Friday, April 4, 2008

Funnel Cakes

We all love funnel cakes in this house. It has to be my favorite fair food next to cotton candy. I just don't buy it at the fairs anymore since getting food poisoning from eating one at a craft show once. I make my own or try to as my 13 yo loves to make them too.


He likes to get creative. We are easily amused and entertained in this household. I want you can to be easily amused too so I included the recipe below. I got the recipe from the site allrecipes.com (called Funnel Cakes IV). The recipe says it makes 12-20 cakes. Uh, well, I never get that many because we like to make ours HUGE with lots of powdered sugar topping.

FUNNEL CAKES
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar
3-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, mix salt, baking powder, and half of the flour. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream eggs, sugar and milk. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Continue to add remaining flour, but use only enough to achieve desired consistency. Batter will be thin enough to run through a funnel.
3. In an eight inch skillet, heat the oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Put your finger over the bottom opening of the funnel, and fill the funnel with a generous 1/2 cup of the batter. Hold the funnel close to the surface of the oil, and release the batter into the oil while making a circular motion. Fry until golden brown. Use tongs and wide spatula to turn the cake over carefully. Fry the second side one minute. Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with sifted confectioners' sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Breakfast Sandwiches

We don't eat a lot of cold cereal. Let me correct that. We do, but not as breakfast too much. I keep some candy-types jars with scoops on my counter that I try to keep filled with cereal (cheerios, sugary one & granola). I encourage a bowl as a snack more than 3 or 4 as a meal. Then there are those mornings which cereal is what's to eat.

A quick and easy breakfast I make are breakfast sandwiches. If you have a minute to spare and a microwave, you can make these. The varities are numerous too! You can create a flavor and taste of your own.



In the above picture I used Pillsbury Frozen Waffles. They came in my AngelFood Ministries box last month. I do like the slight maple flavor but have used homemade waffles and English Muffins too. I like the sandwiches open-face as the bread portion goes further.

You will need a small microwaveable plastic container for starters. I use a square one for the waffles and a round one for the English Muffins. Spray the inside of the container with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In another small bowl beat together one egg and about a teaspoon of milk. Pour into sprayed plastic container. Cook the egg mixture in the microwave for 50 seconds. Remove and dump out egg on to your heated waffle (I have them toasting in the toaster as I am cooking the egg). That's it!

Now other toppings I have used separate or together are sausage patties, bacon strips, slice ham, Canadian bacon, cheese (varity of flavors), tomato slices (good with Swiss cheese and ham), and salsa. Others I can think of are chili, hashbrown patty, vegetables. The possiblities can be endless as your creativity allows.