Real (Easy) French Toast

It was just one of those days where we were destined to have something with a lot of syrup. Wheat bread is the usual for us but we went all out for this. After a morning full of classes, thick slices of french toast drenched in syrup was pretty much exactly what we needed. We used the thick bread (apparently made just for this kind of thing) and it was worth it! I don't know if I can go back to regular bread after this... The best thing about it- because we're broke college students- is that the bread is all we had to buy, everything else is stuff that we all have in our cupboards. Now, there is no specific measurements for this one so just go with it. If in doubt, add a little more...

What You'll Need:

6 slices of think French Toast (but regular bread will work too)

vanilla extract

3-4 eggs

cinnamon

milk

Pam spray (because it's important to be healthy)

real butter

syrup

Crack all the eggs into a medium size bowl. With a fork, beat eggs. Add a few strong dashes of cinnamon.

Add milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Start off with a little. If it looks like you want more go for it. Mix all three ingredients well.

Spray pan with Pam (AWAY FROM STOVE!) and put pan to heat. Dip each slice in the egg mix and place quickly on pan.

Wait until each side turns a deep gold color, they should be soft and fluffy. Plate them and butter them. Mikey likes powder sugar but that's optional.


The extra egg mix that's going to be left (unless you really soaked the bread) has a lot of potential. Take what's left and put it into the pan you just used for the french toast on low heat. They are going to cook really fast so watch them and keep stirring them.

They're full of cinnamon and taste really good with a little syrup, too. No waste here.

Mo's Special

This is one meal that I make that we both keep coming back to. It is literally the perfect mix of pasta, sauce, and shrimp! And it's so simple to make. We found a version of it online but have added a lot of our own touches. Don't get us wrong, we can't afford shrimp dinners every night but we definitely make this recipe an option whenever shrimp is on sale. Mikey suggests we substitute the shrimp, Mo says absolutely not. Its kind of amazing the way it is. We hope you feel the same.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound of extra large shrimp
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 small onion
1 cloves of garlic (at least)
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1 C. white wine (drink the rest)
8 oz. can of tomato sauce
8 oz. heavy whipping cream
1 pound penne pasta

(not pictured: White wine) :(

STEPS

Remember, start the water for the pasta! Get it out of the way. After you get that going, peel and devein the shrimp. We recommend cutting the shrimp into smaller pieces before you cook it because a lot more of the juice runs out of the shrimp after its been cooked. We found that cutting one shrimp into 3rds is the perfect size for mixing with the sauce later on.

Also, it is easier to cut the onions before cooking the shrimp because the shrimp doesn't take very long.

In a hot skillet add butter, oil, and shrimp. Cook the shrimp until pink and set aside when it's finished.

In same skillet used for shrimp, add the butter, oil, garlic, and onion. Cook everything until the onions start to soften and get a little darker in color.At this point the water for the pasta should be at a rapid boil so go ahead and add the pasta.

Now, back to the sauce. When the garlic and onions are done add the wine, tomato sauce, cream and heat through.

When heated through, add the shrimp to the sauce. Now is the time to also add any extra salt and pepper, too. The pasta should also be about done (you know, al dente blah blah blah...), strain it but NEVER rinse it. Add drained pasta to sauce mix. Fold it in.

Add a good amount of Parmesan cheese and mix one last time. Hope you enjoy! :)
**By the way- this meal goes really well with the Our Chedder Bay Biscuits... Just saying...**

Our Cheddar Bay Biscuits

These biscuits are so perfect for any meal (or by themselves). They're crisp on the outside and amazingly soft in the middle. This is our go-to recipe for a really good side dish.

View full recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 C. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1.4 t. garlic powder
1/3 C. cold butter
2 T. canola or veggie oil
1 C. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 C. milk

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

3 T. butter
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. dried parsley

STEPS

Preheat oven to 400° F

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder in large bowl. Add chunks of butter using pastry cutter. Add oil, grated cheddar, ½ cup milk, and stir (add more milk until not sticky).

Spoon ¼ C portions on non-greased cookie sheet.

Bake 15-17 minutes.

AFTER BUSCUITS ARE MADE...

Melt butter, add garlic powder and parsley. Brush mixture on top of warm biscuits.

Serve warm. =)

Lemon Chicken

Honestly, it took us a few time to get this recipe down the way we wanted. The horrible picture does not do this meal justice. Overall, with the rice, broccoli, and sauce, this makes for a very classy meal.

What you'll need:
(marinade)

2 1/2 lbs boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1"cubes)

2 T. soy sauce

1/2 t. salt

(batter)

2 large eggs

1/2 C. cornstarch

1 pinch white pepper

oil (for frying)

(sauce)

1/3 C. sugar

1 C. chicken broth

1 1/2 T. cornstarch

2 T. lemon juice

3/4 t. salt

3 slices of peeled lemon

2 T. oil

yellow food coloring (optional

View full recipe

MARINADE

Place cut chicken breast pieces into a bowl and mix with soy sauce and salt. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

BATTER

Beat eggs with cornstarch, white pepper and baking powder.
Coat the chicken with the batter.
Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees and deep-fry in batches until chicken is fully cooked.
Drain on paper towels and set aside.
You can also cook the chicken using a wok if you don’t have a deep fryer.

SAUCE

Combine sugar, cornstarch, chicken broth, lemon juice, and salt (if using food coloring you can add it now).
Mix until well combined and add 3 slices of lemon to the sauce mixture.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your wok and stir in the lemon sauce mixture and heat until well mixed and sauce becomes clear.
Remove lemon slices and pour the sauce over the chicken and mix.
Best served with rice and broccoli.