Strawberry Napoleons

My kid made these and we loved them so much, we made them weekly for a while. Delicious and a very easy recipe for kids. You could make them with other fruit or mixtures, depending on what you have or what’s in season. You could also add other flavors to the cream filling, or color it pink (or whatever color you like) to get creative and make it even more special.

Ingredients

1 box frozen puff pastry sheet (or homemade)

1 box instant vanilla pudding, 3-oz size

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups whipped topping (like Cool Whip) or sweetened whipped cream

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Powdered sugar for dusting at the end (optional)

Melted chocolate, sprinkles, or other topping for drizzling at the end (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Prepare the frozen puff pastry by thawing it and cutting it into 12 equal rectangles, using a pizza cutter or knife. You could also use a ruler if needed.

3. Add the puff pastry rectangles to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the rectangles puff up and are golden brown.

4. Remove the puff pastry rectangles from the oven and allow to cool. Split them in half to make 24 rectangles.

5. In a bowl, mix the vanilla pudding with the milk. Let it set for 5 minutes. Fold in the whipped topping, to create the pastry cream.

6. Wash and slice the strawberries. If you use frozen strawberries, thaw them out and drain away most of the juice so they’re not too drippy.

7. Using a spoon or piping bag, put some cream on a rectangle, place some strawberry slices on the cream,   Add a little more cream, and then add a puff pastry rectangle on top.  Like a little sandwich.

8. On top of each little strawberry cream pastry sandwich, top with a little more cream and a few more strawberry slices.

9. At this point, you could drizzle them with melted chocolate or dust with powdered sugar, if you want.

10. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  They are best eaten fresh, but can be stored for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

French Toast Casserole

This is our favorite way to eat French Toast.  The buttery brown sugar at the bottom of each bite is the *chef’s kiss*. The outside is firm and lightly crunchy.  The inside of each bite is like a warm, fluffy pillow of awesome. No more soggy, floppy big triangles of the old fashioned kind.  THIS IS THE WAY.

Ingredients

• 1/2 loaf of bread, cut into bite-sized cubes (we use regular bread, but it could be French bread)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided in 2 portions
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar for topping
• Pam or non-stick cooking spray
• Powdered sugar for topping
• Pancake syrup, or other toppings (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter or use Pam to grease a 13x9” baking pan.

2. Melt the butter and put in a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar until the mixture is smooth.  Pour the mixture into the bottom of the baking pan and spread it out evenly.

3. Carefully add the bread cubes to the pan, spreading them evenly over the butter/sugar mixture.

4. In a medium/large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon.  Carefully pour the egg mixture over the cubed bread, making sure to distribute it over all of the pieces and saturate them.

5. Sprinkle the other teaspoon of cinnamon and the tablespoon of brown sugar over the top of the bread cubes.

6. Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar and whatever toppings you like on your French Toast.

The Best Homemade Waffle Recipe Ever

My son and I have perfected a waffle batter recipe. You’ll need a waffle iron.  It will get messy and drippy, so maybe put a piece of parchment paper underneath your machine while you use it to catch the drips. It’s totally worth the mess, though.

Also, you can put the cooked waffles in a freezer bag, freeze them, and save them for later. These are better than store bought waffles!

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A dash of cinnamon
• Nonstick cooking spray
• (Optional) Toppings for your cooked waffles, such as butter, syrup, powdered sugar, jam, peanut butter, Nutella, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk just the eggs until they are thoroughly blended and smooth.

3. Add the flour, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix until blended.

4. Whisk in the sugar, and then everything else - the baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon just until smooth, Be careful not to overmix.

5. Spray the waffle iron with non stick cooking spray. Pour some batter onto the hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown.  I use a soup ladle, which seems to be the perfect amount (about 4 oz)  to fill both sides of our smallish waffle maker. Use whatever works for your machine.

For our waffle iron and this recipe, 4 minutes seems to be the perfect amount of time to cook the waffles to a perfect level of golden brown crispness.  But it could take anywhere from about 3-5 minutes for other waffle makers.

Enjoy your amazing waffles!

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 20 oz. package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup orange marmalade
• bananas, strawberries, kiwis, or whatever fruit is in season and looks good at the market
• water

Slice dough into 1/8" slices and press into pizza pan or cookie sheet to form the crust.
Bake 12 minutes at the temperature on the package of the cookies (probably 375 F), and then cool.
Blend cream cheese with vanilla and spread over crust.
Arrange sliced fruit over the cream cheese layer.
In a bowl, water down the marmalade so that it can be brushed over the fruit.  Put a thin layer over the fruit pizza.
Chill for a few hours, then slice and serve.