Change is good!

A lot has changed in the last 2 months. I am no longer teaching at the Christian school anymore and we moved because I was renting from them.  I am enjoying just being a housewife. I am still struggling with my TTC. We have adopted a little lab mix puppy that we named Jaq-Jaq. He is the cutest thing!  I am going to get better about writing in this blog since I have the time. 

Today I made some French bread and am making some French toast casserole for tomorrow’s breakfast. Here is the recipe courtesy of HungryMonster. I like a lot of their recipes for the bread machine. Usually I only make the dough in the machine and bake the bread, but since I am just cutting this up for a casserole I let the bread machine do all the work and didn’t have to heat up my kitchen. 

French Bread

Ingredients: 

 1 1/2 pounds loaf 

 1 cup water -- plus 2 tablespoons

 2 teaspoons margarine or butter -- softened 

3 1/4 cups bread flour 

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

 2 3/4 teaspoons regular active dry yeast

 Place the ingredients in the pan as directed by your bread machine.

Here is the recipe for the French Toast casserole courtesy of Taste of Home. My husband liked it last time I made it. I know it is not the healthiest recipe but once in a while it is ok to indulge. 

Ingredients

• 1 loaf (1 pound) French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 

  TOPPING:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Maple syrup, optional

Directions

• Place bread cubes in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Dot with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with maple syrup if desired. Yield: 12 servings.