Seven Layer Salade

We are going retro today.

I am making a recipe that I have not had since I was a kid.

It was so good that I had to call my mom for her recipe. 

I was a little worried that it would not be as good as I remembered.

It was as good as I had remembered though.
Maybe better.

The board of ingredients:

• A HEAD of Iceberg Lettuce
• Green Onions
• Celery
• Mayo
• Tomatoe
• Parmesan Cheese
• Sugar
• Bacon
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Frozen Peas

Told you we were going retro.

No bag of lettuce for this recipe.

And it turns out that not every store sells heads of Iceberg in my neck of the woods. 

Anyway, we need to prep the lettuce.

That core is NOT yummy.

We need to get rid of it.

Luckily, it's super easy to get rid of it.

A) Cut it out like the core of a tomato.

B) Press down hard on the core with your hand and then wiggle the core out.

It's kind of a work of art isn't it?

Now we need to cut it down into bite sized pieces.

Start by cutting it into strips.

The cut it on the bias.

Perfect bite sized pieces.

Now we take it for a rinse and spin cycle in the old salade spinner.

I use this spinner all the time since I am not a huge fan of the preservatives in bagged lettuce.

Then spread the lettuce out into an even layer in your serving dish.

Now we get the goodies ready.

I like to give the tomato a little time on a paper towel to absorb a bit of the juice.

But you don't have to do that.

Now, we layer.

I don't know why they call it seven layer salad.

There are more than seven layers.

I counted.

There are ten.

Anyway, sprinkle the celery over the lettuce.

Now we add the green onion and peas.

Next on is the mayo.

I used to HATE spreading the mayo on.

I still do, so I cheat a bit.

Hello baggie of mayo.

Snip!

Ta Da!

Squeeze it all out.

Next we spread it out.

Piece of cake.

I love it.

Now sprinkle the sugar over the mayo.

Tomatoes go on next.

Add.

The.

Eggs.

(We take our eggs very seriously.)

Bacon next.

Confession time.

I made a little more bacon than the recipe called for.

I made a pound of bacon.

But don't worry, we didn't use a whole pound here.

We ate some before we put it on the salad.

By we, I mean my son.

By some, I mean half.

Okay, last layer.

The parm.

I like a lot of parm.  

I used about a third of a cup.

You can add as little or as much as you want.

My mother recommends a lot of parm though.

(She's right.)

And here it is.  

Dig in.

One note, I did pre-cut the portion sizes.  

I don't know if you can see it or if it helped.

I just felt that it was the right thing to do.

My son ate three portions all by himself.

Also, we discovered that two serving utensils was helpful.

Seven Layer Salade

Ingredients:
1 Head Iceberg Lettuce, Chopped
1/3 Cup Celery, Chopped
1/3 Cup Green Onions, Chopped
10 oz. Bag Frozen Peas
2 Cups Mayo
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Large Tomato,  Wedged or Diced
4 or 5 hard Boiled Eggs, Quartered or Chopped
3 or 4 Slices of Cooked, Crumbled Bacon
Parmesan Cheese

1. Spread ingredients out in a 9X13 in the order listed above.
2. Chill and serve.

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Christmas Breakfast - Crème Brûlée French Toast

One of the kids' favorite traditions is our Christmas morning breakfast.  

We go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve and try to sleep in on Christmas morning.  

Our traditional breakfast is apple sausage ring, scrambled eggs, Crème Brûlée French 

toast, and fresh squeezed orange juice.  

Every year Joel and the kids squeeze the orange juice and they have it down to an art.  

I love sitting back with a cup of coffee watching them do their thing.
I get to sit back and watch because every thing else was made the night before. 

The Crème Brûlée French Toast is such a special treat. 

It is rich, sweet and decadent.  

I found the recipe in Gourmet magazine and held onto it for years before I tried it.  

Underneath that layer of custard soaked bread is a sweet syrup.  

The syrup is just the perfect touch of 'Oh My Gosh!' 

As a mother and hostess, this is a great dish.  

It needs to be prepared they day before making Christmas morning a breeze.   

We pair the sweet french toast with a savory slice of this apple sausage ring.  

This is also prepared the night before.  

All we have to do Christmas morning is to bake, scramble and squeeze.  

This is the perfect breakfast for Christmas morning leaving plenty of time 

for opening presents and family time. 

The kids honestly talk about this breakfast all year long.  

Looks.  So.  Good. 

Today we are making the Crème Brûlée French Toast.  

I am using Grand Marnier.  

If you do not have it or do not wish to use alcohol, then orange juice is a great substitute.

      Board of Ingredients:

• 1 Loaf of Country White Bread {I prefer not to use sourdough for this recipe}
• Eggs
• Half & Half
• Vanilla
• Grand Marnier
• Salt
• Butter
• Brown Sugar 

The first step is making the syrup.

