Stuffed French Toast

 S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y- NIGHT! (Can anyone quote the movie?) 

Ok, actually it was Saturday morning and I was sleeping in. Those days are my favorite! It's nothing very exciting, i'm always up well before nine but to still be in bed while Dad plays with the girls, somehow -- those days are the best. 

Well, on this particular Saturday morning not only did I sleep in, but I also awakened to Mr. Chef making stuffed french toast! YUM! (He totally knows the way to my heart is through carbs!)

So, he never knows the exact recipe or amounts because he is one of those people that throws things together and they always come out delicious. I get jealous of those people sometimes, i'll get over it. :)

This recipe is super easy and really pretty fast -- not the lowest calorie breakfast in the history of ever but once in awhile on a weekend I love me a big yummy breakfast like this!

Heat fresh or frozen strawberries, sugar, and cream cheese, and then puree them together. This is your stuffing.

 Slice a loaf of French Bread into slices. You want each slice the width of about two normal french toast pieces. Cut the slice in half but only go about 3/4 way through the bread so you have a "pocket" for your filling.

Fill the bread and dip in normal french bread mixture (eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon)

Once they are cooked, serve warm with syrup, fruit, jam or just plain!

Recipe:

1 cup of frozen (or fresh) strawberries 

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 block of cream cheese

1 Loaf of french bread cut into slices (approximately 2 inches wide) 

4 eggs

1 C milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon (opt.)

Combine strawberries, sugar and cream cheese. Heat until combined and then puree together until smooth. You can use a blender, an immersion blender (my tool of choice) or a food processor to do this. Set aside.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon (opt) in a shallow pie tin or other shallow bowl. set aside. 

 

Cut your slices of bread and slice them in half about 3/4 of the way through the bread so you have a pocket. Fill with strawberry mixture. Dip each filled french toast slice in egg and milk mixture, coating thoroughly on both sides. You may want to let it soak for about 30 seconds so the bread can really absorb it -- that one is up to you. 

Cook on a non-stick skillet for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned, flip and repeat on other side.

Enjoy!

Coffee Cake Muffins

Funny story with these ones. As a good housewife does, i refilled the sugar canister when it got low. And yes, I was quite pleased with myself. Let's just say, sometimes it takes a while to "get around" to that task.

Well, another proud moment of the morning. It was my husband's first day of his new job and I wanted to make sure he started well so that the day went fabulously. So, I made him his favorite muffins with boiled eggs. MMM! No better way to send him off to his first day of work :)
Well, the muffins were done just at the right time so he could leave early and not have to hurry.
We sit down, say our prayer, bite into the morsels of deliciousness and...
Ewwww! I ran to the sink and spit it out as fast as I could.
Apparently, when salt and sugar are in large Tupperware in the pantry they look just the same. Labeling those was on the to-do list yesterday. Hmmm, should'a done that.
To put it short: we had 1/2 C of salt in our muffins this morning.

So, on his first day of his new job I sent my husband off after a breakfast of Boiled Eggs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Perfect :)

Now, I recognize that these have already been posted but they are delicious enough to be repeated.

So instead of reposting the entire recipe i'll send you to the original link.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Go and enjoy! But remember...check your salt and sugar. Don't mix them up, it is definitely NOT delicious if you do. But, it does make a funny story :)

(These pictures were the next morning's redemption.)

Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

4:00PM: I think to myself, "What should we have for dinner? {the husband} will be home in one hour...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." and yes, more often than not I stand in front of my menu thinking what else could I make.
BREAKFAST!!! mmmm! Sometimes breakfast for dinner is the answer to everything.
So, when i saw this recipe let me just say my arms tickled, my ears tingled and my feet twitched. (recognize the quote? any of you read Pinkalicious 800 times a day? I love that book and so does my little girl) 

 Well, here is your new favorite breakfast for dinner recipe. These were amazing and quick! 

There are a lot of lemons but trust me just like the girl who originally posted this, USE THEM ALL: they are so yummy and fresh! mmmm! I didn't have as many poppy seeds as I thought so I only used 1/2 the poppy seeds and it was still so delicious but next time i'll use the full amount. 

Mix the wet and dry, just until combined. Don't over-mix. It will be lumpy (even more lumpy than usual pancakes because of the lemon zest.)

Top with some delicious fruit and syrup. 

Recipe:

{This recipe was found here}

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup poppy seeds
zest of 4 lemons
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted

butter, to serve (and for pan)

To make the pancakes combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a large bowl. In another bowl the buttermilk, eggs, butter, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Add the wet to the dry. Stir all the ingredients until they are just combined. Don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, you don't want to over mix.

Heat your skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the skillet. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.  

