This is now my official my go-to French toast recipe. It is sooooo good! I guess I forgot about eating French toast for breakfast, because I haven’t had it in several years. Pancakes and waffles seem to always overshadow french toast, and they shouldn’t.
This recipe, from Tastes Better From Scratch is super easy, and takes just minutes to whip up. It’s so easy, you can do it holding a baby in your arms (just Harper lol).
Whisk together eggs, milk, flour, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.Dip both sides of the bread in the egg mixture.
In a skillet or griddle set over medium heat, cook the french toast on both sides until it is golden brown.Dust with powdered sugar.Don’t forget the maple syrup and fresh fruit!
Mmmmm. Sooo good! I seriously may eat this for breakfast every day of the week, especially if Harper has a vote.
She absolutely loved it. I think we all get in a rut of eating the same foods over and over, and both Harper and I enjoyed a delicious change.
At her age, I still chop up her foods in pea-sized bites, but she was so excited, she reached across and grabbed a slice and stuffed it in her mouth! I had to pull it out because she looked like she was attempting the chubby bunny (stuffing as many marshmallows as you can in your mouth!) haha.
Love that little french toast, blackberry-covered face!
Enjoy!
Classic French Toast
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Source: Tastes Better from Scratch blog
Ingredients
4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
8 thick slices of bread
Instructions
Preheat griddle or skillet over medium heat. Grease well with butter or nonstick spray.
Add all ingredients, except the bread, to a shallow dish and whisk well to combine. Dip bread slices into the egg mixture, coating both sides, and place on the hot griddle.
Cook for a few minutes on both sides, until golden brown.
Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar, pure maple syrup, and fresh fruit if desired.
Happy Sunday! I don’t know about you, but I love brunch/breakfast food. I could eat breakfast for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. lol. In addition to “brunch”, we should also label it as “brinner” (breakfast/dinner).
Oatmeal, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, toast, omelettes, english muffins, pancakes, waffles, blueberry muffins, scones…. the list of breakfast foods I love can go on and on.
Today my parents had us over for brunch after church. My mom made this sausage breakfast casserole the night before and simply put it in the oven as soon as we got home from service.
This is probably the best breakfast casserole I’ve had lately. The cubed french bread was soft in the middle yet crisp on the edges. The egg-custard mixture had wonderful flavor from the dry mustard and onion powder, and the sausage and cheese combination is a classic that can’t be beat. Yum!
Church must have really tired Harper out this morning, because she could barely make it awake through our brunch. She eats scrambled eggs for breakfast most mornings, so I’m sure she would have loved this casserole too; she just was too tired to eat. 😦
Harper is now 10 months, and is going from 2 to 1 naps a day. The saying is true… as soon as you get in a routine with a baby, they decide to change it up and do something different. Story of our lives for the past 10 months! haha.
Enjoy the rest of your lovely weekend. Can you believe football season is here? There will be lots of Aggie football going on at our house!
Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
8 (1-inch thick) slices French bread
1 pound cooked sausage
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. onion powder
5 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut bread into 1-inch cubes, removing crusts if desired. Lightly grease an 8x10x2-inch glass pan.
Place bread cubes in the bottom of the pan. Top with sausage and cheese.
Mix the milk, half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, onion powder, and eggs together. Pour over the top of the bread mixture. Cover and chill overnight.
Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes, or until done. To check for doneness, insert a knife in the center of the casserole. It should come out clean. Serve hot.
This is just about the easiest quiche you can make, especially if you buy a pre-made refrigerated pie crust. I made this when I was 2 weeks postpartum, and my mother-in-law Paula laughed and said, “You’re the one who just had a baby, and are offering me food to eat. It ought to be the other way around!”
Yep, it’s that easy!
My mom had originally made this quiche for me within a week of me coming home from the hospital. It was so good, I had to make it again!
Most of the ingredients you should have on hand, which adds to the simplicity of this dish. The original recipe called for bacon, but I love mushrooms, so I added about 3/4 cup. You could even include both mushrooms and bacon if you wish.
