Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast Roll-Ups

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Since we had a snow day, I decided to make a nice breakfast for the kids. I am not so great at early mornings (see my freezer breakfast solution HERE) but I can handle a nice, late breakfast on a relaxing day at home once in awhile. These are one of my kids' favorites. I always have an assortment of jelly (see HERE) so I can make a variety of them with very little effort.

Quick and easy breakfast idea- peanut butter and french toast roll-ups!

peanut butter and french toast french toast roll-ups

I have horrible lighting in my kitchen, especially on a snowy day, so please excuse my lousy pictures.

Spread peanut butter and jelly on bread. (Seeded Italian bread is not ideal, but it is what we had on hand.) On these I used strawberry, grape, and peach jams.

peanut butter and jelly french toast

Roll them up from the jelly side to the peanut butter side. The jelly oozes and the peanut butter is sticky and helps seal it up. The bread might break apart a bit, so just smoosh it together as needed. If you want to cut the crust off, you can do that, but I don't like to waste/encourage picky eating.

how to make peanut butter and jelly french toast

Mix one egg and a cup of milk in a dish- I use a soup bowl. Roll the bread around in the milk-egg mixture to coat.

french-toast-roll
 

Fry in a lightly greased pan on medium-low heat, rolling around to brown all of the outer edges.

how to make peanut butter and jelly french toast roll-ups

how to cook pbj french toast rolls

Remove from heat and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

You can make these in any flavor just by switching out the jelly! Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast Roll-Ups

I love that these are so easy and add a little extra protein with breakfast. They really aren't that hard to make and it is something different to mix things up.

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A fun breakfast idea for the kids- peanut butter and jelly french toast roll-ups!

Here are some more recipes you might like...

Baked Omelet Roll

Make Your Own Uncrustables to Freeze

Bread Pudding

Baked Omelet Roll and Freezer Breakfast Sandwich Hack

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I don't like mornings.
But, I do like breakfast!
It just takes me awhile to wake up enough to make breakfast.

One of my favorite easy breakfast dishes is baked omelet roll. It just looks fancy and the eggs are nice and fluffy since you  mix everything in the blender. I have made it for brunch showers or MOPS meetings. You can add in spinach for a nice pop of color (and healthiness). Bacon or ham would be great, too. No one has to know that you put hardly any effort into it!

I also figured out that the baked eggs are perfect for breakfast sandwiches! Before, I would fry up my eggs on the stovetop and cut them up for sandwiches. It was a bit tedious. This is the way to go! It is healthier because they are baked, not fried. I can get eggs for 6-8 sandwiches from each batch.

Here is the super easy recipe:

Baked Omelet Roll
6 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine everything except the cheese in a blender or food processor. Blend well. Place parchment paper in 9 x 13 pan. Pour egg mixture into pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until eggs are set. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Allow to cool until it isn't too warm to handle. Roll from one short end and tuck the other short end underneath. Slice and serve.

My original pancake freezer breakfast sandwiches can be found HERE. I also did English muffins last time because I got a great deal on them.

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Freezer Pancake Breakfast Sandwiches

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I am not really a morning person.

My husband gets up really, really early for work and knows better than to try to wake me up lets me sleep. In appreciation for this, I try to make sure that he has something that he can grab for breakfast. These pancake breakfast sandwiches are his favorite! It is basically like a McGriddle from McDonald's. Except I know what is in these.

I like to make a big batch of them at once and put them in the freezer so that he can microwave them before he leaves for work. I do a lot of multitasking so it saves on cooking time, too.

