Fondue for Two

I have dined at a couple of fondue restaurants...Dante's Down the Hatch, on Peachtree Road in Atlanta, and The Melting Pot, in Duluth.

Eating 'fondue style' is fun. It is 'communal eating'...everyone sits around a pot of melted cheese, chocolate or oil and you dunk stuff in it!  You usually start out with an appetizer of cheese and bread and fruit. The main course tends to be your meat, seafood and/or vegetables, which you deep fry. The dessert...mmmmm...the dessert is hot, melted, chocolate goodness! You dunk fruit, marshmallows, poundcake, and other goodies in the thick gooey deliciousness.

With the economy the way it is right now, dining at either of these two restaurants is pretty much out of the question. So what can I do to satisfy my craving for fondue?

Well, my friend Val comes to the rescue with this great SIMPLE and INEXPENSIVE idea!!!

First, raid your food pantry and refrigerator to see what you have on hand before you go to the grocery store. It is possible you may have everything you need at home!

Ingredients:

(1) can of chocolate frosting

(1) small jar of raspberry preserves

assorted fruits (apples, bananas, pears, strawberries all work well)

marshmallows

graham crackers

pound cake

brownies

Instructions:

*In a small microwave safe bowl put about 3/4 cup of chocolate frosting.

*Add to the bowl about 1/2 cup of raspberry preserves. Mix well with a fork and set aside.

*gather the other ingredients and chop fruits, cut pound cake and brownies, and break graham crackers all into bite size pieces.

*Now pop the frosting/preserves mixture in the microwave and zap for 20 seconds. Stir and zap for 10 seconds. Stir. Carefully test the fondue. It should be very warm, but not so hot as to burn the mouth.

*Spear the fruit, cake, brownies and marshmallows on forks or skewers and dip into the fondue. Yum!!!!!

                                                        (Put your two fondue ingredients
                                                               in a microwave safe bowl)

                                                                       (Mix it well!)

Simple Notes:

1.  I had a can of Duncan Hines Home Style Classic Chocolate frosting in the pantry.

2.  I used store brand raspberry preserves with seeds, it was about $2.00 cheaper than the seedless.. After mixing and heating the the mixture, I did not notice the seeds.

3.  I used fruit and crackers and brownie mix I had on hand. I got a bag of store brand marshmallows for $1.09.
4.  For variations on this recipe you could try substituting strawberry preserves or peanut butter for the raspberry preserves!

                                                           (Use forks, toothpicks or fondue
                                                                  forks if you have them!)

                                                              (Just enough for one...
                                                                or two to share!)

                                            

 I made this fondue the day we had snow on the ground! It was fun to eat while watching movies and watching the snow fall!

Super Simple Breakfast For Two

You want something simple, inexpensive, and easy to make for breakfast....and a bowl of corn flakes is not going to cut it!

What you need is French Toast! Here is my simple version of the breakfast treat.

Kitchen items you need:

Shallow bowl or container

Whisk

Frying Pan

Spatula

Ingredients you will need:

(4) Eggs

(6) Slices of French bread (1/2" slices work well)

(2) Tablespoons of half and half

butter or margarine

ground cinnamon and sugar

 

Start out by heating a tablespoon of butter or margarine in a frying pan on medium heat.

Crack all four eggs into a bowl and add two tablespoons of half and half. Whisk together until blended. 

Dip the bread, one slice at a time, into the egg mixture, coating both sides of the bread.

Gently transfer the bread from the egg mixture to the pan, The butter should be hot enough that the egg begin cooking immediately upon contact. Sprinkle the bread with cinnamon and sugar to your liking, and again on the other side when it is flipped.

Continue dipping the next two slices of bread in the egg mixture and add to the pan.

Turn the bread back and forth until the egg and bread is cooked a nice golden brown color.

Move the cooked pieces to plate and repeat the entire process for the next three slices. You can keep the first batch in the oven or toaster oven on an oven safe plate while the second batch cooks.

Place three slices of French Toast on each of two plates. Drizzle with syrup if desired. Garnish with strawberries, blueberries or banana slices to make the dish more elegant.

Enjoy!

 

Simple Notes:  

1)  All ingredients are food items you might always have in the fridge and cupboard.

2)  If you don't have french bread on hand, you can use almost any kind of bread. I found     this loaf at Wal-mart on sale for ninety cents! Just keep in mind, some breads work better than others. The denser breads work better.

3)  Use milk if you don't have half and half on hand.
4)  My plates are thrift store finds...Corelle dinnerware...found in most thrift stores in sets, small groups or individual pieces. I mix and max patterns. 
5)  The tablecloth pictured here is another thrift store find. It is a heavy white cloth with what appears to be an iron on design. Someone had embroidered the strawberries and greenery, leaving some of the smaller designs unfinished. I may finish it at a later date. I got this beautiful cloth for $3.00!

The Simple Life

This blog was designed for people who live a simple life, either by choice or necessity. Here, you will find ideas and stories about living simply and happily. There will be recipes, crafts, tips on everyday tasks, decorating, gift-giving, shopping and more, more, more! The best thing about this blog, is that all the projects are cheap and many times made from things you find around your home!