Texas Meat Marinade from Former First Lady Laura Bush.

When Chris and I were wed, my mother gave us a lovely gift. She wrote to friends and family, as well as our current politicians in office, and asked for well-loved recipes. Pres. George W. Bush was in office at the time, so she wrote to First Lady Laura Bush as well. Some of the recipes received are of the sort that my family simply will not touch; this is not one of those.

This marinade is amazing, and simple to boot! There are no photos as I didn't think to snap one before we sat down to dinner, and also because, delicious as it is, it dulled the color of our steaks to a shade that would not make for a nice photo. :)

Any meat can be used for this, but I do highly recommend using beef. As I've not access to Yucatan Sunshine Habanero Pepper Sauce at my supermarket, I simply use Tabasco sauce. 

Texas Meat Marinade, from Former First Lady Laura Bush

Ingredients:

1/2 t. dry mustard

1/2 t. thyme

1/2 t. marjoram

1/2 t. fresh ground pepper

1 t. Yucatan Sunshine Habanero Pepper Sauce

1 T. Worcestershire sauce (I sub in soy sauce here)

2 t. chopped garlic

1/4 c. corn oil

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

Directions:

Mix the dry mustard, thyme, marjoram, and pepper together. Add garlic, Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce), hot pepper sauce, corn oil, and olive oil. Mix well and pour over your meat of choice covering entire piece of meat with mixture. Marinate for a few hours. Sprinkle with salt just before cooking. Enjoy!

Basil Ricotta Omelette.

Delicious Simplicity. I love having this for a quick and easy lunch. Five ingredients, less than 10 minutes to make, and it tastes beyond restaurant quality.

I found this recipe in a lovely FREE downloadable cookbook called Stone Soup, from a blog by the same name. The whole philosophy of the blog and cookbook alike are minimalist home cooking, an idea I can get behind wholeheartedly, even if I do fall short of the idea often enough. :) Really though, it's free. Check it out, you won't be sorry. :) If you're adventurous, try the Laksa Soup. Yum.

Basil Ricotta Omelette, from The Stone Soup Cookbook, by Jules Clancy

I modified this slightly to serve one person.

2 eggs

1/2 T. Butter

A Splash of milk (Whisked into the eggs, makes them fluffy and gives a bit more volume, opt.)

2 T. Ricotta

A few basil leaves (Yes, basil is shown above, I happen to have a miniature variety growing in my garden)

Directions:

Whisk the eggs lightly together and add milk if preferred. Heat an omelette pan or sauce pan over medium/medium low heat and melt butter. (Recipe says med-high, this scorches my meal...adjust as you see fit.) Quickly pour in your eggs. Stir continually to move cooked egg off the bottom.

When the egg is almost cooked, drop small bits of ricotta on top and let melt. I folded my omelette in half and allowed some cheese to cook inside, but this is again optional. When omelette is cooked sprinkle with basil and additional cheese if you like. Enjoy!

Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes.

Oh. My. Wow.  These pancakes, hands down, were the best I've ever made, possibly ever tasted. They are light, fluffy, not too sweet, and are scented with vanilla deliciousness. I can't wait until the next time I get to make these.

I confess, I am NOT a pancake connoisseur. We usually buy the box of 'Just add water' mix, and as much as I love the idea of making pancakes from scratch, I'd yet to come across a recipe that consistently turned out as nice as the mix. I may never buy the mix again now. (Though I probably will. I have a toddler, who goes from full to screaming hungry in five minutes. I need something fast.) These pancakes are not slow cookers, by any means. They are a lovely quick breakfast for a relaxed Saturday morning, or, depending how your weekday mornings are, perhaps even then. Please make them. You'll never look at pancakes the same again. 

Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes

(Ree, the lovely woman who shared this recipe in her cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, does not have this recipe on her website anywhere that I can find. However, Deb over at Smitten Kitchen does such a lovely job with step-by-step photos and such I thought I'd send you there for the recipe. Enjoy!)

Coconut Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

I've always said I'm not a huge fan of breakfast foods. Whenever traveling, I have to work to find a place that sells just what I want, nothing too greasy or heavy on the meat side. That being said, looking back over my posts, many of them have to do with breakfast foods. Part of that may be because I choose to post midday, and need something I can make before that, photograph, and, most importantly, get my family to eat; mostly though, I think it's that I'm trying to find a good breakfast that I like, that I can reliably turn to week to week.

This 'recipe' is one of those breakfasts. It makes your average morning a bit more special, with hardly any added effort.

To make, simply whip up whatever pancake batter you usually use, and then add shredded coconut. I prefer the sweetened variety for this, but I have used unsweetened and it works just fine. Stir the coconut in until the batter looks rather thick. When the pan is hot, spoon a bit of batter on and spread it out. (The coconut will hold the batter more into a ball, so you have to spread unless you want ridiculously thick pancakes.) When the batter is spread, sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top. Cook as usual. Serve plain, or with butter, whipped cream, powdered sugar, whatever you like, really. :) Enjoy!

Blueberry Almond French Toast Bake.

This delicious breakfast is beyond simple. Prepare everything the night before, and in the morning, simply pop it in the oven when you wake up and let it bake while you get ready for your day.  If you like, you can trade the blueberries for any berry you prefer, though if you use strawberries I recommend slicing them first. I should divulge that this is a very egg-heavy recipe, and that I halved it, using an 9x9 pan, for that reason.

Blueberry Almond French Toast Bake, from Ellie Krieger's So Easy Cookbook

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 whole-wheat baguette (about 18 in. long, 8 oz.) cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cups low fat milk

8 large eggs

8 large egg whites (that's right, in addition to the whole eggs.)

1/3 c. pure maple syrup (don't use imitation, it is so sorely lacking)

1 t. vanilla extract (I may or may not have put more than this, despite halving the recipe. You just can't go wrong with vanilla.)

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/3 c. sliced almonds

2 T. dark brown sugar

Directions:

Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the milk, eggs, egg whites, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread.  Scatter the blueberries evenly on top. Sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!