The Breakfast Elvis

(Best ever Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast)

French or regular bread, sliced * left out overnight to dry

Peanut Butter

Bananas

Eggs

Milk

Sugar

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Orange Zest

Fresh Orange Juice

Vanilla

Cereal * Any crispy, slightly sweet, ground up

Preparation:

Slice bread and leave out overnight to dry

To make the custard crack 6-8 whole eggs into bowl. Add a Cup of whole milk. Add 1/4 C. sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. Add the zest and juice of one whole orange. Add tsp. of vanilla. Mix well.

Mash up 2 Cups of cereal of your choice

Put peanut butter on both slices of bread. Use half a banana, sliced in half again length wise. Put the 2 slices of bread with peanut butter and banana together like a sandwich.

Dip both sides into custard and then both sides into mashed cereal.

*Griddle works best for cooking.

Cook each side until golden brown.(med. heat for 3-5 min. each side) Add warm maple syrup.

Eat and Enjoy!

The Beautiful Fuchsia

The Fuchsia will always remind me of my Mom! Come Mother's Day, they were her only request. To look out our front window and see 3 beautiful hanging Fuchsias on our front porch was a reminder that Summer would soon be here. As kids, we didn't understand that they cost money, so to hear my Mom yell at us when we'd pop the new flower buds was something quite common. To have a hanging Fuchsia was also a guarantee that you'd soon see a hummingbird.

The Fuchsia is a constant reminder for me of my childhood and is something that I've chosen to carry with me as I've moved away from home. I love them...and every time I look at one, it will always remind me of my Mom and Summertime.

Tin Can Lanterns

This is a fun, frugal and creative way to use tin cans that usually get sent right to the recycling bin. Here is a better way to recycle them:

After using whatever contents the tin cans may hold, remove the label and wash thoroughly. Fill the cans with water up to the brim and put in the freezer over night or until completely frozen. Use a dry towel when handling the frozen cans. With a hammer and a nail, or any other sharp instrument that will puncture holes into the can, make random holes or choose a fun pattern. When done puncturing holes into the tin cans, melt the ice with warm water and dry. Place t-lites or any candle of your choice into the cans. This is an inexpensive and fun way to illuminate any indoor/outdoor space in your home.

The Easiest Blueberry/Peach Cobbler

Filling:

2-20 oz cans of sliced peaches

2 small containers of blueberries

2 Tbsp cornstarch

-drain the peach juices and cut slices into more bite-size pieces

-mix together above ingredients

Topping:

One box of white cake mix(any brand)

One stick of butter

- melt butter and mix into whole box of cake mix until crumbly

-put on top of fruit mixture

use a 9x13 pan

bake at 350 degrees for 20 min or until a light golden color

This is one of the easiest desserts to make and is such a crowd pleaser for any Summer time party or potluck.

When life gives you lemons, use them!

Lemons are one of natures greatest fruits and absolutely one of my favorites. Not only does it smell wonderful, it is also useful for everyday living. Here are my top 10 uses for lemons.

1. Put half of a cut lemon into your garbage disposal and let run until the lemon is gone...gets rid of any bad odors in the disposal.

2. Lemon is a wonderful, fat-free way to flavor chicken and fish. Use in marinades or just squeeze fresh lemon juice over a dish.

3. It makes any glass of water of ice tea so much more refreshing.

4. Rub on your hands after cutting garlic or onions. The acidity in the lemons cuts through stinky odors left on your hands.

5. Clean the inside of your microwave by adding four tablespoons of lemon juice to one cup of water. *make sure to use a microwave safe bowl. Set microwave for 5 min. Let the bowl sit in the microwave to steam., then wipe it clean. Gets rid of stuck on food, and cleans away the bad smells.

6. Sprinkle or rub a slice of lemon on already cut apples and pears. This prevents the white flesh of the fruit from browning.

7. Lemons make for and inexpensive decoration for summer time. Fill and class bowl or hurricane with Lemons. This will brighten up any table in any room.

8. Instead of bleach for your whites, add a 1/2 cup of lemon juice to any normal-size load.

9. Add leftover lemon rinds to 3 cups of simmering water along with cloves and cinnamon sticks. This gets rid of any bad food smells in your home!

10. Create blonde highlights by spritzing lemon juice in your hair and sitting in the sun.

Good Housekeeping Tip

Use the smell of your favorite fabric softener to freshen up any area of your home. This solution can be used on a mattress, furniture, linen closet, shower curtain, car upholstery, etc. You can also just spray it throughout the rooms of your home to create that fresh from the laundry scent.

*Use 1 part fabric softener to 4 parts water.

Happy 24th Birthday Derek(Snookie)

We celebrated Derek's Birthday today and enjoyed some delicious German Chocolate Bars. A delicious alternative to German Chocolate Cake. This recipe comes from one of our favorite cooks, Paula Deen and is easy to make....ENJOY!

Makes on 9x13 pan

Crust:

One 18oz box of chocolate cake or devils food cake mix

1/2 cup(1 stick) of unsalted butter, melted

1 egg

Filling:

One 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 C. chopped pecans

1 C. shredded coconut

1/2 C. Milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan with butter. Mix together all ingredients for the crust, bake for 7 min. While crust is baking, mix together all but chocolate chips. Pour over partially cooked crust, sprinkle on chocolate chips and bake for another 24-30 min. Let cool before cutting. ENJOY!

*Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen's Kitchen Wisdom

Beeg's Homemade Salsa

4 Roma Tomatoes Chopped

1/2 C Roasted Asparagus

1/2 C Roasted Zucchini

1C Roasted Bell Pepper

1/2C Roasted Jalepeno(no seeds or veins)

1/4C Roasted Corn

1/4 C Chopped Cilantro

1/2 C Onion

Zest and juice of one Lime

1 Tbsp Salt

1/2 Tbsp Pepper

* All roasted veggies, except the onion were done on the BBQ.(leave onion raw) Put all veggies in a bowl after BBQ with plastic wrap to cover for 10 min. Veggies soften when covered to steam. Peel skin and take out seeds and veins of the Bell Pepper and Jalepeno. Cut corn off the cob. Chop all ingredients to same size pieces.

Servering suggestions:

Use with tortilla chips

Put a spoonfull on top of chicken breast

Use on Tacos

Add in with Cous Cous or Rice

Add to a salad

Seashells for Summer

I basically took this idea from a Pottery Barn magazine. We already had this hurricane candle holder; however, you can buy them at any home or craft store and they're fairly inexpensive. All I did was buy the sand and shells at Walmart, it cost around $13. The candle we already had. Just pour the sand on the bottom of the hurricane, put the candle in and place the seashells around the candle. Simple and easy idea to bring Summer time into your home.

(*the shells and sand I bought filled two other candle holders as well)

American Flag Craft

So, I had an old board just sitting in our storage, and for months I've been trying to think of something to do with it. I was looking on a website and saw a cool idea for an American Flag that was painted on an old board!!!! With Memorial Day just past and The 4th of July coming up, I thought this would be a fun use for the Board.

All I did was painted on the stars and stripes, sanded it down to make it look weathered then painted on watered down brown paint, wiped it off with a rag, and there you have it. This was fun and easy to do. I will have it hanging on the wall all Summer and hopefully I can come up with some more fun things to do for each season. If you have any ideas, please share!

Our first time blogging

Welcome to our blog! We are the Johnson Family and we've decided to start a blog because of a suggestion from our sister Brittany. We want to share creative ideas, recipes and just fun stuff that we do as a family. Thank you for your interest in us and ENJOY!