Dear Just Be: Yikes- father's Day is this weekend- any fun recipes you can share?

Yes, the summer holidays started a few weeks ago with Memorial Day and how quickly now Father's Day is upon us!

Celebrate your dad's special day with a few of these recipes:

1. Start off with perhaps French Toast for breakfast. You can spice up typical french toast by adding cinnamon, nutmeg and/or vanilla into the batter. Slice up various fruits as toppings and it becomes a gourmet breakfast (serve with a side of eggs and coffee) for a complete meal. If you want to go one step further with gourmet French Toast, try this recipe:

Stuffed Pecan Pie French Toast
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 loaf Cinnamon Swirl bread
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
confectioners sugar

Heat oven to 350. Heat the butter and brown sugar in sauce pan over medium heat until boiling. Remove saucepan from heat, stir in pecans.
Grease a baking sheet with butter. Place bread slices on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until bread is lightly toasted.

Beat eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar in medium bowl. Dip 8 slices of bread, one at a time, in mixture and place on baking sheet. Spread about 1 tablespoon of pecan mixture on each slice of bread. Dip the remaining bread slices into the milk mixture and place on top of other bread slices with pecan mixture to form sandwiches. Bake for 20 minutes or until sandwiches are golden. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Next, Dads love barbeque, right? Try these two recipes for him:

Reuben Hot Dogs
4 all beef big franks
4 tsp spicy brown mustard
12 slices deli pastrami
4 sourdough French rolls halved horizontally & toasted
4 slices of Swiss cheese, sliced diagonally
1 c. sauerkraut
Thousand Island salad dressing

Set grill to medium heat and oil grate when ready to start cooking. Spread each frank on all sides with 1 teaspoon mustard. Wrap three slices of the pastrami around each frank.
Grill pastrami-wrapped franks on hot oiled grill. Cook for 12 to 16 minutes or until heated through turning frequently. Serve franks hot on toasted French rolls with sliced cheese and sauerkraut. Top with Thousand Island salad dressing.

INDOOR METHOD: Prepare franks as directed. Preheat broiler. Place franks on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet or broiler pan. Cook 6 to 8 inches from heat source for 12 to 16 minutes turning frequently. Serve as directed.

And serve with Grilled Mango:
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick slices
Non-stick cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small saucepan over high heat, boil the balsamic vinegar for 5 minutes to reduce by half. Cool 10 to 15 minutes.
Heat a grill over medium-high heat. Coat the mango slices with a thin layer of the cooking spray and sprinkle with salt.
Grill the mango in batches on a lightly oiled grill rack, turning once, until browned and slightly softened (about 5 minutes total). Drizzle with balsamic syrup and serve.


Hope you and your loved ones enjoy Father's Day this weekend!