Peach French Toast Casserole

A friend of mine baked this yesterday and it was SO YUMMY. She says it was from her healthy cookbook! My little guy liked eating it, too. I'll be making it this weekend!

Ingredients:
1 large whole wheat baguette
4 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup Skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
5 cups peaches, fresh or frozen, but we will be using canned.

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Cut the baguette into 1/2-inch slices and arrange the slices in a single layer in the baking pan. Beat the eggs, egg whites, milk and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan.

In a medium bowl, toss peaches with 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar. Arrange peaches evenly on top of the bread. Combine the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake for 40 minutes.

I think this is a frugal recipe. It doesn't require any special or expensive ingredients (I purchased a baguette today at the grocery store for around $2.) It will feed a bunch of people! Very spring or summer themed, too.

I am in a MOPS group (if you're a "Mother Of Pre-Schooler(s)" you simply must find a MOPS group!) and we often need to bring breakfast items for our meetings. I am keeping this recipe in mind for my next assigned breakfast day!

Spring Craft

I wanted to have some sort of spring decorations to celebrate the beautiful April weather we're enjoying here in NE Ohio. This craft cost me $0 because I love love LOVE glass jars and have a zillion in my basement! I also love scrapbook paper. I have a bunch of it and that's what I used for the letters.

I did not free hand the letters! I typed the word "Spring" into Microsoft Word and selected a fun font. Then I printed it out and cut them out. I traced the letters backwards onto the back of the scrapbook paper so that the lines would not show.

Here's a frugal tip for printing: when printing something for a pattern or that doesn't have to be perfect, print in gray instead of black. I think it saves ink! Also, choose 'quick print' for anything you print. This also saves ink. Oh, plus...this was semi-exciting...yet relevant...choosing the 'Century Gothic' font saves ink! See the story here.

Another tip! I found out that Walgreens refills ink cartridges. Usually it is $9.99, far less expensive than buying a new one! They often have coupons in their circular (they come in the Sunday paper). However, on "Earth Day" they are doing it for only $1! Too bad I didn't save all those empty cartridges along the way!

I had to check to see what day "Earth Day" is, too. It is April 22nd.

Covers for Journals/Photo Albums

Here is a sewing project! This cost me $0 because I sewed together many scraps to make these covers. The covers aren't beautiful (especially the larger one, which is covering a wedding scrapbook I made 5 years ago!) The intention of the wedding album cover was to protect the white cover from dirty fingers.
Both covers tie closed with a ribbon. Ribbon is one of my many interests.

I confess that I am not the greatest photographer.

Consignment Stores

I love children's consignment stores. I confess, I have tried thrift-store shopping for myself, and I can't do it. At least, I haven't had success quite yet.

However, there are two very nice children-only thrift stores in my neck of the woods, and when our little guy needs something, I try and check there first.

Yesterday I got very lucky: three pairs of shoes and one (practically new!) Gymboree outfit for less than $12. Granted, we didn't really need the outfit, so it may be classified as an 'impulse' buy.
As much as I love Target, I would be missing out on some great deals if I bought everything new for him there!

Sweet Potato Pancakes for Babies (or Grown-Ups!)

These are really yummy. I adapted this recipe from a baby cookbook because I didn't want it to contain milk for my little guy who is under age one. I am committed to keeping cow's milk out of his diet until that magical first birthday, when suddenly cow's milk is A-ok. (I am fully committed, except for the tiny bite of ice cream I shared with him over the weekend. Maybe it was two bites.)

But here's the recipe. My husband and I love them. Our little guy loves them. It's a hit.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

1 cup flour, either all-purpose or whole wheat.
1 T sugar (I forgot to add this last time but they were still good)
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup plain yogurt (we use Dannon, it must be this kind! No additives!)
1/4 cup water

Preheat skillet. Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in the wet ingredients until just blended, do not overmix! This is very important: test skillet by dripping water onto it, if it 'dances' you've got the right temperature. If not, keep heating. Spray skillet with cooking spray. Pour small circles of batter onto skillet; cook for 3-4 minutes per side, turning once. Remove and cool on wire rack.

These can be frozen! Thaw in refrigerator, reheat for 10 seconds in microwave on either side. Test temperature before feeding to your child!
Makes about 12 small pancakes.