Nothing like warm Bread Pudding on a cold Winter's day!

And the best part? It's hot and ready when you wake up in the morning!

Crockpot Bread Pudding

1/4 cup butter
10 slices cubed day-old bread or 8 cups of torn old cinnamon rolls
2   1/2 cups milk or half-half
5 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced apricots (or cherries, raisins, apples, or other fruit)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Break of a tablespoon or two of the butter to generously grease the inside of your crockpot. I used a 5 quart round and it is about the perfect size for this recipe volume. Mix the remaining butter with the eggs, milk (or half-half), sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
Tear the bread or rolls up into "bite-sized" pieces. Layer the bread, chocolate chips, and dried fruit in the crockpot. Once all of your dry ingredients have been added, pour the milk/egg/etc mixture over the top of the dried bread. You may need to use a rubber spatula to gently push down on the mixture in your crock. Let sit for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. I prep mine in the evening, then place my removable crock in the fridge until right before I go to bed.
Cook on low for approximately 6 hours (that means I put mine in at midnight and then at 6am turn off the crock!). At this point I wrap the entire crock in a old towel and leave it on the counter for the rest of the family to have at 8am. It's just cooled to the perfect warm temperature for serving at that point.

It really doesn't need any sauce, but if you like, you could drizzle with maple syrup or top with a dallop of Cool Whip. BTW, have you tried the Season's Delight French Vanilla Cool Whip? It makes the perfect dip for fresh fruit when you mix it up with plain yogurt!

Leftovers keep in the fridge an can be rewarmed for breakfast later on in the week, which makes it a perfect "fast prep" for those busy mornings.

Time to get moving in the mornings...

You know me...I'm not a morning person...the day should start with a much quiet and a lot of caffeine. It just so happens that my kids prefer to start moving slowly in the mornings too! Unfortunately there always seems to be a ton to do before getting "out the door", so we've tried to streamline the breakfast experience.

They've been fairly happy with "Breakfast Cookies" (I think I've shared those before, if not...I'll look for the recipe). On the other hand, I'm trying to introduce a little variety, hence it was time for some experimenting in the kitchen.

Here's a picture of the final outcome, our mini frittatas.

First thing...ignore the picture above, LOL! I took a shot of the ones I made with the leftover egg mixture, but for best results you'll want to use a silicone muffin pan (or you'll be scrubbing...scrubbing...scrubbing),

Here's the recipe we came up with:

Mini Frittatas
10-12 eggs (it really depends upon how deep your muffin cups are)
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup milk
1/2 Tablespoons seasoning mixture (I used an all-purpose vegetable seasoning mix but you might like Mrs Dash, Montreal Seasoning, etc)

Place all of the above ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk with a fork just until the eggs are barely mixed. Then, take your muffin pan and prep it by spraying with non-stick oil spray (like Pam).

The great thing is that you can customize your Frittatas! I put a large teaspoon of fresh salsa and some crumbled pepper jack cheese onto the bottom of half the muffin cups for my son (who loves spicy foods) and some bacon crumbles and cheddar cheese in the other half for my daughter. Divide the egg mixture by pouring into the cups.

Place the tray (on top of a cookie sheet to catch any spillover) into a preheated oven set at 350 degrees F. Bake for 20-25 minutes, just until the tops are set and just beginning to turn golden. Let cool in the silicone muffin pan for approximately 5 minutes, then use a spoon or butter knife to "pop" them out. Serve immediately while hot or place them into a ziploc plastic baggie and store for up to one week in the refrigerator.

We found they reheated pretty well in the microwave for about 40 seconds at 50% power (be sure to check frequently as all microwaves do vary).

Let me know if you try it, I'd love to hear what combinations you come up with!

Such a yummy dinner!

We had this for the first time during the Super Bowl, I got the recipe from 2 Peas in a Bucket. It pops up fairly regularly at the top of the new posts, so I finally gave it a try. I'm so glad I did, because now it's going to become a staple in our meals.

BURNING FEATHER'S ITALIAN BEEF

Mix in crock pot:
1 (1.25 oz) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 large clove garlic, smashed or 1/2 TBSP, minced garlic (jarred kind)
3/4 cup water
3-4 lbs. Roast (We've used chuck eye roast and had great success!)

Cook on high all day (8 hrs or so), or until meat is tender. Our crockpot seems to run hot, so I usually start it around 9-10 am on high, then around 4 o'clock turn it down to low to continue simmering. Turn it over every now and then if you can. If not, that's okay too! Shred the meat, let it simmer in its own juice for a while, and serve on buns or hard Italian rolls with provolone cheese.

Now, because there were only 4 of us eating there was plenty of it leftover. It keeps great in the fridge or freezer and I had good luck reheating it on 50% power in the microwave.