Depending on which kind of pan you use, you may need to alter the baking time. My baking dish was the deep dish kind from Williams-Sonoma, so I probably cooked the quiche an extra 20 minutes because it was no where close to being done. It still tasted great, and browned up perfectly.
Enjoy!
Baby picture of the day: Can you find us? All dressed in camo!
Quiche
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Pastry for 9-inch one-crust pie
3/4 cup mushrooms, finely chopped (can substitute 12 slices cooked and crumbled bacon)
1 cup shredded natural Swiss cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/3 cup minced onion
4 eggs
2 cups half and half
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cayenne red pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare pasty.
Sprinkle mushrooms (or bacon), cheese and onion in a pastry-lined pie pan.
Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients. Pour cream mixture into pie pan.
Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake 30 minutes longer or until a knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, especially when pancakes and bacon are involved. If you’re looking for a simple, homemade pancake recipe, this one is for you.
Instead of buttermilk or milk, we used plain Greek yogurt, which adds a ton of protein and makes these pancakes extra thick, and healthy-ish. There’s no whole wheat flour or oats, so that’s why I added the “-ish”.
Plus, when you add butter to them, you are adding some serious calories. Even though we used Smart Balance and 100% pure maple syrup, these actually kind of taste like McDonald’s hotcakes.
At least, that’s what my sister and I think. Brittany and I used to go to McDonalds for breakfast with my grandfather Poppy every time we visited him. Don’t worry, he lived 2.5 hours away, so it’s not like we were eating McDonalds for breakfast every day! 🙂 Brittany and I would get a sausage biscuit and orange juice, while Poppy would order the big breakfast with hotcakes.
Brit and I would each try a bite of Poppy’s pancakes, who wasn’t shy about topping them with butter and syrup.
Weird as it may sound, I actually never eat pancakes with butter on top, but for the photos in this post, I thought I’d add some. I think I could have added butter and syrup on top of anything, and it would have tasted like those hotcakes just because I wasn’t used to it. I can definitely see why people add butter…. but I probably shouldn’t start that bad habit up!!! Haha.
For now, I’ll continue to simply add fresh fruit to my pancakes and a little wheat germ, and we can continue to call these pancakes “healthy”. lol
We had our family Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve instead this year, so when we woke up on Christmas Day, there was absolutely no pressure of cooking a large meal. Instead, we woke and had a delicious and savory brunch with leftover ham, fruit, coffee, orange juice and these amazing pancakes!!!
Don’t get confused by the name because Neil is neither a relative nor family friend. Neil Kleinberg is actually the owner of Clinton Street Baking Co & Restaurant, in which his pancakes were voted best in New York.
I honestly thought these were the best homemade pancakes I’ve ever tasted. The batter was light, airy, and buttery. The recipe called for whole milk, but we didn’t have any and thus used skim milk. The pancakes were already outstanding, but I can only imagine how they would taste had we used whole milk!!!
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Whip the egg whites and mix them in with the batter.
One secret is that the egg whites are folded into the batter. By applying French techniques – that is, you make a cake lighter by folding in whites (almost like a soufflé) – Neil was able to make the batter lighter, but have it retain its springy resiliency that yields one perfect pancake.
The other secret is to avoid over mixing, which creates gluten in the flour and makes them tough.
Drop 1/4 of batter onto a hot griddle. When you see bubbles start to form, you’re ready to flip the pancake.
One common mistake among many cooks is that they don’t heat the griddle long enough, which is why the first pancake is usually a dud. Make sure the griddle is very hot, then put the butter on. A teaspoon or tablespoon is just fine, but make sure you use enough so the pancakes don’t stick.
Optional: add 1 tablespoon of blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon walnuts before turning the pancakes. Never add the fruit to the batter; always add the fruit to the pancakes once they’re on the griddle.When the pancake is golden brown on both sides, remove with a spatula. Repeat with remaining pancake batter.A nice tall stack of pancakes, drizzled with a touch of pure maple syrup. Yum!Garnish pancakes with fresh fruit. Confectioners’ sugar goes great with the blueberry pancakes while cinnamon-sugar goes great with the banana-walnut pancakes.Sooo good!We also pan-fried some ham to go with the pancakes for protein!
