s – While not necessarily the BEST seafood restaurant in Narragansett, Rhode Island it’s one of the oldest and well-known. The Weekend Chef recalls dining here with his family while vacationing in RI when he was a child and we have eaten here numerous times on our various trips to RI. We ate here for lunch on the 4th of July where I had a hot lobster roll that was pretty tasty! The restaurant was even featured on an episode of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” where Guy Fieri sampled the clam cakes and recommended the strawberry shortcake for dessert.

2. Clamming – Driving into Point Judith there’s a marsh where we always see people clamming. I have wanted to try clamming FORVER! I thought that I needed to buy a rake but discovered that it’s not necessary. This trip we finally went clamming. We ended up collecting over 30 clams, as seen above. We only found one littleneck clam but found a ton of these what we think are razor clams. The Weekend Chef steamed them in some wine, butter and garlic. Unfortunately, we didn’t rinse them enough and they were pretty sandy/gritty so most went uneaten.

Image result for frances fleet

3. Fishing – Almost every trip we make to Rhode Island, where my parents are around to watch the kids, the Weekend Chef and I take a fishing charter. This trip we went with my sister, her husband and the Weekend Chef’s brother. Between the five of us, I caught a fluke and two of the guys caught some sea bass. We breaded and fried them up for some tasty dinner!

4. Classic Car Show – I saw an ad for a classic car show in Misquamicut. We got to the show a little early so we decided to take a walk on the beach. It was chilly and we were in sweatshirts but the kids still had a blast getting their feet wet in the ocean. While this wasn’t a huge car show, we did walk around and were able to cross of the Weekend Chef’s summer bucket list item. We had never been to Misquamicut before. It is filled with lots of family-friendly entertainment with rides, mini-golf, some water slides, a drive-in movie theater (which I would have liked to go to if they weren’t showing Jaws that night – not exactly “family-friendly!!”) though everything is a bit run-down. Our kids accompanied their little cousins on their first “roller coaster” ride (one of those mini-dragon types).

5. The Beach – Last but not least! East Matunuck State Beach is down the road from my parents’ house and was our beach of choice this past week. The kids would spend all day, every day at the beach if they could. They are old enough where they enjoy boogie boarding or just jumping in the waves. When they tire of that they love collecting rocks and shells, digging in the sand or building sandcastles. My idea of a good beach day is sitting in a beach chair with a book!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Linking up with Amanda from Meet @ The Barre, Andrea @ Momfessionals, Tif @ Bright on a Budget and Jennie @ The Diary of a Real Housewife.

Italian Tuna Casserole

Posted on July 8, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

It’s been quiet around here for the past week or so, as we have been vacationing in Rhode Island. We are on our way home today after a week of fun and relaxation with the extended family!

I recently decided to dust off some of my cookbooks, which were feeling neglected and find some new recipes to make. I have a bunch of Rachael Ray cookbooks. Her recipes are quick and easy to make, although many take a lot longer for us to make than her “3o minutes.” The recipes are also usually pretty tasty. I often adapt the recipes adding or omitting ingredients based on our taste preferences, but there are very few of her recipes that we don’t enjoy. And I have made A LOT of her recipes. I was perusing Express Lane Meals and found this tuna casserole recipe. When I made this a couple of weeks ago, the weather was surprisingly cool for summer. I had most of the ingredients on hand and was in the mood for a comforting classic. When shopping for the frozen spinach that the original recipe called for, I saw that Shoprite now sells boxed frozen chopped kale. I had to try it and think it was a great substitution in this recipe. There are few foods that my daughter dislikes, but tuna is one of them. When she found out what I was making for dinner I had to listen to her complain that I knew she didn’t like tuna and why couldn’t I make something else. She also might have mentioned that she wasn’t going to eat dinner. I tried to tell her that this wasn’t like the tuna sandwiches that she often sees the rest of the family eating. There’s no mayo and she likes pasta and cheese. Wouldn’t you know that she ate this with no problem! She said she wanted dessert and that’s why she ate it. My son, the tuna eater, was the one who gave me a hard time! I believe there was too much “green” for his liking but he did end up EVENTUALLY eating all of his dinner. This was a tasty take on the classic tuna casserole.

Italian Tuna Casserole
Recipe adapted from cookbook Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals

Ingredients:
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped kale, defrosted and squeezed to drain excess water
Salt
1 pound short-cut pasta
1 tablespoon EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), once around the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Black pepper
2 6-ounce cans white tuna in water, drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:
1. Spray a 2 quart or 9×13′ casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil cook pasta as directed on the package. Drain and set aside.

3. While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the EVOO, then melt the butter into the oil. When the butter melts, add the onions and garlic and cook until tender approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle the
flour around the pan and cook for a minute. Whisk in the wine and then the stock. Then whisk in the milk and bring mixture to a bubble. Reduce the heat to low. Season the sauce with the hot sauce and mustard, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken, then add the kale, separating it as you add it to the sauce. Add the tuna, flaking as you go, then stir to combine. Heat the kale and tuna through for a minute. Add the cooked pasta and mix with the sauce. Pour the tuna and pasta mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella cheese.

4. Preheat the broiler.

5. Place the casserole under the broiler for 2 minutes to brown the edges and the cheese.

Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast Casserole

Posted on July 1, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Our kids LOVE breakfast for dinner. When I asked them last week what type of breakfast food they wanted me to add to the weekly meal plan they unanimously said French toast It’s been awhile since we had it, so I was glad to comply. Luckily, last week’s weather was amazing! Even though it’s now officially summer, it wasn’t too hot or too cold, so I didn’t mind putting the oven on for an hour. What’s great about most French toast casseroles, including this one, is that they can be made the night before. Although they take some time to bake in the oven, all or most of the prep work is already done. I’ve made many French toast casseroles but this is definitely one of the best! With the milk, heavy cream, eggs and butter, this isn’t something that I want to be making every week. However, it is REALLY good and I know that I’ll be making it again. While Ree from The Pioneer Woman recommends topping this casserole with butter and maple syrup I have to tell you that this is sweet enough and moist enough that we did not need the extras. If you are looking for a French toast casserole, I highly recommend this one!

Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast Casserole
Recipe slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

FOR THE FRENCH TOAST:
1 loaf French Bread
8 Eggs
2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
3/4 cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

FOR THE TOPPING
2 apples peeled and diced
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Directions:
Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Cube the bread and put into the baking dish.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the peeled, diced apple pieces onto the casserole.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter pieces and cut them into the dry mixture forming small crumbs. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the bread and apple mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour. Let cool for ten minutes then serve and enjoy!