Recipe for fruit compote:

Place about 1 C frozen or fresh berries in small saucepan along with about 1/3 C sugar and approximately 3Tbsp. lemon juice. heat until there is enough juice to pour over pancakes. 

Pour compote, fruit and syrup or any other toppings you choose. These are wonderful and worth it!

(Check out what else pickycook.com has. Great ideas!)

Baked Oatmeal

So for all those that have found and loved this recipe, you are holding out on the rest of us! My sister--in-law has been talking about baked oatmeal for awhile now and as it was raining this morning when we woke up I felt fall-ish and needed a breakfast to follow suit. What better, than the mysterious baked oatmeal i had heard so much about!

Did it live up to its expectations? You better beleive it! This stuff is YUMMY!
and super easy! It takes about 10 minutes to get everything together and into the baking dish (and that's at "i-just-woke-up" speed) and then it only cooks for 20 minutes. Perfect for a relaxed morning and today was the perfect day to try it; raining, a little darker than usual and fall. Ahh, welcome to this beautiful season where the leaves change colors and crunch under your feet, where pumpkins start emerging from the front of stores to peoples front porches (mine are coming out this weekend after our pumpkin painting extravaganza this weekend...stay posted i'll post some pictures) and where baked oatmeal and apples take over the menu.

source

Happy breakfasting!

Baked Oatmeal:

{Ingredients}

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins (opt.)
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts, plus more if you so desire -- i put in about 3 T and loved it.
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup applesauce (you can substitute cooking oil for this but i think it would be best with applesauce, sticking with the season and all)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten (or 2 medium eggs)
Cooking spray

{Preparation}

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Crepes

This is one of those recipes that never disappoints but is easy to switch up. Crepes depend so much on what you put in them. Some of my favorite are breakfast crepes full of fruit with syrup drizzled over the top or dessert crepes with whipped cream or fudge swirled in.

source

{Ingredients}

8 Tablespoons flour

1 Egg

1 T Oil

¼ C Sugar (or until sweet)

Milk (add enough to make it runny)

Heat a small crepe pan, or if you don't have a crepe pan, a small sauce pan over medium heat. Grease well. Hold pan at a 45 degree angle and pour about 1/3 C of batter into the pan, swirling the pan in a circle as you go, so as to evenly coat the bottom of the pan evenly with the batter before it cooks. Only cook one side. The batter should be thin enough that the crepe will be fully cooked without flipping it.

(pictures coming soon)

When it is done the sides will start to peel away from the pan and you will be able to easily slide the crepe onto a plate, about 5-7 minutes each.

Fill with your favorite toppings, sweet or savory, and enjoy.

Some Filling/Topping Ideas:

Banana, Honey, Peanut Butter -- sprinkled with powdered sugar and bananas

Strawberry Jam, topped with sliced strawberries, powdered sugar and depending on what time it is, a little chocolate sauce

Cream Cheese, turkey slices, cheese of your choice -- no topping

Scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon, cheese -- topped with salsa and parsley

Yogurt -- topped with any fruit of your choice.

Coffee Cake Muffins

These muffins were love-at-first-bite! They took a little more time than most muffins, however, TRY THEM!!!

{Ingredients}

• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour (we just used white but I think whole wheat flour would be delicious as well!)
• 3 Tbsp. Brown sugar
• ¼ tsp. Ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 3 Tbsp. Chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 ½ C all-purpose flour (again wheat would work)
• ½ C granulated sugar (not Salt! refer here)
• 1 ¼ tsp. Baking powder
• ½ tsp. Ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. Ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. Baking soda
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• ¼ C butter
• 1 beaten egg
• ½ C buttermilk or sour milk (I used
  dry milk and added just a little bit of lemon juice to make it sour)

1. Grease 12 muffin cups, set aside
2. For the topping: in a small mixing bowl
   stir together the 3 Tbsp. Flour, brown sugar and the ¼ tsp.
   Cinnamon. Cut in the 2 Tbsp. Butter till mixture resembles coarse
   crumbles. Stir in walnuts or pecans; set aside
3. In a medium mixing bowl stir together
   the 1 ½ C flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, the ½ tsp.
   Cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt. Cut in the ¼ C butter till
   mixture resembles coarse crumbles.
4. In a small bowl combine the egg and
   buttermilk/sour milk. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture.
   Stir just until moistened. (batter will be a little lumpy)
   
5. Spoon half of the batter into the
   prepared muffin cups, filling each about 1/3 full. Top with half of
   the topping, the remaining batter and then the remaining topping.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
   Cool on a wire rack and ENJOY!!!
   

Tip: mine only made 6 muffins because I
filled my cups WAY too full! They were still delicious but if you
want 12 be careful on how much you fill yours up.