Three Quick and Easy Family Breakfast Recipes

Even though I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I'll admit that it's also one of the hardest to go to a lot of trouble for during the busy weekday. We've never been big breakfast eaters at my house, in fact, cold cereal or toaster waffles are the usual fare on any given Monday through Friday morning around here. But, on the weekends we often like to whip up a big breakfast for the whole family and then actually sit down at the same table and eat it together. Wow, that's a feat in itself anymore!

The same old tired bacon and eggs do get boring after awhile however, so I've found some yummy breakfast recipes that meet my 'quick and easy' criteria. Since I have a picky preschooler who loves eggs but is on a 'no pancake' kick lately, I wanted a couple of really good recipes that will satisfy grown-up as well as kid tastes.

Quick and Easy Maple Toast and Eggs

12 bacon strips, diced

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup butter

12 slices white bread (firmer texture is better)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in skillet until crisp and then drain on paper towels. In a small saucepan, heat syrup and butter until the butter melts. Trim crusts from bread and flatten slices with a rolling pin. Brush one side with syrup mixture and press each slice into an ungreased muffin cup with syrup side down. Divide bacon among muffin cups. Break one egg into each cup and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake on 400F for 20 minutes. Serves 12.

Quick and Easy Farmers Breakfast

6 bacon strips, diced

2 tbsp diced onion

3 medium potatoes, cooked and cubed

6 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook bacon in skillet until crisp and drain on paper towels. In the bacon drippings, sauté onion and potatoes until potatoes are browned. Pour eggs into skillet and cook until eggs are set and cooked to desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon; let stand for 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Serves 4.

Quick and Easy Egg and Biscuit Breakfast

2 tbsp butter

8 eggs, beaten

1 - 5 oz can evaporated milk

1 - 8 oz package American cheese, cubed

1 tbsp prepared mustard

1 cup cubed cooked ham

1 - 10 oz can refrigerator biscuits

Melt butter in skillet. Add eggs and cook until set. In a saucepan, combine milk, cheese and mustard and cook until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and fold in ham and eggs. Pour into a greased 8 inch greased baking dish. Separate biscuits and place on top. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Serves 4.

Where to Find the Best Deals on Tea Sets

Silver tea sets are definitely not very cheap to afford and that is why it is available in sterling silver as well as silver plated varieties to ensure maximum affordability for people with a variable budget. The key to finding a silver tea set suitable for your requirements is to look in the right direction. The appropriate search begins with knowing your priorities. Some people can not afford the price associated with pure silver sets yet they want something with a better appeal and therefore silver coated crockery is the right choice for them. For others, the budget may be a little more but not very extravagant, they can always purchase few items made of pure silver at a time rather than purchasing a complete set at once.

Finding the best deals on tea sets is both a matter of luck and effort. You can begin by looking for the available options. This will help you develop a better understanding of what type of crockery is available in the market so you can be more realistic in your demand. Online search will also help you to know the prevalent price range so that you can easily make your budget and not over or underestimate your expectations.

Visiting the retail outlets also helps. It allows you to actually see for yourself what you are in for. You can also bargain and see if you can get some kind of a discount on your purchase. A lot of the times more expensive and precious silver crockery is obtained by a lot of people as the family heirloom. However if you can not afford to buy the pure sterling silver varieties yet want to own the best in the market it may help to purchase a few items at a time.

For children smaller silver tea sets are also available which are as appealing as the other ones. Since you spend so much on owning the best pure silver crockery, you must make sure it lasts at least as long as expected. This is possible only if you are not ignorant and perform regular cleaning regime to make sure the metal is not tarnished. Storing it in the proper way is equally important as it not only prevents the crockery from damaging but also keeps it from losing its luster and shine. These simple steps will make you the proud owner of a good quality tea set made of silver.