Here are some of the things that I do to make this work:

  • Make your pancakes a little thick so that the syrup soaks in and it is a better sandwich size. 
  • Use a cookie scoop to put the batter on the griddle. It keeps them all about the same size.  
  • When they are cooked and cooled slightly, match them in pairs. Place one pancake on a plate. and pour about a tablespoon of maple syrup in the center. Quickly put the other pancake on top and flip the pancakes over so that it runs down into the second pancake, too. It might get a little messy, but you can use the next pair of pair of pancakes to wipe the plate off and soak up any excess syrup.
  • I used ham lunchmeat this time because I got a good deal on it locally. However, bacon or sausage patties would also be delicious. Bacon is, of course, his favorite.
  • Assemble the sandwiches and wrap them in a bit of Glad Press'n'Seal. It is a bit thicker than plastic wrap, so it makes it a little easier for him to eat on the go.
  • Place all of the wrapped sandwiches in a freezer bag so that they aren't getting lost in your freezer. Although, that has happened and it is a nice surprise if I find it in time.
  • To reheat, vent the Press'n'Seal and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Be careful!
These are great because I get to sleep in and he gets a nutritious breakfast. It also saves a lot of money vs. him stopping to get breakfast on his way to work.
Do you have any tips to make breakfast a little easier? I would love to hear about it!
UPDATE! I found a faster and healthier way to make the eggs for these sandwiches! See it HERE!
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Easy Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

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Today I am sharing one of our best family recipes! We always called this "Silly Cake" because it has no eggs and mixes up right in the pan. It is perfect if you have an egg allergy or if you ran out but still want chocolate cake. Also, having no bowl to wash is great if you don't like washing dishes. Are you sold on this cake yet? You should be. It is awesome!

Also, I think the chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting (actually, we say "icing") is pretty much a standard dessert where I live. It might be a PA Dutch/central PA thing. Peanut butter and chocolate are a great combination, so it just makes sense.


But, there is a funny story behind this cake recipe. I mention on my "about page" how I used to be an awful cook. Well, the first time I tried to make this cake, I used tablespoons for everything. Salt, baking soda, etc. When it came out of the oven and looked a little funny I was very insulted because Mom didn't want to put icing on it until we tried it. Poor Dad got the first piece. We asked if it was OK and he shook his head "yes", then his eyes got wide and he violently shook his head "no" as he rushed to spit it out. He said that he had never had a cake grow in his mouth before!

Thankfully, I learned the difference between tablespoons and teaspoons.

Don't let that story scare you. My 4yo and I made this cake last week and I took pics so that I can show you how easy this cake is to make.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a 9 x 13 baking dish. We usually use a metal pan but glass is fine, too.

Next, make two wells in the dry ingredients. Put the vinegar in one and oil in the other.
Then, pour water over everything...
...and mix together really well. (Sneak peek of an apron tutorial that is coming soon!)
It will look like this:
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when you poke it. Top with frosting (and sprinkles if your 4yo insists on them).
Here is the full recipe:
Silly Cake
3 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2/3 c. vegetable oil
2 c. water
Combine dry ingredients in baking dish. Make two wells in the dry ingredients for the vinegar and oil. Pour water over everything and mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1 stick butter or margarine
4 c. powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. milk
1/2 c. peanut butter
Cream butter and half of the powdered sugar. Stir in 4 Tbsp. of milk and the remaining powdered sugar. Mix well. Add in 1/2 cup of peanut butter and beat until fluffy. (You can add more or less peanut butter as desired.)
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Crock Pot Corn Potato Chowder

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Yeah, I wasn't sure about that combination at first.  What happened was that I was using my divided crock pot to make baked sweet potatoes and I needed another side dish for the other half that would cook all day instead of just a few hours. Well, I found several different recipes for corn chowder and ended up mashing them together to make my own. It was surprisingly good! I figured that I better write it down so that I don't forget what I did and I might as well do that on the blog and share it with the rest of you.

Crock Pot Corn Potato Chowder

1 quarts frozen corn (canned would work, too)
2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 slices bacon, browned and crumbled
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Place corn, potatoes, broth, onion, and bacon in a 4 quart crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Warm milk in the mircowave and add to crock pot. (Cold milk could risk a sudden temperature change and cause the crock to crack.) Cook for 15-20 minutes and serve. A little extra bacon on top would make it even better!

Now, to learn from my mistake... I didn't have enough room in the crock pot to add the milk, so I had to scoop it out and put it all in a pot on the stove. That works, too.

I also made some barbecue chicken and a loaf of bread in the bread maker. It was a good, hearty meal for a cold night! I love crock pot meals!

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