Creme Brulee' French Toast.

I was browsing through my family's facebook pages and found this wonderful recipe from our niece. This is what she has posted. Well, tomorrow breakfast looks to have appeared tonight. I can't wait to try it so thought that I would share it here. Perhaps I won't lose the recipe that way.

Creme Brulee' French Toast
Note: This is not pretty. People look at it and say, "Ew." But it tastes really, really good.

This recipe works best when made with bake & serve baguettes, but I've also used everything from french bread to hoagie rolls, whatever you can find. I cut them in slices three fingers wide (because it's easy to keep them uniform if you measure using your own fingers). Do not use the ends, of course.

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 T corn syrup
2 long baguettes
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

In heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring until smooth and bubbly. Pour into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Place cut slices of baguette over the caramel, fitting slices snugly together in one layer.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and salt until well combined and pour over bread. Cover and chill overnight. Don't skip this step, it won't be as good if you try to hurry it along.

In the morning, remove the pans from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered in the middle of the oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Your kitchen will smell heavenly. Serve immediately, flipping each slice upside down on the plate so the caramel is on top.

Time Flies

Well, this week has provided time for reflection. My baby turned 15 this week. I can clearly remember being in the hospital with severe toxemia and hoping to deliver a healthy baby. Well, the doctors delivered her by c-section at 3 lbs. She was healthy and perfect just tiny. We both left the hospital together after a 4 day stay.

The past 15 years have been wonderful. She is a delightful daughter. She is beautiful, artistic, musically inclined. She plays both the piano and the violin as well as loves to sing. I have been so very blessed to have both a son and a daughter. Both bring such joy to my life!

On her birthday our family along with a friend and my Mother attended a program on Family History that was presented at the conference center in Salt lake City. President Henry B. Eyring and guest speaker David McCullough spoke on Famiy history and our nations history. What wonderful speakers. The event was so wonderful. Music was provided by the world renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was a very spiritually moving experience. I am grateful to have been in attendance.

Tomorrow I will accompany my husband on a business trip to Southern Utah for a week. The chance for warmer weather is appealing. I am not as excited about leaving my daughter home for a week. She will be supervised by grandparents which is very good for all parties involved. They love spending time together. I'll update how the weather is in St. George. I am so Looking forward to sunshine!

Snow and Rain on Easter Weekend

Does anyone imagine Easter with snow and rain? Well, you know that if its also LDS General Conference anything can happen, and that Conference ususally arrives with Rain. Doesn't matter what any weather man predicts, the rain WILL Arrive during Conference weekend.

It's been a very stressful month. My brother and his wife had their third baby 10 weeks early. Baby is still in the NICU unit and failing to thrive. Some of that is typical, but I still worry about the little tyke.


General Conference messages have been very enlightening and comforting. I am praying for more comfort as the stress of all the above, and there is so much more, that I just don't dare mention, but the stress has lowered my immune system, along with being on some medications that cause immune suppression and I have managed to come down with a very painful sinus infection.

The thought that comes to mind after a very stressful month is that We reap what we sow! It's a great lesson. Today so many people expect so much from others without expecting anything out of themselves!

Wonderful Dinner!

Today was a very hectic and chaotic day for me. I know that we have all had one similar. Well, when I got up I looked through a cookbook and then decided I really wanted to fix some cabbage soup in the crockpot. I opened the refridgerator and got out the ingredients I had and placed on the counter and began cutting up my cabbage,and carrots. When the "Paddi", one of our shitzu dogs came into the kitchen with her legs crossed, so I let her outside and the cat darted in the house. I followed the dog outside to watch her so she doesn't go visiting the neighbors. When she completed her business, I returned inside the house and the cat was at the doorway to the basement staircase, I nudged her to take her first step down the steps and she trotted on downstairs to the family room. I closed the basement door on her and returned to chopping vegetables for my soup. Then I hear the cat knocking on the door, so I open the door and she comes up whining to eat. I recently moved all the cat and dog food to the basement, so I went downstairs and opened a can of catfood for the cat and put it up high on a low shelf so the dog didnt' get it, since she was now at my feet as well, sniffing the aroma of salmon. I saw that I had left my computer on from the night before, so I go sit down at the computer to finish what I had got called away from last night. Then I recieve a phone call from my mother asking if I will take her to the store to get somethings that she needs. She will put her coat on if I go right up. I agree, and I return upstairs to get my coat and I see my vegetables still on the counter waiting to go into the crockpot.
AARRGGH!!!! So, quickly, I chop the remaining ingredients and toss it in the crockpot and run out the door to help my mother.

Tonight, when I returned home to smell the dinner ready and waiting was so wonderful!
It was absolutely delicious as well! I made it different today than I usually do, because I didnt' have any stew meat, which I usually use. Today in place of that I used ground beef and sausage... Oh how wonderful this was! I may never go back to using the stew meat.
So, here is my recipe.. I do not cook alot by measurements, I eyeball things alot.
So if that works for anyone this is what I did.