Toastmaster 357S 0.37-Cubic-Foot Cool Wall Toaster Oven/Broiler with 2-Hour Timer

Toastmaster 357S 0.37-Cubic-Foot Cool Wall Toaster Oven/Broiler with 2-Hour Timer Review

Toastmaster 357S 0.37-Cubic-Foot Cool Wall Toaster Oven/Broiler with 2-Hour Timer Feature

• Wire rack fits in 4 positions; temperature control to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
• 2-hour timer, with automatic shutoff when cooking time ends
• Dishwasher-safe, stainless-steel oven liner removes for easy cleanup
• Stay-cool plastic housing; baking pan with broil insert included
• Measures 15 by 9 by 12 inches; 3-year warranty

Toastmaster 357S 0.37-Cubic-Foot Cool Wall Toaster Oven/Broiler with 2-Hour Timer Overview

Dishwasher-safe, removable stainless steel liner Accommodates 4 slices of toast, 5 lb.Chicken, and 9 inch pie shell Bakes, broils, toasts, defrosts, and top browns Cool wall exterior 2-hour timer Fully adjustable thermostat Automatic safety shut-off Accessories include wire rack, enamel bake/broil pan and broil insert

Toastmaster 357S 0.37-Cubic-Foot Cool Wall Toaster Oven/Broiler with 2-Hour Timer Specifications

With a 0.37 cubic-foot interior, this countertop toaster oven/broiler has room to roast a 5-pound chicken, toast four slices of bread, bake an 8-inch pie, or broil four burgers. The 1,400-watt oven's most innovative feature is its stainless-steel liner, which can be pulled out and scrubbed at the sink or run safely through the dishwasher. For baking and roasting, the oven's temperature adjusts from 200 to 450 degrees F. Toast browning can be dialed light to dark with all the stops between. There's also a two-hour timer with automatic shutoff when the selected cooking time ends. For safety, the oven's plastic exterior stays cool during operation. Included with the oven are a baking pan with broil insert and a chrome rack that can be set in four positions. The oven measures 15 inches wide, 9 inches high, and 12 inches deep and carries a three-year warranty against defects. Accompanying the oven are coupons worth .00 for foods such as Pop- Tarts and Eggo waffles. --Fred Brack

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 20, 2010 20:10:12

Cuisinart TOB-175BC Convection Toaster Oven/Broiler, Brushed Chrome

Cuisinart TOB-175BC Convection Toaster Oven/Broiler, Brushed Chrome Review

I went digging back through my past orders to find this. This is hands down the best purchase I've made from Amazon or any online retailer. I'm not sure the reasons I bought it in the first place but I'm sure that I didn't expect to get the use out of it as much as our family does. It is used daily in our home, multiple times, again and again. I think the only time we ever turn the big oven on is for a big pizza, muffins, or a cake maybe. Everything else gets cooked in this great little oven. I really do hate to see that it is no longer being made. I fear one day ours will stop working and I would definitely be replacing it with the same if I could.

Cuisinart TOB-175BC Convection Toaster Oven/Broiler, Brushed Chrome Feature

• Great for convection and conventional baking, broiling, and toasting
• 1/2- cubic foot interior capacity; automatic shutoff after 4 hours with clock and oven timer
• Total Touch touchpad's controls and Always Even shade control and 4-6 slice toasting button
• Comes with broiling pan, drip tray, slide-out crumb tray and cord storage
• Measures 17 1/2 by 13 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches; 3-year limited warranty against defects

Cuisinart TOB-175BC Convection Toaster Oven/Broiler, Brushed Chrome Overview

Cuisinart brings a new standard of convenience and consistency to baking, broiling and toasting. The Convection Baking fan surrounds the food surface with evenly heated airflow, to cook foods up to 30% faster than conventional ovens. The state-of-the-art Exact Heat¿ Sensor and Your Choice¿ Browning Memory ensure that everything is cooked to perfection. The Convection Oven-Toaster-Broiler will be a welcome addition to any kitchen!

Cuisinart TOB-175BC Convection Toaster Oven/Broiler, Brushed Chrome Specifications

Bake, broil, toast, defrost, and reheat your favorite foods with one sleek machine: this high-performance convection toaster oven from Cuisinart. A commanding presence, the black and brushed-chrome unit delivers precise control and offers numerous cooking methods. Cuisinart's Exact Heat Sensor lets you choose function and temperature, and then rely on the oven to tell you when food is ready. You can also choose to cook with the timer, according to your needs.

