"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live."

 There are days when so many things inspire me. Today we had company in town. Sitting at dinner, we exchanged stories of places we had traveled and lived. I often forget how fortunate I am, being a military brat, of the amount places I have seen and experienced. It also made me think about how many things there are left for me to do, and how I need to seize every opportunity I can. 


I wouldn't consider myself a spectacular cook. If anything, a recipe resembles a list of ingredients and a list of directions to follow. And goodness knows my type-A personality can handle that. I grew up with a stay at home Mom who not only produced "Leave It To Beaver" style dinners every night but also is the best cook I know. She has always cut out recipes from magazines, food boxes, etc. in mass amounts. However, with three picky eaters, folders and folders of these recipes have been pushed to the back of our bookshelves for years. 


When I came home for the summer in May, I declared these few months I have a home would be our  "New Recipe Summer." We dusted off the folders and sorted through years worth of clippings. Some were trashed and a majority were desserts (typical). Our goal was one a day, and now at mid-June we're up to 30. A good amount, seeing there were several days when one or both of us were out of town. 


So in celebration of my newly revived point 'n shoot camera (thank goodness for duck tape) and a day full of cooking (yay for company/more mouths) I have decided to write a blog. Enjoy! 

Recipe #27: Baked French Toast with Crumbled Pecan Topping

We knew this wasn't going to be that great as soon as we mixed up the ingredients. We had to make it last night and let it soak up the the liquid over night and then bake it in the morning. Let's just say we made a half recipe, it had a stick of butter in the topping alone, and was depressingly soggy. I didn't even waste my calories on it. And that's saying something. 

When the rest of the company showed up we had hors d'oeuvres:

Strawberries with a Pink-Lemonade Dip

Deliciously refreshing and so so simple to make. 

(We had made this before so it doesn't count)

Bacon Water Chestnuts

#28

Again, very simple. I didn't think they would be very good, but they actually turned out to be pretty tasty. A big hit! 

Goat Cheese Log:

rolled in a) pecans and sundried tomatoes b)cracked pepper and spices

#29

Honestly, I opted out of this one. I'm not a big cream cheese fan. Everyone else liked it though! 

For dinner we stuck with one of Mom's best and most classic plates. Slow-cooker pot roast, gravy, and mashed potatoes. I did make a cucumber salad that was also given a thumbs up around the table. (#30)

And of course, Mom's Apple Pie. Be jealous. 

What a full day! XOXO, Aysley