PB&J Crunchy French Toast Sandwich

Again... like I've said before, I like Guy Fieri!  I was watching an episode a few days back and it was a fried foods special.  I thought, this one will be good to watch, but I should stay away from all the fried-goodness he's showing us.  HOWEVER - this morning, I just happen to have all the things to make one of the dishes and my boys were being good.  So then I thought, I'll make a 'special' peanut butter and jelly sandwich for them, for breakfast, since they absolutely love PB&J's!  I was unable to find Guy's original recipe from the show, but it wasn't too difficult, and I figured I could remember and wing my way through it.  So.... YUMMY.... here it is!! 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Crunch French Toast Sandwich

I crushed up 1/2 box of frosted flakes really well in my Ninja chopper.  Placed it in a large bowl.

Next I whisked together 1 1/2 C milk, 4 eggs (I'm making 4 sandwiches), cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Now it's time to make the sandwiches.... like normal.  My boys usually use grape jelly, but for this, I used strawberry preserves.  YUM!

Then.... just like french toast (sort of) I carefully dipped each sandwich into the milk/egg mixture then the frosted flakes mixture.  Making sure to gently press the cereal onto the sandwich, in hopes of them adhering.

Next melt a good sized blob of butter in a medium sized skillet.... about 1 - 2 Tbsp of butter.  Once melted and the skillet is super hot (but butter NOT burnt) put the sandwich in.  Try not to be a flipper.... or it'll just soak up the butter and not get crispy.  Let it sit for a bit... until slightly golden on the bottom.  Then flip and heat until golden brown on both sides.

 Once it's finished - I LIGHTLY salted the top of the sandwich and let it cool.  

I then cut it into small squares.

Once they were room temperature, we all sat down with our totally un-healthy sandwiches and glasses of milk..... and ENJOYED every bit of it!  

Each one of my boys asked if we could have it again tomorrow.... then again after.  I had to, sadly, tell them no.  There's no way we can eat this more than once every 6 months.... 

However, it was SUPER DELICIOUS!!  

SUPER, DUPER DELICIOUS!!!

Mango Chutney

I've got to do another shout out to this wonderful website for authentic Trinidadian food!!!  My oldest son had a school project where he had to pick a country & do a presentation.  They also had to have at least 100 servings of authentic food.... so of course that means the moms all had homework to do, as well.

Because of our close friend being from Trinidad and readily available for assistance on my son's project, he chose Trinidad.  (Sadly, a lot of people in his class has never even heard of it.  Oh, my.)  He did the work - I did the cooking.  I used the same website that I've mentioned before:  http://www.cookingwithria.com/p/meal-ideas.html

I made mango chutney, with the croissants as the pholourie and small servings of fig punch (banana/peanut butter).  Thankful for the punch, because I may have overdone the peppers in the chutney and it was a bit spicy!  However, many parents and kids came back for seconds, many teachers asked for the recipes and everyone seemed to enjoy the presentation as a whole!!  Yay!

Parmesan Garlic Knots

So... I needed something to go with my BBQ Pork Ribs I made the other day, so I searched through the internet like normal and rummaged through my Pinterest page.  I needed a break component so I thought I'd do something fun and decided on these Parmesan Garlic Knots.

I always have a few different types of biscuits or croissants in my fridge and most all the other ingredients were right on hand, so it was perfect.  (I do admit, I splurged a little and got 'real' Parmesan cheese and not use the plain 'ol "Shaky Cheese" we put on our pizza.)  I looked up a few different recipes for the same thing and they are about 99% the same, so I just chose one and stuck to it.  Here's the link from Picture The Recipe website:

http://picturetherecipe.com/index.php/recipes/garlic-parmesan-knots/

Since two of my boys are small, I split a few of the biscuits in half before rolling them and knotting them.  They seem to eat more if the portions are smaller.... strange, but it works on my bony children.  Hehehe.

I did not tuck in the ends of the knots, as many websites suggested, mostly because I didn't think they looked that bad sticking out.  They were adorable and I liked them.  In the directions, it states you can use butter-flavored spray or melted butter.  Since I had so many things going on at the same time, for this meal, I chose to use the butter-flavored spray.... and it worked just fine.  

I accidentally grated too much cheese into my mixture, so I added a bit more of everything else.... and I'll admit it, there was too much yummy stuff on my knots, but it wasn't overwhelming.  It was still scrumptious!

This was the meal from the other day (check out my recipe for BBQ Pork Ribs).  I also made buttery dill mashed potatoes and bacon green beans.  These green beans are a favorite in my house.... my boys love them and get seconds.  So, just real quick, here's how it goes:

INGREDIENTS:
3 cans of cut green beans
1 lb of cooked & crumbled bacon
1-2 lid fulls of lemon juice
Healthy sprinkle of lemon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Once bacon has been cooked & crumbled, I drain the pan & set aside the bacon.  I use that same pan for the beans.  Drain all the green beans and start to heat them through.  Once they begin to warm, add in the crumbled bacon & lemon juice.  When it's almost done, sprinkle on the lemon-pepper and heat through a few more minutes.  It's quick and yummy and even my picky boys love it.  Enjoy!!!