Foody Friday - Crockpot French Toast ..and Coffee.

School is here which means some rushed mornings at our house. Most days I have no problem at least fixing them hot oatmeal or fried eggs but on days when I go to substitute teach a hot breakfast is a luxury. My boys often get their own cereal, orange juice and apples in the mornings but cold cereal gets old pretty quick. It would be great if I the boys could make their own warm breakfast...without burning down my kitchen.

I've tried overnight crockpot oatmeal recipes before but honestly I wasn't impressed.

I did happen to find a crockpot french toast recipe that, with a little tweaking, works perfectly for our family on busy mornings.

First I start off by making some beer bread. My beer bread recipe is mixed up and in the oven in less than 5 minutes and takes just about an hour to bake. I can easily bake some in the evening while I'm fixing dinner.

Beer Bread

Mix together 3 cups of flour (I use mix of whole wheat and bread flour), 3 Tablespoons of sugar and 1 can of beer. Mix thoroughly and pour into a greased bread pan. Put in a COLD oven, turn oven onto 350 degrees. Bake for one hour. Makes one loaf. This bread is very dense.

Crockpot French Toast

I found the original recipe here.

I whisk up about 3 eggs, a cup of milk or so, some cinnamon and some vanilla. I slice up a  my beer bread and soak it in the egg mixture for a minute or so. Spray your crockpot with cooking spray and layer the egg soaked bread into the crockpot. After all the slices are in the crockpot I pour in any remaining egg mixture. Right before I go to bed I turn the crockpot onto low.

The next morning it's done to perfection and best of all the boys can help themselves to a nice hot breakfast.

I don't know about you but my morning is just not complete without a cup of coffee. Seriously, I just can't function until I get a shot of caffeine. Last week the unthinkable happened! I was washing my glass coffeepot and I dropped it in the sink and it smashed!! It was too late in the day to head to town, I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to town for the next couple days to find a replacement. I was desperate...a morning without coffee. Unthinkable!!!

Did you know you can brew a pot of coffee in your crockpot? Yes you can...I did for two days in a row. I measured out the coffee grounds and water in the crockpot at bedtime, turned it on low and had a POT of coffee in the morning. Granted I had to watch for coffee grounds but I got my caffeine fix!

 Ah...the wonders of a crockpot. What can't you make in a crockpot?

Foody Friday - Honey Cranberry Cornbread

Honey Cranberry Cornbread, I love this recipe!

The honey and cranberries give a sweet flavor while the cornmeal adds a nutty texture.

Honey Cornmeal Bread

1 c all purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 c. butter (melted)

1/2 c. honey

1 1/4 c. milk

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 heaping cup of dried cranberries (if you have the time soak them in water overnight)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl combine flours, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder.

In smaller bowl whisk together honey, eggs, milk, butter and vanilla.

Add wet mix to dry mix and stir til blended. Fold in cranberries.

Divide batter betwen two small loaf pans or into one large one. (I double this recipe for three medium size loaves.) Bake for 60-70 minutes till toothpick comes out clean.

Doesn't that look yummy? Add a dab (or two) of butter.

*** Check back tomorrow and I'll share where we obtained the cornmeal and wheat flour, it isn't where you would expect!!***