Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Gosh, I love Pinterest. Seriously, how on earth did I ever survive without it?! Thank you Heather, for introducing me to the greatest time consuming, yet, most rewarding website ever. And I do mean EVER!

Side note: Today I discovered Swagbucks. Now my days are really shot. My poor neglected children.

I discovered this delicious dessert breakfast recipe last week as I was preparing for my cousin's visit. I needed something that I could prepare ahead of time, and was easy enough to trust the husband to tend, in case I got stuck at the airport, which I did, so success!

The picture does not do this yummy french toast justice. But I got distracted by the smell and once I tasted the topping, all bets were off...

The Overnight Part:
12 slices day old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes. I used a whole loaf of store bought french bread, which according to the recipe is too much bread, but I wanted my pan covered and full.
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes.
1 cup fresh blueberries

Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese (I used more like 1 & 1/2 cups, I had 2 pints and needed to use them up) Top with remaining bread cubes.

In a large bowl, mix 12 beaten eggs, 2 cups of milk, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/3 cup maple syrup.Pour over bread cubes and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning... remove pan from fridge 30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat oven to 350. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 25-30 minutes until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup white sugar, 2T cornstarch and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3-4 minutes. Mix in 1 cup blueberries. (So total you need 2 cups of berries, or more, if you're like me and really like blueberries) Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until blueberries burst. Stir in 1T of butter, and pour over the baked French toast. (Let sauce pan cool completely and lick clean)

Berry Breakfast Cake

Cake for breakfast?!Mmmm Hmmm! Yes, Please!

You know me, definitely a dessert girl, especially when it comes to breakfast! Crepes! Waffles! Muffins! Yum! I discovered this gem of a recipe on Pinterest, where else? And tried it out on the in-laws :) They were happy to be experimented on, especially my father-in-law. The recipe from Pinterest calls for 2 cups of blueberries. I didn't have enough, but I had strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Go figure, right? So I improvised and used an assortment, and I may have added another cup, or so, of them.

Preheat oven to 350, grease 9'' square baking pan
Toss 2, ahem, 3 cups of berries w/ 1/4 cup of flour. You can use fresh or frozen, I've used both, there's not a difference.

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup of sugar

Add:
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, whisk:
1 & 3/4 cups of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Add flour mixture and 1/2 cup buttermilk, alternately, to butter/sugar mixture until combined. Fold in berries (don't add in left over berry flour). Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle 1T sugar on top.

Bake for 35 minutes, or so, until golden brown. Eat, immediately, before everyone else is out of bed. :)

It's MAGIC!

It's just too good not to share... And it's wayyyy too good to wait to share!

Hi, by the way! I know I have a lot to share and update about but this just can't wait!

Today I discovered the secret to removing the sticky goop that labels leave behind! First I have to say I find this incredibly useful, since I've started up-cycling all my glass jars :) Freezer jam, Herb planters, snack storage, oh my, the list is endless... And I pin and try everything I've ever seen about removing the stick without much success. I've tried uber hot water. I've tried boiling. I've tried magic erasers. I've tried baby oil. Rubbing alcohol. Cleaning wipes. Every dishwasher cycle.... But nothing, nothing, nothing works! Nothing! Then I stumbled onto this post about making foaming baby wash from an empty Bath & Body Works soap dispenser. Lucky me, I saw this in time and managed to save my bottle before I threw it out. I thought this was a brilliant idea since I never get enough soap to begin with, then I always close the bottle (why, I don't know) then while trying to hold a slippery Joel with one hand I struggle to re-open the bottle and get more soap.GAH! A pump would make life EASY! Well... it'd make bath time a bit easier. And it's a money saver. The cost of soap isn't a killer, but hey, I like my money and I love finding ways to save it! So, sold! on the foaming bath wash!

I cleaned the bottle, poured in my inch of baby wash, filled it with water, put on the top, swished around and took off the soap label. I did this for a few reasons: 1. my husband can't find things staring him in the face, and come bath time, he's 2. not going to remember me showing him my latest pinterest gem and he's 3. not going to be able to find the soap and 4. gonna holler for me to come upstairs to find it in front of his face. I know I am not fighting this battle alone. Much to my dismay the labels left behind that goop residue. I had been thinking about trying finger nail polish remover so figured this was the time to experiment. It was ok, I had to use my finger nail to loosen it up and scrub hard, another bust. But then the baby oil was sitting right there, so I dabbed a little on a cotton pad and wiped down the sticky, then wiped again with the finger nail polish. Wouldn't you know, it worked! Minimal scrubbing, just a few wipes and all the sticky was GONE! And then heaven opened up and the angels started singing and... ok, but seriously it worked!

I figured, I should test this on glass, since I'm claiming it's magic. And it worked! AGAIN! Yesssss!!!! I did have to rub a bit longer, and switch back and forth 3 times between the oil and the polish remover but my jar is clean :) and I didn't have to scrub! On to clean some jars :)