Tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons.

Hello!

On pintrest I re-pinned something that looked amazing. Roasted tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons. Here is the link. Looks great, right? Yeah you try and click on the link to the recipe and you get this crap. 

So I decided I was going to try it myself. Did not seem too hard.

My Ingredients.

1 can tomato soup
4 slices of bread
Cheddar cheese
Butter

Sounds hard right? I know I am funny.

So I used 9 grain seeded bread. It was what was in the house. I buttered one side and placed butter down on a cookie sheet.

I am the best photographer EVER!

I then cut up some marble cheddar. I only had a block handy. I placed it on the bread.

mmm....cheesy

I did one heavy cheese one light so it would not be too cheesy.

Then threw it in the oven at 350 degrees until the bottom was crispy and the cheese was melted.

It is like cloud shapes, I see a dog!

Then I put the sides together.

OMG I made a grilled cheese!

Then I placed them on the cutting board.

hard right?

Then cut into little pieces.

halfway done!

look soup magically appeared!

I then placed the cut up grilled cheese in the soup.

If you need me to tell you how to follow the directions on the can to make the soup I feel very sorry for you. Also I have a link for you to follow. Because I care.

But yeah it was yummy and stupidly easy. I kinda feel dumb writing about it.

My bowl.

Have a beautiful day.

Overnight French Toast casserole.

Hi!

Today we learn about my adventure in making the Overnight French Toast casserole. I found it via Pintrest!

Here is the Website with the recipe.

This is the Recipe.



French Toast:
12 slices bread, cut into cubes (french or Texas toast work well. I prefer Texas Toast.)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
12 large eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk (I use 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream)
Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 Tablespoon butter

1. Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
2. Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and blueberries evenly over the bread cubes.
3. Top with remaining bread cubes.
4. Mix together eggs, milk, and syrup.
5. Pour over bread cubes and cover pan with foil. Let chill in refrigerator overnight.
6. Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until fluffy and golden. Top with sauce. Serves 8.

Sauce: Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch until thickened. Stir in blueberries and simmer for 10 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Serve over the french toast.

Enjoy!

*****

Now I shall attempt it!

I shall say I doubled the recipe. I made one blueberry and one strawberry.

Let's start with the bread.

I used Texas toast. Cinnimon swirl, and the insides of the bread bowls featured last.

Each peice was cut into nine squares.

I put them into bags. Mostly because I prepared this part while handleing the bread bowls earlier in the day.

When time came to assemble the casserole. (right before bed)I put them all into the casserole dish. The reread the recipe and realized I needed to take half out. So I did.

This is a picture before that step...

Since I decided to make one strawberry and one blueberry I needed an extra step for the strawberries. I cut the tops off and sliced them but after I washed them. The blueberries were frozen. They freeze really well.

So I Will be showing the pictures for the strawberries on the top and blue berry on the bottom.

I placed the fruit over half the bread.

Then I cut a whole package of cream cheese each. I scattered it over the fruit and bread.

Then cover with he other half of the bread.

Then You take a whole dozen eggs and put them into a bowl.

As I doubled the recipe I used two dozen eggs!

To ensure proper measurments I did the batches sepratly.

I also added the 1/3rd cup syrup and 2 cups milk. I totally took pictures of this, but apparently, became to erase happy to early, thinking I had uploaded them alredy. Silly me.

I them poured it over the bread fuit and cheese.

I covered them in foil and found a place in them in my fridge. Then went and watched Doctor Who with the husband.

***

In the morning.

I woke up and took my glorious allery meds then preheated the oven to 350 degrees. Placed both casseroles in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes.

Checked my email and did some of my normal morning routine.

When the timer went off I took off the foil and started on the syrup.

I was absent minded about my ingrediants. I did not have enough sugar to make the syrup. I used 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar as a subsitute.

So, I added the ingrediants per the recipe after that.

Since I did two casseroles. I did two syrups. Can you guess what type? Strawberry and blue berry. exciting huh?

