Caramel French Toast

This recipe is the BEST because it can be made the night before. The French Toast slices get crispy on top, then when you remove them from the pan, the bottom is covered with a delicious caramel sauce.

French Toast
Sliced loaf of Hearty French Bread (I like the Sam's Club French Bread)
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Caramel Syrup
1 cube butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. corn syrup

Over stove top, melt caramel ingredients to a soft boil. Pour in bottom of a 13x9 pan. Place sliced bread over the sauce, filling the whole pan. Beat eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour over bread and cover. Chill in fridge overnight. The next morning, bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. When serving, flip slice over so melted caramel tops each slice of french toast.

Easy Oven Omlet

We made this egg casserole last year on Christmas morning, but my kids loved it so much, we now make it often. The recipe was given to me by my good friend Kami.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Place 1/4 c. butter in a 13x9 pan and place in preheated oven just until butter melts and coats bottom of pan.

Mix together the following ingredients and pour into the hot pan:

18 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. salt

Stir in any of the following ingredients that your family likes:
chopped ham
crumbled bacon
crumbled sausage
cheese
chopped mushrooms
chopped onion
chopped green pepper

Bake until set, but not dry (approximately 45 minutes).

***TIP***
When I make this for my family, I cut the recipe in half and cook it in an 8x8 pan instead. Our favorite is a simple bacon and cheese version.

Soft Sugar Cookies

I've tried about a hundred and one recipes and this one is the best! The cookies come out puffy and soft and stay that way for 2-3 days. I also love that you don't have to refrigerate the dough for hours. Just mix, roll out and start cutting shapes. Perfect for impatient kids like mine.

2 squares margarine (softened)
1 cup (8 oz.) vanilla yogurt
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sugar
6 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine the margarine, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then add to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Gather dough and divide into two balls. Roll out, cut into shapes and bake @ 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

***TIPS***

Thickness:
When rolling out the dough, don't roll it too thin or the cookies will turn out crunchy and hard. I would say that it should be about as thick as a book of checks (that's the best comparison I can think of). Opt on the side of thickness rather than thinness :0)

Cooking Time:
Check on the cookies often and take them out as soon as they look puffy, loose their shine and get just a tiny, tiny, bit browned. If you let them get too brown, they will be crunchy. If the middle of each cookie looks shiny when you take them out, they will be too doughy.

Rolling Out:
I roll out my dough on a piece of plastic wrap and then just sprinkle a little bit of flour on top to keep my rolling pin from sticking. When you cut the cookies, they come right off the plastic wrap. Plus, it keeps your counter from getting messy and your cookies stay tender because they don't get too much flour rolled in.