Filled French Toast

filling
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c honey or pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
grated zest of 1 small orange
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 c finely chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, etc), toasted, or shredded sweetened or unsweetened dried coconut (optional)

1 lb loaf white bread, preferably egg bread, trimmed of crusts

egg wash
1 c milk
3 large eggs
1/4 c flour
3 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

1 tbs unsalted butter
1tbs vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly butter a baking sheet. Mix cream cheese, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, zest, cinnamon, salt, and nuts together. Cut the loaf into 1-inch-thick slices; you probably will get 8 slices. Carefully work the knife into one side of each slice of break to create a pocket that you can open with your fingers. Spoon an equal amount of filling into each pocket. Whisk the milk, eggs, flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla and salt in a shallow bowl. Soak the bread in the egg mixture until thoroughly saturated but not falling apart. Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium-low. Add as many slices of bread to the skillet as will fit without crowding and cook until the the underside is just lightly golden. Turn the bread and cook until the second side is lightly golden. As each slice is cooked, transfer it to the baking sheet. Continue cooking the French toast, adding more butter and oil as needed. Bake the sauteed slices until puffed and golden, about 6 minutes. Serve immediately with powdered sugar, maple syrup, or honey.

*Notes* We used honey, I'm too cheap to pay for maple syrup. I used an egg bread which worked well. I wouldn't use French bread or anything that doesn't have a firmer structure. I'm not sure if it could withstand the stuffing. After the bread is stuffed, it looked like the stuffing would ooze out during cooking. It did a little, but not much. You could refrigerate the bread after it is stuffed, maybe 30 minutes. Because I used an electric griddle to brown the toast, I didn't use the butter or oil. It was a little time consuming because I was making it by myself with the girls wanting to "help," the phone ringing, diaper changing, etc. I would make it again though. It's pretty rich, the girls split a piece and one should fill you up, especially with side dishes. The recipe also suggests putting apple butter or a thick fruit preserve in with the filling, would be worth a try. We also thought about lemon zest instead of orange, but the orange is really good. I hope you enjoy.

Picadillo

Don't judge this recipe by the picture, or the ingredient list for that matter. It doesn't look all that appealing, and some of the ingredients are odd in their combinations, but this is very tasty.

1 lb ground beef
1 sm onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 c golden raisins
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cider vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/4 c slivered almonds (optional)

1. Cook ground beef, onion, and garlic in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until beef is no longer pink; drain. Place mixture into slow cooker.

2. Add tomatoes, raisins, chili powder, vinegar, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and pepper flakes to slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 6-7 hours. Stir in salt. Garnish with almonds, if desired.

4 servings (although, if you put it in tortillas, it will serve more)

*Notes*
The recipe doesn't give ideas on how to serve this; we like it in corn tortillas with cheese and sour cream. If you make this and have other ideas, let me know. I'm sure it would be good over rice too. I have occasionally added the salt by accident before letting it cook. I haven't noticed a difference either way. I haven't ever used the almonds. I think the raisins are nearly the best part. They plump up during cooking and add just a little sweet to cut the spice, not that it's terribly spicy though. I have used regular raisins instead of golden and they were fine. I prefer the golden raisins though.

Saucy Southern Beef Ribs

I normally don't care for beef ribs, but thought this recipe was worth a try. We live down the street from a little grocery store that sells USDA Prime meat, I'm sure that helped things out in the flavor department.

4 lbs beef ribs, cut into 3 inch pieces or 4 lbs short ribs
10 c. cold water
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/3 c soy sauce
1/2 c ketchup
2 tsp prepared mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 med onion
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1/4 c chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced

Place beef, water and onion in heavy stock pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until tender. Remove ribs and arrange in single layer in shallow roasting pan. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over ribs. Marinate one hour in refrigerator, turning often. Remove ribs from marinade and place under broiler or grill. Broil until brown and crisp, basting often with marinade. Makes 4 servings.

Notes: We cut the meat into individual ribs. We let this boil for three hours and marinate for 2 hours. We basted them 4 times. 1/4 cup of chili sauce sounded like a lot, but was just fine. Not too spicy, but just a little kick. Michael doesn't usually like ribs, in fact, I was surprised he was willing to try this recipe out. We really liked them, even the girls liked them. I would say this serves more than 4.