SO the brown sugar, sugar, cornstarch, and water looked like this pre cooking.

(the one for strawberry is on top, See Consistant!)

I am super aware in the mornings and turned on the wrong burner for the strawberry one. Did not notice for a while too. Awesomeness right there.

So the syrup is ready for the fruit whenit is thick enough to coat the fork. see?

The blue berry looks like this. all blue like.

and the strawberry looks like this.

When cooked the strawberry kinda falls to peices.

Now, some of the blue berries in the syrup will pop. Don't be upset.

This is what the casseroles look loke finished.

My plate looke like this.

l
They are both strawberry, just one with flash one without. choose which one you like.

***
My sugestions.

I loved the blue berry vs. strawberry.

People are split down the middle in our house about which they like. I have a rather large family. 7 of us. So I made two casseroles. I also had half of each casserole left.

So int he future I will make one casserole. Unless I have visitors. I will do half srawberry and half blueberry.

Also I would make the syrup in the evening. It is too much for me to be responsible for in the mornings. I am so NOT a morning person.

I hope you enjoyed.

Also Please correct my spelling. I can't find the spell check thingy tonight....

Butter beer cupcakes.

OK, I bake a lot because it is fun for me. I also post on Face book about said baking and cooking. Well my friend Jess, has stated I needed to start a food blog. So yeah. (you can see her blog here BTW)

I will start with my adventure of two days ago. I made butter-beer cupcakes. Yes I do like harry potter, and yes I went to Orlando on my honeymoon and had the butter-beer at Universal studios.

I have a pintrest board and I had the boys choose a recipe they wanted to eat off my dessert board. (Gratuitous link to my pintrest board)

For some reason the link to the blog that had the recipe is not working today. Here is it BTW. (if you have not noticed I like to hide my links in the action words.)

Since my previous cupcake making skills result in absolutely yummy foods, yet look like I let the boys decorate them, my dear husband bought me my first pastry bag and tips. I am quite proud of how pretty they turned out.

Here is the cupcakes after they came out of the oven.


Here they are after I frosted them.


Here they are after I added the gauche. (think that is spelled incorrectly?)




They are fun to make. They taste great. My 8 year old stepson says, "If I had ten hands I would give you ten thumbs up" They did last the night because they are super rich. but were gone by lunchtime the next day. And yeah they taste a lot like the butter beer.

I had a lot of the ganache leftover. My husband loves butterscotch so he had been using that on ice cream.

Here is the recipe for those that are interested.


Makes 18 Cupcakes

Ingredients For Cupcakes:

* 2 cups flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
* 1/2 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 cup cream soda


Ingredients For Ganache:

* 1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
* 1 cup heavy cream


Ingredients for Butterbeer Frosting:

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 1/3 cup butterscotch genache
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
* splash of milk or cream (as needed)



Directions for Cupcakes:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350F.

Step 2: Line the bottom of cupcake tins with paper liners.

Step 3: In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

Step 4: In a different mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugars and beat until well combined. Beat in eggs (one at a time) and mix well after each addition, then mix in vanilla and butter flavorin.

Step 5: Alternate adding buttermilk, cream soda and dry ingredients in batches until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Step 6: Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full and bake for 15-17 minutes until a tester toothpick is inserted into the center of cupcake and comes out cleanly.

Step 7: Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.


Directions for Ganache:

Step 1: In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth.

Step 2: Cool completely to room temperature.

Step 3: Pour ganache into a squeeze bottle and use tip of squeeze bottle to insert tip into center of cupcake and squeeze ganach into cupcake until filling begins to overflow.


Directions for Buttercream Frosting:

Step 1: Cream butter in a large bowl until fluffy.

Step 2: Add in genache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined.

Step 3: Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. Add milk or cream by the Tablespoon as needed.

Step 4: Frost cupcakes and top with a drizzle of remaining butterscotch ganache.

(The recipe was totally copied and pasted from MuggleNet)