"The Love Birds Café Cookbook"

I have decided to make my own cookbook.  I know, it was inevitable!  I am using all my own recipes.  Since I am busy with other projects right now as well, this will probably take me 6 months to a year to complete.  I want to take all new pictures of my recipes and really work on the presentation (unlike this blog).  I want all the plates (and other serving dishes) to have a bird, or romantic theme since it will ne called "The Love Birds Café Cookbook."  I may even try to publish it myself and sell copies. 

Apple-Banana Bread French Toast

This is a pear bread recipe, but since I had no pears, I used bananas and apples.  I was distracted and slightly over-cooked the bread, but it was still edible (just a little dry).  I did not want to waste the ingredients, therefore, I decided to make French toast for our breakfast the next day.  Yum!!  We both gave it a 10!

Julie's Hamburger & Brats Lasagna AND Julie's Black Bean & Corn Lasagna

My mom & Frank visited on Sunday.  I made lasagna and sweet potato crisp for Frank's belated birthday dinner.  Both were a HUGE hit!!!  The meat lasagna was both hamburger and beef bratwurst, as well as onions and red peppers sautéed in olive oil & balsamic vinegar.  Then diced tomatoes, ricotta, and Italian cheese, plus marinated mozzarella (I could eat that mozzarella like candy - it is so good!).  My lasagna had all the same ingredients except I substituted the meat for black beans and corn.  This is, by far, my favorite lasagna ever!  10's all around!!

Menu Board for This Week

This is the menu for this week. I made taco salad http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2013/02/mels-favorite-foods-julies-taco-salad.html  for our 3rd anniversary of the day we met (we call it Mel & Julie Day) since it's one of our favorites.

I made the lasagna on Sunday (I'll post that next) and the chili on Monday http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2013/12/julies-vegetarian-chili.html  (Mel's had hamburger in it). 

Instead of peach crisp, I made sweet potato crisp http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2014/07/sweet-potato-crisp.html  w/ a handful of butterscotch chips thrown into the topping - yum!!  (Also made on Sunday)

I made peach empanadas yesterday http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2012/10/empanadas.html.  First time I ever actually made the sauce for the filling and didn't just used canned pie filling.  So much better - super yum! 

I'll make the Sloppy Mels (Sloppy Joes http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2013/10/sloppy-joes.html)  later this week and the other cookies next week or later.