The convection option on the oven (which uses a fan to circulate heat for even temperatures and moist results) is great for everything from roast meats to chocolate cake. Conventional baking on this model works just like a full-sized oven, while the broiling feature lets you broil steaks and fish or brown the tops of casseroles. The oven is preprogrammed for simple toasting but accommodates customized settings for lighter or darker results, bagels or English muffins, or four to six slices at a time. The clean, strong structure of the oven is complemented by an easy-to-use control panel, with a clock that doubles as a function display. Helpful extras include a dual-position oven rack, a removable crumb tray, a "Temp Ready" indicator, a detailed instruction/recipe booklet, and comfortable side handles. --Emily Bedard

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 19, 2010 20:50:14

Conventional Oven vs The Microwave

How do I know how much I am saving using small appliances as compared to the oven? How much does it cost to run the appliances in our household? Are we really saving money if we used them less frequently?

Many of us are concerned about budgets and frugal living and we wonder about these types of questions. At the end of the day, our goal is to save some money to make our lifestyle more worthwhile and to have a good order of our financial management.

We have plenty of choices available for cooking. It is very easy to find a kitchen equipped with a convection oven, microwave and a regular oven. The question is which one we should be using if we would like to save energy and money.

To get to the bottom of it, we have to explore some basics or elementary foundation how electric consumption works in the kitchen. How do our appliances consume energy? Basically, they use up energy in one simple way by producing heat.

When you're cooking in the kitchen you are automatically producing heat. This is the most common usage of electricity in the kitchen. To compare cooking appliances, look at the amount of electricity power (or wattage rating) required to operate an electrical device. You are able to find the wattage label on the appliance where it tells you the model number. However, if you have difficulty in finding the label you can look at the user manual. Please take note that the amount of electricity written on the label is the maximum amount that the appliance will be able to use.

For example, a slow cooker can be between 200 to 400 watts (W) while a majority of microwave ovens can range from 500 to 1200 W. Toaster ovens are in the same range as microwave ovens. The device that require the most electricity is the conventional oven that typically use 3000 W or more. In addition, a convection oven can use approximately 50 percent less power as compared to your standard ovens.

You can see that the standard oven needs up to three times as opposed to the microwave. You will also need to consider the period of time the oven is operating. Microwave cooking can take less time than the conventional oven of course this depends on what you're preparing.

Let's go back to our conventional oven vs. microwave example. If we assume that food is cooked in an hour's time in the standard oven compared with 15 minutes in the microwave, you can clearly see that the amount of electricity used to power the microwave is lesser. Therefore, in this case having a microwave is the better option.

In reality most of us use the oven four to five times a week let's say for an average of two hours at a time. In a month that can take up quite a lot of hours. To decide which type of oven to use you will have to ask yourself if it is able to meet your time and cooking needs, not at the amount of money it can save.

Avanti T9 4- Slice Stainless Steel Toaster Oven w/ Broiler

Avanti T9 4- Slice Stainless Steel Toaster Oven w/ Broiler Review

Avanti T9 4- Slice Stainless Steel Toaster Oven w/ Broiler Overview

Avanti T9 Features: -Auto shut-off -Timer control with bell -Full range temperature control (Toast - Broil) -Power indicator lights -Slide out rack -Dimensions: 8.5" H x 14.5" W x 9.5" D

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 17, 2010 21:55:13

Euro-Pro TO140L 6-Slice Toaster Oven

Euro-Pro TO140L 6-Slice Toaster Oven Review

Euro-Pro TO140L 6-Slice Toaster Oven Feature

• Countertop toaster oven offers extra-large 4- to 6-slice capacity
• Toast, warm, bake, and broil functions; adjustable temperature
• 60-minute timer with stay-on function, auto shut-off, and ready signal
• Includes enamel bake tray, wire rack, and pullout crumb tray
• Measures approximately 26 by 18-1/2 by 13 inches

Euro-Pro TO140L 6-Slice Toaster Oven Overview

Add a touch of style to your kitchen with this sleek toaster oven. It has full range temperature control from 150° to 450° with a variety of settings including Broil, Bake, Toast, and Keep Warm. Auto off timer with ready signal and cool touch handles for safety. Included is enamel bake tray, 1 rack and pull out crumb tray.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 16, 2010 22:35:16