So lets have a show of hands - How many of you have children?

A lot of you?

How many of you feel like that when your children are teenagers you're going to have to get three jobs, and hire a professional grocery shopper, because they will eat you out of house and home?!

I do!

Devlin has been on a growth spurt, and its lasted for about a month or more. He's got growing pains. His back hurts, or his joints hurt. So the Tylenol comes out, and then there's feeding the ravenous boy.

Devlin has always {ALWAYS} had an appetite, even as a newborn. Suffice to say  - The boy can eat, a lot.

Which is why the recipe I made for Father's Day (and the week before) is  perfect for a small boy on a growth spurt.

What recipe is this? Well let me finally share it. :-)

{source}

Individual French Toast Stratas
from the Rachel Ray Magazine

Grocery Stuff:
6 Eggs
1-1/2 cups Half & Half
6 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1-1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
Large Pinch of Salt
4 Cups Cubed (Country Bread - I used sandwich bread the first time, but then baked up some homemade wheat bread for the 2nd round. They both worked just fine.
2 Tbsp Butter, melted
2 Tbsp Sugar

Cooking Stuff:

1. Whisk the eggs, half & half, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together. 
2. Combine the cubed bread and butter, and divide among 12 muffin cups. 
3. Pour the egg mixture over the bread (I used a ladle to minimize the impending mess), and let sit while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees (this is very important!)
4. Sprinkle sugar over the 12 muffin cups
5. Bake for 20 minutes, and let cool on rack.
6. Serve with more syrup and fresh berries. 

This dish is so good, and simple. Not to mention the kids eat it up. The first time we made this, Devlin had 3 of them, and he was finally full. The 2nd time he had 2, plus a croissant and 2 bowls of berries. He was harder to fill up the 2nd time round.

Well I hope that you guys enjoyed today's {belated} post. I promise tomorrow to show off the dress I made a couple of weeks ago.

See you guys then!

Really? Do you know anyone who doesn't like bacon and eggs? I mean, anyone who doesn't like bacon just isn't human, and eggs come in so many different forms--omelet, fried, scrambled, poached, etc.--there's something for everyone. There was one Saturday not too long ago that I was really into eggs and bacon. I had it for breakfast and dinner. Prepare yourself; it's about to get delicious.

So as any Mom knows, sometimes common foods get simple names. Other times we rename foods so that the kids will eat them because of association. Last week we had Cherry Cheese Blintzes, but Dev has no idea what a blintz is so I told him we were having cherry pancakes with icing. He was super excited for them and ate two of them! This is what Moms do. So when I wanted  to have Banana Fritters later that same week, I told him they were Iced Banana Donuts. He was excited.....until he ate one. He did not like the lemon icing. Oh well, at least he liked the banana fritter donut. :)  So here's what I am sharing with y'all today. I hope you enjoy.

This recipe is from a cookbook that my mother-in-law gave Steve and I when we were just starting out. It's called Pass the Plate. It's by an Episcopal church down in NC circa 1981. This particular recipe was submitted by Annie Kinsey Whitford.