Cabbage Soup
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
5 stems & springs fresh celantro , chopped
1/2 head cabbage chopped bite size
1/4 lb hamburger , just picked into small pieces and placed in the crockpot raw.
1/3 package of Jimmy Deans Italian sausage
1 can swansons chicken broth
1 quart canned tomatoes from my food storage
1 tsp garlic powder,
salt and Pepper to taste

I cooked it on high in my crockpot and it was done when I came home after 3 hrs.

It was so good!! I love vegetables! Even my husband who doesn't really enjoy vegetables ate all his dinner. There was just "enough" and wasn't anything left over! Love it when that happens!

March Snows

This month is beginning with snow. We need the rain and its wonderful to smell the rain, there's nothing like it. I love the smell of rain. Not too long after the rain started, the snow came, It looked alot like Christmas again.

Tonight, we have a choir concert to attend. Last evening we attended the BE Middle School's Orchestra concert. They are always long, as they begin with the 5th grade students at the intermediate school and work their way up to the High school students. I beleive its rude to get up in the middle of a concert and leave. So we sit through all the schools. This is what happens when the school districts limit the music departments. Mr. Findlay teaches at the intermediate school and plays musical chairs allday as he travels from the intermediate school to the Middle school (old jr. high school) and then to the High School. So concerts are long! Last evening was worth the effort to attend. They were pretty good. At some concerts you must have forgiving ears. Not too much last night. I always enjoy listening to my children perform music.
Tonight is the concert for the choirs. Ones ears do not have to be so forgiving at these concerts.

The snows continue tonight!

Emotions

Over the last week we have been seeing and hearing about the horrible earthquake in Haiti. My heart breaks. Being a nurse, I questioned my family if I should volunteer to go. My heart wishes to make a contribution of physical help. My family said "NO". I was needed here. I am not sure what their concerns are, but I know that having a family here I do need to be a Mom and be here for them. It's hard to turn off the "Nurse". I don't have financial funds to go there but do have the time. Instead I'll make contributions to help through the humanitarian center with the LDS Church.

My heart wishes to adopt one of those sweet little children who need someone to love them. I have had the opportunity to have given birth to two children in my life and I have numerous others that I claim as mine and I have 3 step-children from my current marriage, and having been married a few times, I have an additional collection of step-children. Yet, while we don't have alot and are not rich in this world by any means, however, we would appear rich to anyone from that area of the world. We are so blessed!! We have so much. I would gladly open my heart to take and love a child who needed a Mom to love them.

I am feeling emotional as the end of last week, we are told that Rogers cousin had a stroke, and wasn't doing well. She is in a Coma. She is the same age as my husband. They used to play together and at all the family reunions she would bring her horse to give rides to the little kids. Through the week they say that Marti, is doing a little bit better. She is still non-reponsive, yet they say that she smiles when someone she recognizes enters the room.

Then yesterday, we received an email that stated that Uncle Ellis had a fall and has fractured both his hips. He is on coumadin and thus they delayed surgery. Today we are told that he is now in a coma and is not expected to live. They have not done any surgery. He is aged, and has not been in great health. I know that when I saw him 2 years ago at the family reunion in Idaho Falls, I was concerned then that he might not live alot longer. His eyes are failing. Perhaps thats why he fell.

Now, with at least one funeral possibly pending in the week ahead and having Young Women's and the ward video to complete I am a bit stressed.

I love people and hate to see them in pain or suffering. I pray for the people in Haiti, for our family members who are ill and in pain.

I had a dear friend come to visit me today and it was wonderful to see her. She gave me a wonderful HUG. Hugs are the most theraputic non-medicine treatment that I know.
So, tonight, I hope that everyone has someone to HUG, kiss and know that you are loved.

Snow, Snow, Snow

To me, this seems like we have had more snow than normal for our winters. At least in the last few years that I can remember. The home is nice and warm and the new windows we put in this year help to keep it that way and so its nice to stay inside and watch the snow.

I am busy creating the "Year in Review" Video for our ward. I absolutely love creating this video and the different segments. While it is fun to make a picture record of the events that have taken place in the ward over the last year. My favorite segments are those that I create that show our personal lives as ward members. Those things that allow me to get to know someone a bit better.

A couple years ago we highlighted those that had served in the military. That is one of my very favorite segments. I learned much more than anyone else by doing that segment. I interviewed each that I placed in there, with the exception of just a few. There was only one in the ward who did not want to be mentioned in that video. I respectfully left him out. He had served and retired from the military, he had given much but didn't want to be thanked for his service.

This is my break from the video for the day. Its been a week or so since I posted to this. This year I am creating a segment of peoples hobbies and where the members went on vacation last year. I Thought it would be fun to see where everyone went to take a rest from their normal lives.

I want to do a segment that I call "All because two people fell in Love" and show a wedding photo and a photo of their entire family. Don't you think that would be cool? I do. I thought about using the song from Brad Paisley with the same title or two people fell in love is the title I guess. Anyways, its the same thing.

When this is done, I'll figure out how to make this site look "orignal" to me. Well, on with the days work.