Start with a stick of butter.

I feel like I'm Ina or Paula.

Add the brown sugar.

Add the corn syrup.

Now, stir.  

Stir it over medium heat until you get a nice, smooth syrup.

Getting there...

Perfecto!

Make sure you do not over cook this syrup.

As soon as it is smooth, take it off the heat.

Over cooking this means you will have caramel in the bottom of your dish the next day.

Pour the syrup into your baking dish.

Spread the syrup out over the bottom of the dish.

Now, slice the bread in once inch slices

Cut the crusts off too.
{Make sure all those bread crusts get make into bread crumbs!}

Lay the bread over the syrup layer in the pan.

I cut a few pieces of bread up and stick them in the cracks and corners.  

We want as much of that syrup covered with french toast as we can get.

Now, let's make the custard part of the french toast.

Start with some lovely eggs.

Add the half and half.

Add the vanilla, Grand Marnier or orange juice and salt.

Whisk until well combined.

Pour the custard over the bread.

Right now it looks like a mess.

Cover the pan and refrigerate until the morning.

When you pull it out in the morning, the custard will have soaked into the bread.

This is what is looks like in the morning.

All the custard has soaked into the bread.

Just throw it in the oven and wait for the ohhs and ahhs!

It comes out of the oven puffed and golden.
It's the perfect breakfast to make Christmas morning as special as it can be.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Crème Brûlée French Toast

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar2 tablespoons corn syrup
8- to 9-inch round loaf country-style bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish. 

2.  Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

3.  In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. 

4.  Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

5.  Preheat oven to 350° F. and bring bread to room temperature.

6.  Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

7.  Let French toast rest for five minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

For a printer friendly version of this recipe click here.

French Toast Kabobs

Breakfast kabobs are a favorite at our house.  

The kids love these for a fun breakfast on the patio or in front of the fireplace in the middle of winter.  

We think they are a special treat no matter which fruit you choose to use.  

I am using strawberries, blackberries and bananas for a red white and blue treat.  

The board of ingredients:

• Texas Toast
• Milk
• Fruit
• Vanilla Extract
• Syrup
• Eggs
• Bulk Sausage 
• Sugar
• Skewers

Let's start by cutting up the bread.

Cut all the crusts off first.

{Don't toss the crusts into the trash, use them to make breadcrumbs.}

Finally, cut the bread into quarters.
You can do this step the night before to make your morning a bit easier.
Stale bread makes the best french toast.

Now for the sausage balls.
I love these things and so do the kids.
Start by putting the sausage into a bowl.

Use a mini ice cream scoop to make little meatballs.

Once all the balls are made, add a bit of water to a non stick pan and cook the balls over medium heat.
The water will help cook the meatballs by slightly steaming them.

Once the meat starts to caramelize, keep turning the balls.
You don't want burnt sausage balls.
Sausage will burn more quickly than most meats because the sausage contains sugar of some sort.
Sugar burns quickly so keep an eye on your pan.

Now we can make the custard for the french toast.
Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk them.

Add the milk.

Add the vanilla and sugar.
Whisk it all together.

Dip the bread pieces into the custard.

Coat both sides and get them out of the custard quickly.

Cook the french toast bites in a non stick pan over medium heat.
I am cooking the french toast with just a thin coat of non stick spray.
You could cook them in butter.

Cook the bites until they are golden brown.
These are beautiful.

Now for the fun part.
It's time to start building the kebobs.



I use two pieces of french toast together...you can do it however you want.

I LOVE making these.
They are already looking good.

All you need is a tiny drizzle of syrup.

This is really a fun breakfast for adults as well as kids.

Enjoy!

French Toast Kabobs

Ingredients:

1 Pound Bulk Breakfast Sausage
30 Slices Texas Toast
Eggs
Milk
Sugar
Vanilla
4 Bananas, Each Cut Into 5 Pieces
20 Strawberries
20 Black Berries
Syrup

Directions:

1. Roll sausage into 20 equal (roughly large tablespoon sized) balls. Put the balls into a non stick skillet over high heat and add a quarter cup of water to steam the sausage balls. When the water is evaporated, turn the heat to medium and turn the sausage balls to cook evenly until they are cook through.

2. Cut the crusts off the bread and reserve for bread crumbs. Cut the bread into quarters.

3. Crack eggs into a bowl. Add the milk, sugar and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

4. Dip bread pieces in egg mixture and cook in a non stick pan over medium low heat. When bread is golden brown, flip the bread and cook the other side until it is golden brown as well. Set cooked french toast cubes aside until all the cubes are cooked.

5. To assemble the skewer,add six cubes of french toast, a piece of each fruit and a sausage ball to the skewer.  Makes 20 skewers.  Enjoy!

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