Chocolate No-bakes

My mom makes these cookies.  They are her specialty. 

She calls them Winter Delights. My Uncle Tim calls them Cowboy Cookies. I call them Chocolate No-Bakes. 

Whatever you choose to call them, the fact remains...they are de-lish-ous!

2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 stick of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups of oatmeal
3/4 cup of peanut butter
2 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa

First mix sugar and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Then time it for 2 minutes.

Add the butter, vanilla, peanut butter, and cocoa. 

Mix well. 

Lay out a sheet of tin foil or parchment paper, and drop cookies by the spoonful onto the sheet. 

Let them sit until hardened. 

Then...enjoy :)

blueberry french toast casserole

This is one of those dishes that doesn't look as near as good as it tastes. (I stole this picture off the internet, because well...mine never looks this pretty.) 

But the moment this custard-y confestion hits your taste buds, you're hooked. It's like having a decadent cheesecake for breakfast. And I'm pretty sure that's a no-no. But live a little. 

Note: If you are serving this at a breakfast event you want to make it the night before because it has to chill for at least 8 hrs. It is so worth the wait though!

12 slices of white bread (crusts removed)
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup

Note: Sometimes I prefer to change up the bread and egg ratio. I tend to add more bread and a little less egg. For example: 10 eggs and 14 slices of bread. Depends on how custard-y you like it. (I'm going to add "custard-y" to my dictionary. I think it needs to be a word from now on. Just sayin')

Grease a 13x9 pan.

Cut bread into 1" cubes. Place half the bread into the pan. You'll next want to cut the cream cheese into cubes as well. Place over the bread in pan. Add the blueberries, making sure that everything is evenly distributed. You want to have each bite containing all ingredients. Top with the remaining bread.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and then add the milk and syrup. Make sure it's all mixed well. Then pour over the bread. Just like bread pudding you want to make sure that everything is well coated.

Cover and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until center is set.

For the sauce:
1 cup of sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup of water
1 cup of blueberries
1 tbsp of butter

Combine sugar, cornstarch and water. Bring to a boil. Boil for 3 min then reduce heat. Stir in blueberries and cook for 8-10 min. Add butter to the sauce and stir until it is melted. Pour on top of the french toast casserole.

One last step...Enjoy. You've worked hard for it.