Fighting Fear with Blueberry French Toast

18 years – I remember when 9-11 happened.  My children were young and in school and my husband was traveling for business.  After the children were in bed that night I felt so helpless – so emotionally exhausted yet I knew I was not ready for sleep.  Turning on the TV would just be listening to words – seeing images I had repeatedly absorbed throughout the day.  I wanted to protect my children from a world that these unspeakable things could happen knowing deep in my heart there are only so many things a mother has control of.  So the question came to my mind – “What do you have control over?”  “How can you love your children in this time of uncertainty?”  For me – it was giving them something they enjoyed – something that had a proven track record of happiness.  For me – this would be accomplished in my kitchen.  And so I set about pulling the ingredients out on my counter for Blueberry French Toast – a lovely recipe that sits in refrigerator overnight and is baked in the oven.  In the past the smell of this baking would bring huge smiles to little faces.  I was just hoping that it would remind us that there have been happy times in the past and in faith and hope we could look forward to good times in the future.  So I cut the french bread in small pieces and mixed up the eggs and milk.  Each task was a balm to my soul. I took each piece of bread and dipped it into the wet mixture and placed it in the greased pan.  Perhaps this is how we would heal – one deliberate task of love at a time.  That recipe encouraged me to move at a time where it would be so easy to get stuck in front of our tvs, computers, newspapers for the next new tidbit of a horrific event. Our country doesn’t need people who sit – no, our country needs people who will reach out and start moving with loving actions one person at a time.

Blueberry French Toast
A wonderful breakfast that can be prepped the night before and popped into the oven the next morning.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 Loaf of french bread, sliced in 1/2 inch sliced
  2. 2 Eggs
  3. 1 3/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk or Milk of your Choice
  4. 2 Tbsp Sugar or sweetener of choice
  5. 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
  6. 1 1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries
  7. Crumb Mixture
  8. White Spelt Flour or Flour of your Choice
  9. Brown Sugar
  10. Earth Balance or Butter, chilled
Instructions
  1. Prepare a 8 X 8 square pan by spraying lighting with PAM
  2. If using flax "egg" see * and mix accordingly
  3. In medium bowl mix milk, sugar, vanilla, egg, and fruit spread until combined
  4. Take each slice of bread and dip both sides into milk mixture. Place in pan until the bottom is covered with a layer of bread.
  5. Spoon 3 Tbsp of milk mixture over bread
  6. Place sliced apples on top
  7. Repeat with another layer of dipped bread
  8. Using a spatual press down on top to pack down
  9. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 6-8 hours in fridge.
  10. Mix ingredients for crumb mixture in a small blender or food processor.
  11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  12. Remove from refrigerator
  13. Spread blueberries on top
  14. Spread crumb mixture of top
  15. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
  16. Can be eaten out of the oven but it let cool for 15 minutes before trying to cut. It's amazing how much better this cuts if it can cool, sit in refrigerator for several hours and then reheated or served cold as a bread pudding.
  17. May be topped with powdered sugar, whipped soy or dairy cream.
Deliciously Inspired http://www.deliciouslyinspired.com/
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No Noodle Lasagna

Here is a way to lower carbs, add in vegetables and create a gluten free lasagna  – take the noodles out and exchange for sliced butternut squash.  This recipe came about when I purchased butternut squash instead of spaghetti squash.  Once again I put into practice thinking outside of a recipe idea and utilized what I had on hand.  In the end I was happy with the results;  Jeff said he would eat it again and so it made the cut for the site.

