My baby is the grill master, okay? Ribs, chicken, fish, vegetables, Cocoa Puffs—whatever Nick cooks over charcoal always comes to our dinner table perfectly crisp, insanely juicy, and super flavorful. I mean, The. Boy. Is. Bad. (And plus, everything tastes better with a little smoke on it, and definitely when someone else is cookin’—I’m just sayin’.)

But dig it: Nick also has quite the special gift when it comes to breakfast foods, too. Home made waffles, bacon, grits, biscuits—when your boy wakes up and starts knocking around pots, pans, and the waffle iron? Right—everybody in the house gets really emotional. There’s lots of fist pumping and jumping around and stuff, and when he calls us all down to the breakfast table, we do lots of happy dancing. We put our backs in it when he whips up his Early Sunday Morning French Toast, which is, in a word, amazing. Usually, he holes himself up in a corner of the kitchen, next to the spice cabinet, and, like some evil scientist, tosses together a potion of cinnamony, sugary goodness to dip bread into before he splashes it in a hot pan full of butter. Ha’ Mercy. But Nick very generously figured out his Early Sunday Morning French Toast recipe so that I could share it with you. *Inserting pictures of you doing the happy dance here!*

Nick’s Easy Like Sunday Morning French Toast

Ingredients

6 slices bread
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon gttround nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sugar
sprinkle of salt

Directions

Beat together egg, milk, salt, desired spices and vanilla.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle of skillet over medium-high flame.
Dunk each slice of bread in egg mixture, soaking both sides. Place in pan, and cook on both sides until golden. Serve hot.

About three servings.

Okay, so I know I’ve been whining about this big family camping trip and I haven’t been all sporty about it. Blame it on the bugs. But there are a few bright spots I’m looking forward to: the looks on my daughters’ faces when we pitch the tent REI is donating to the cause, and make s’mores by the campfire; sipping adult beverages with my friends and talking smack under the stars; letting Lila fall asleep cuddled against me (I know doggone well she’s not going to close her eyes in her own sleeping bag). And especially cooking on the open fire.

Now mind you, I’m nice on the grill (second only to the grill master confaster, Nick), but there’s a difference between making barbeque over hot coals and burning on the flames of a campfire. I don’t really get down with fire like that, so, um, this might be a little tricky. But I look forward to the challenge. Plus, my dear friend Jennifer Fox, owner of the Young Chef’s Academy in Sandy Springs hooked us up with some recipes she featured in a special week-long summer class on campfire cooking. We’re going light with breakfast and lunch—cereal and sandwiches will get us through for those meals. But dinner is going to be communal, and each of our families will be contributing something delicious to the campfire pots. Here are a few of Jennifer’s recipes that I think I’ll try out:

UPSIDE DOWN NACHOS

Ingredients:

• 2 cups grated cheese
• 1 bag tortilla chips
• 1 jar salsa
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 can chopped jalapenos
• 1 small container of sour cream

To Cook:

• On a square of aluminum foil place a layer of cheese, then onions, jalapenos, salsa, and finally a mound of chips.
• Make a pouch with foil and place it on the campfire. Cook for three to five minutes, or until you hear the cheese sizzling.
• Remove from the fire and open the pouch. Place a plate upside down on the chips and flip the whole thing over, so that the chips and cheese are on the plate; top with sour cream.

CAMPFIRE PIZZA

Ingredients:

• 1 package flour tortillas (8)
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• Pepperoni
• Shredded mozzarella cheese

To Cook:

• Place tortilla on griddle then top with sauce, cheese, and toppings.
• Turn an aluminum pan over the top of the pizza to trap heat. Cook until cheese is melted.

BANANA BOATS

Ingredients:

• Bananas with peels on
• Mini chocolate chips
• Mini marshmallows

To Cook:

• Slice a small trough along the length of the banana.
• Peel back the flap, being careful to leave one end still attached to the banana. Remove the fruit that was cut out.
• Sprinkle mini-chocolate chips into the length of the trough, then top with mini-marshmallows.
• Fold the flap over the trough and wrap in aluminum foil.
• Place your banana on the fire for a few minutes, long enough for the chocolate chips to melt.
• Remove from the fire, pull back the flap, and enjoy with a spoon

These recipes are a part of the MyBrownBaby series, “Home Made Love: From The Chiles Girls’ Kitchen To Yours,” the cookbook in which Mari and Lila share special memories behind the beloved dishes they create in our house. The girls and I will try these recipes during our camping trip, and then include them in the book.

This Home Made Love series is sponsored by The Young Chef’s Academy of Sandy Springs, GA, a cooking school for children. Learning food preparation skills is the main ingredient at YCA, and each class adds a heap of kitchen safety, a scoop of etiquette, a handful of table setting, a pinch of menu planning, and laughter to taste. To find out about classes, summer camps, and more at The Young Chef’s Academy of Sandy Springs, click HERE.

We like peanut butter cookies but we love them with the sweet sugary chocolate on the top. We like to lick the kisses off when the peanut butter cookies are still warm–it looks like a regular chocolate kiss, but when you put it to your tongue, it’s all warm melty chocolate. We gave these cookies to Santa Claus and he really liked them. He ate three out of the four cookies. Of course, he only had four cookies because we, along with our cousins Miles and Cole, and our next door neighbor Cheyenne, ate about 30 of the cookies all by ourselves before Mommy rescued the four for Santa.

Now that it’s summer time, we can eat ALL of the cookies without worry. Maybe we’ll eat them out on the back deck on a hot, sunny day, with a nice, tall glass of freezy cold milk. YUM!

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 egg
1 package Hershey’s kisses

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients.
2. Use a melon scoop to create balls of cookie dough.
3. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes (you’ll have to do about three batches).
4. Top each cookie with a chocolate kiss as soon as you remove a batch from the oven.

Makes about 40 cookies.

ENJOY!!!

This recipe is from the MyBrownBaby series, “Home Made Love: From The Chiles Girls’ Kitchen To Yours,” the cookbook in which Mari and Lila share special memories behind the beloved dishes they create in our house.

This Home Made Love series is sponsored by The Young Chef’s Academy of Sandy Springs, GA, a cooking school for children. Learning food preparation skills is the main ingredient at YCA, and each class adds a heap of kitchen safety, a scoop of etiquette, a handful of table setting, a pinch of menu planning, and laughter to taste. To find out about classes, summer camps, and more at The Young Chef’s Academy of Sandy Springs, click HERE.