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!!!

Rhubarb Jam

So.... I got another batch of rhubarb picked and it was another hefty load!  Yay!!  I'm going to do something fancy with some of it, but thought since I had so much, I'd make jam out of it.  I have this thing with jams and butters - - I DO so enjoy making butters and jams!!

Super easy... for the most part.  (Note: I'm not canning this... just making it to use it right away.)

Add 5 cups of chopped rhubarb to a large pot on stove.

Next add 2 cups of white sugar.

Then add 3/4 cup of orange juice & turn onto med/high heat.

Keep an eye on it -- bring it to a boil then let simmer for a long time.
The rhubarb will become soft and start falling apart - - yay!!
I let my simmer for close to 3 hours, stirring it quite a bit from time to time,
then put it aside and let it cool.  

Once it's completely cooled, I put it in a jar.

I also put some on toast and ate it with my boys - - it's a bit sweet and sour, it was wonderful!!!

Rhubarb Custard Cake

I have about eight mounds of rhubarb in my garden (which is otherwise pretty scarce due to the horrible weather here in South Dakota!) and I've noticed it's screaming at me to be picked.  I went out and got a little over 10 cups of rhubarb picked.... still leaving much more to enjoy later!  (I'm a newbie when it comes to growing/picking rhubarb... these just happen to come with the house we've recently moved into.  Yay me!)

So I decided to spend quite a while on Pinterest with a specific search in mind - this time.  Rhubarb recipes!!  I could make the same 'ol cake I already know how to make, but I thought I'd change things up a bit, since I know I'll have more opportunities to make wonderfulness later.  I came across this wonderful custard type cake.... made a few alterations and it turned out amazing!!! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 box cake mix - vanilla flavor (and all necessary items to make cake)

sprinkles of nutmeg

roughly 3 C of chopped rhubarb

1 1/2 C sugar 

2 C of vanilla coffee creamer

DIRECTIONS:

1) Make cake according to instructions and sprinkle a bit of nutmeg into the batter.  

2) Pour into greased cake pan... I wanted them to be more bar-ish than thick cake-ish, so I split my batter into a normal sized cake pan and a smaller size brownie pan.  That way, I would have more rhubarb-to-cake ratio - - tartness is wonderful!

3) Mix together the chopped rhubarb and all the sugar.... let sit for a moment, then pour over the batter.  Do not mix or stir into the batter.  Just plop it on top.

4)  Carefully pour the creamer on top of the rhubarb.  Again, do not mix or stir... just let it sit.

5)  Bake 'cake' according to the box instructions... when a toothpick comes out clean, it's done, like always.  

** The rhubarb and cream will form a custard-like yumminess and sink to the bottom... the cake bakes to the top and comes away from the sides of the pan.  So don't expect it to look exactly like your normal cake will, when it comes out of the oven.  

My boys ate this up!!  It's not too sweet or sugary like some desserts turn out to be - - and the rhubarb gives it just enough tartness to make you happy!!  

YUM!! 

Enjoy!