French Toast for the Masses

I hate cooking. No, I should say I really don't enjoy cooking. I do it. I do it all the time. I'm even good at it. I would call myself a good cook. I am a cook who hates to cook, but I am also a cook who can put a smile on your face. Still I think it is safe to say cooking is just not my thing; it just happens to be a resume builder I have gained while living in survival mode for the past 13 years.

When LG and I got married, I cried when I realized that it was my responsibility to feed my husband and future children and it would be for THE REST OF MY LIFE. Cried would not be a totally fair assessment. I bawled one night while cooking, and I continue to cry inside every time I am magnetically stuck in the room of my house that sports a fridge, sink, and stove. Now I know I am gonna hear it from my naysayer our there who believes in women's rights, but from the get-go, I embraced my control over things inside the home. I more than embraced it. I, for lack of better words, peed over the threshold between family room and teeny tiny studio apartment kitchen, as my way of saying, "hands off man, this is my territory". The kitchen would be my domain. 

Man, I was such a fool. LG was more than happy to step aside for food duty, even though we were both working and going to school full-time. And not to my surprise and even to my blame, today the guy only has a handful of choices that he can pull off that involve a wooden spoon and pan, and most of them are in the breakfast category, come frozen, or out of a box. And I am smacking my forehead against my keyboard as I realize how totally stupid I was back then.

So, I live with the stubborn hell I have created. I cook. Even when I don't want to. In the past few years, while there hasn't been wiggle room in the budget for enough pizza and hamburgers ordered from other people's kitchens, I have learned many tricks.

I have very reliable go-to's. I keep staples in the house for each recipe. One happens to be french toast. It only takes six ingredients that I usually have on hand. My kids love it and so do I. My husband tolerates it, but if he was more worried about eating his favorites, he might ask me to teach him how to cook them. hint hint.

Before I share the flawless recipe, let me tell you two tricks that will make this easy peezy meal turn into 10 easy peezy meals.

One, make a TON at a time.

Stick them all in a gallon size ziplock.

They have lasted for at least a week at my house.

Reheat them as needed in a toaster.

(Note: the toaster trick was discovered by my hubby, 

who is a saint, 

and takes on breakfast duty at our house 

while I am trying to pry my eyelids open)

The other trick is a little easier.

Buy the kind of syrup shown above.

It's short enough to be heated in the microwave.

French toast are so much better with hot syrup.

I just refill this container with the cheapest syrup I can find, 

saving myself $2 a pop.

Once in a while I will make my own syrup, which is also very tasty.

You can add one last trick if you want. It would be the one where you teach the kids how to wash the griddle. We are still trying to get this one down at our house.

Guess what is the best feature of french toast: LG knows how to make it!!

Here are my recipes for the sharing. Do any of you have any tips on how you keep your french toast from getting soggy? I am usually 80% successful but not sure how.

French Toast

4 eggs

1 + 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 pinches of salt

12 slices bread

Beat together egg, milk, nutmeg, vanilla and salt.

Heat butter on a griddle heated to medium.

Quickly dip bread in egg mixture and transfer to hot buttered griddle. Cook both sides until lightly browned and crisp.

Homemade syrup

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup karo syrup

1 cup boiling water

1/2 tsp maple flavor extract

Boil together until sugar is completely dissolved.