French Toast Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting

French Toast Cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Maple Buttercream Frosting
1/2 lb. bacon slices, cooked until crispy, cut into 2" strips

Mix together cake mix, eggs, half and half, vanilla and spices. Beat batter until well combines.  Do not over mix.

Scoop batter into paper liners filling ¾ full. Batter will be thick. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until cupcakes are slightly golden around the edge. Remove cupcakes from the oven and cool completely. Frost with maple buttercream frosting. Top with 2 small strips of bacon.

Maple Buttercream Frosting:
1 ½ teaspoons maple flavoring
2 sticks butter
3 tablespoons cream
1 lb. Powdered sugar

In a large mixer, add maple flavoring, butter and cream, beating on medium until smooth. Stop mixer and add ½ of the powdered sugar. Starting mixer on low speed, until powdered sugar is incorporated. Stop mixer and add remaining powdered sugar until desired texture. You may add more cream if needed, 1 tablespoon at a time. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Lemon Cookies and Glaze

These melt in your mouth and are so yummy!!!

2 cups butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup powdered sugar (I added an additional 1/2 to 2/3 cups more powdered sugar at the end)
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cornstarch (yep, it's really that much!)

Preheat oven to 350*. Beat butter until creamy, and then add powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour and cornstarch and beat until well combined. Do NOT refrigerate.

Roll by hand (it's kind of sticky) into 1-inch balls, placing cookies about an inch apart. Bake 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet until bottom edges are light brown. Cool on wire racks before frosting with "lemon glaze." Makes about 5 dozen small delicate cookies.

Lemon Glaze

4 tablespoons butter
3/4 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon juice (get juice from lemons before zesting)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine butter, zest, juice, and sugar. Stir until well mixed. Place a piece of wax paper beneath the wire racks where the cookies have been cooling and drizzle glaze over cookies.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever! This is Kelly Ann's recipe - I remember visiting her at college and she had made these - yum!

3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 (3 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding mix
4 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts or coconut (optional)

Cream butter, shortening, and sugars together. Add eggs, beating well. Sift dry ingredients together. Add to creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Bake at 350* for 8 minutes. Yield: 5 dozen

Quick to prepare crockpot bbq chicken

4-6 chicken breasts (can be frozen)
1 bottle of bbq sauce (although I didn't use the whole bottle; more like 1/2 or 2/3 depending on how much chicken to slather up, you decide)
1 can pineapple crushed or cubed (I actually used half a can of slices and cubed it myself and added a dash or two of the juice)

Put all that into a crockpot on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Serve chicken over rice with some of the sauce. Don't forget a side of veggies and some rolls for a complete dinner.

Start dinner by 1pm and you too can have a happy family by evening time!

Strawberry French Toast Casserole

1 loaf (20 oz) bread, cubed
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/3 cup powdered sugar
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup maple syrup

Place half the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13” pan. Layer cream cheese cubes evenly over bread. Sprinkle strawberries over top, and then the powdered sugar. Cover with remaining bread cubes. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, & syrup. Drizzle egg mixture evenly over bread. Cover & refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350*. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 25-30 minutes more, or until center is firm & top is golden brown. Serve with strawberry syrup (recipe below), and maple syrup if desired.

Strawberry Syrup

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 T. butter or margarine
¼ c. cornstarch
2 cups mashed strawberries

Combine sugar, cornstarch, & water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and stir/cook until thick. Add strawberries and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add butter. Makes 4 cups.

Chow Mein Noodle Easter Nests.

4 cups chow mein noodles
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
36 jelly beans
Directions
1Break chow mein noodles into small pieces; set aside in large mixing bowl.
2Combine sugar and corn syrup in large saucepan.
3Cook on medium heat until the sugar is melted and there are bubbles at the edge of the pan.
4Add peanut butter and stir until smooth.
5Pour peanut butter mixture over crunched up noodles; toss until completely coated.
6Let cool slightly to avoid burns.
7Butter hands lightly and use approx 1/4 c.
8mixture to form a compact ball.
9Make indention in the middle of each ball to resemble a bird's nest.
10Place on waxed paper and let cool completely.
11Place 2-3 jelly beans inside each nest.
12Serve on a bed of green-tinted coconut for extra festive look.