No Noodle Lasagna
Lowering the carbs by removing the noodles and replacing with sliced butternut squash
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Ingredients
  1. 2 medium cooked butternut squash, cut in slices
  2. 1 lb ground turkey
  3. 1 jar Spaghetti or Marinara Sauce
  4. 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  5. 1 tsp ground oregano
  6. 2 cups of shredded mozarella cheese
  7. 1/3 cup of parmesan shredded cheese
Instructions
  1. Using the oven, Instant Pot or crock pot cook squash (See cooking instructions below.) Let cool. Peel. Use the long end and slice in 1/4" slices. (Save the hollow end for another recipe). Place in layers on paper towel to absorb moisture)
  2. Brown ground turkey. Add in sauce, cinnamon and oregano and combine. I know the cinnamon seems odd but it tastes good.
  3. Preheat over to 375 degrees.
  4. Spray small casserole with olive oil spray (if using a 9X12 pan - this recipe should be doubled). Also spray a piece of aluminum foil that will cover your pan. This will help the cheese not stick during baking.
  5. Putting lasagna together - Use all ingredients except parmesan cheese. There are three different layers: the saucy meat, the squash slices and the mozarella cheese.
  6. Place a layer of the saucy meat, then the squash, then half of the mozarella cheese. Repeat.
  7. Cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes.
  8. Change oven to broil.
  9. Uncover the lasagna and sprinkle parmasan cheese on top. Place under the broiler. Watch carefully as the top of the lasagna browns - this usually takes less than 5 minutes.
  10. Now the hard part: Take out of the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
Deliciously Inspired http://www.deliciouslyinspired.com/

I used to make my own sauce all the time but there are some good pasta sauces out there that can save on effort and time.  Costco carries a good organic sauce.  The one pictured above is from Sprouts and is very good but not organic.

Regarding the butternut squash – here are some resources on how to cook ahead of time.  You could try slicing and putting in the lasagna without cooking but I would be concerned about the moisture from the vegetable making the casserole soggy.  Packaged and in the refrigerator for another dinner later in the week – an egg roll stuffing mixture.   

Cooking butternut squash in Oven – Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.   Cut squash in half lengthwise,  Using a spoon scrap out seeds.  Place butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet flesh side up. Brush the flesh side of each squash with a little olive oil.  Roast 50 to 60 minutes, until flesh is fork-tender. 

Cooking butternut squash in Crock Pot

Cooking butternut squash in Instant Pot

Dinner is Served

Please let me know if you have any questions or I need to provide more clarification.

 

 

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Pumpkin Spice Cookies

This recipe was inspired from a recipe of my Grandma’s Persimmon Cookies. It is a favorite recipe of my mom and dad’s but since they began eating healthier in June, I wanted to see if I could use healthier ingredients and still give them the cake-like cookie.

I didn’t have persimmons but canned pumpkin is similar in texture and it worked fine. I played around with the recipe and there are options for a gluten-free and no-egg.

DeliciouslyInspired.com

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
a healthier spice cookie
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup of organic canned pumpkin or 1 cup pureed persimmons (how to prep is in notes)
  2. 1 tsp salt
  3. 1 tsp soda
  4. 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  5. 1/2 tsp cloves
  6. 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  7. 3/4 - 1 cup sugar (I used 1/3 cup organic coconut sugar and 1/2 cup of Wax Orchards Fruit Spread)
  8. 1 cage-free egg
  9. 2 cups of Gluten Free Flour (I used Cup4Cup) or flour of your choice
  10. 1/2 cup of organic coconut oil
  11. Nuts and Raisins, optional
Instructions
  1. 1. Move oven rack to middle and preheat to 375 degrees.
  2. 2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  3. 3. Warm coconut oil and set aside.
  4. 4. Mix all ingredients (except oil, raisins and nuts) until smooth, scraping sides.
  5. 5. Slowly add in oil until well incorporated.
  6. 6. Add in raisins and nuts, if desired.
  7. 7. Drop by Tbsp or use a small cookie scoop 2 inches apart.
  8. 8. Sprinkle with coconut sugar or sprinkles, if desired.
  9. 9. Bake for 8-11 minutes until golden brown. Will vary by oven.
  10. 9. Move to cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Notes
  1. Note - if you have an egg sensitivity, a flax egg works well. To replace egg, mix 3 Tbsp of water with 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed. Mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
  2. Prepare the persimmons by washing them and removing their stems. Puree in a Vita-Mix, blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Measure one cup of pulp out and set aside.
Deliciously Inspired http://www.deliciouslyinspired.com/
These are very good with chopped hazelnuts. Also using gluten-free flour created a rounder cookie.

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