These pancakes don’t just have to be served on Christmas Day. We definitely plan on making these next weekend and Saturday mornings to come. Enjoy!!
Neil’s Pancakes
Serves: 18-20 (3-inch) pancakes
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 large eggs, separated
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup (12 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tsp. unmelted for the griddle
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting (optional)
Pure maple syrup
Instructions
Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, milk, melted butter and vanilla until combined. Whisk yolk mixture into flour mixture until just combined; the batter will be slightly lumpy.
Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or whisk by hand, until *medium peaks form. Gently mix half the egg whites into batter with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in remaining whites. The egg whites should not be fully incorporated into the batter.
Heat a griddle until hot, about 350-375 degrees. Add remaining unmelted butter to hot griddle. Add 1/4 cup pancake batter and let set. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon chopped walnuts, if using, over pancakes. When bubbles begin to form, lift pancake; if golden brown, turn. Cook until golden brown on remaining side.
Transfer cooked pancake to a plate and keep warm. Repeat process with remaining batter, fruit and nuts. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar for blueberry pancakes and cinnamon sugar for banana-walnut. Serve warm with pure maple syrup.
Notes
*Peaks are “soft” when you put your finger in the whites and they fall over. Peaks are “medium” when you put your finger in and they drip over a bit and stand up. “Stiff” peaks develop when you whip the whites longer and they stay up.
Getting to sleep in as late as you want is one of the best things about the weekends! Today I slept in until about 10: 30 am, which was much later than I thought, and woke up to a wonderfully sweet aroma of my my mom cooking in the kitchen.
I had no clue what she was making, but the smell was so sweet and inviting, first thing that came to my mind was “why is she making cookies at 10:30 in the morning”?
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had just finished cooking up a batch of whole wheat waffles. (Funny story…my sister Brittany made these exact same waffles for her and Colby for breakfast this morning all the way up in Michigan! Great minds think alike!!!)
All the ingredients you will need…
The recipe for these waffles is adapted from 100 Days of Real Food, in which Lisa, the blogger, cuts out processed foods and replace it with REAL food. Processed food is terribly bad for you, so the less of it you can eat, the better.
The ingredient list is simple for this healthy waffle recipe, and makes for a quick and easy breakfast. The original recipe calls for 1 3/4 cups of milk, but my mom didn’t have enough, so she used half buttermilk and half skim milk. We love the addition of buttermilk, as it gives the waffles a richer taste.
Once you gather your ingredients, simply whisk them together in a large bowl and ladle the batter into a hot waffle iron.
Mix together the eggs, milk, honey, oil, honey, cinnamon and baking soda. Add in flour, baking powder and salt.
I like using a Belgian waffle iron (it has deeper and wider pockets) better than a traditional waffle iron. For some reason, Belgian waffles just taste better….kind of like how ice cream tastes better in a pretty bowl, or yogurt tastes better eaten with a plastic spoon instead of a metal spoon.
Anyways, within 10 minutes you’ve got a hot, fresh, healthy and NON-PROCESSED breakfast ready to enjoy.
Top with a pat of butter, fresh fruit and maple syrup.
Top these with a pat of butter, maple syrup and fresh berries for a hearty meal.
I must say, these are the BEST waffles I’ve ever eaten! They taste better than any hotel breakfast or diner that I’ve ever been to.
Whole Wheat Waffles
Serves: 8 (4-inch square) waffles
Adapted from: 100 Days of Real Food
Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or you can use all skim milk)
3/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour (King Arthur)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
100% pure maple syrup, for serving
Fresh cut strawberries and blueberries, for serving
Instructions
Preheat your waffle iron.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, milks, oil, honey, cinnamon and baking soda until well combined.
Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk together until the large lumps disappear.
When the waffle iron is hot, dab it with a little butter and then ladle a scant 1/2 cup of batter (depending on the size of your waffle iron) onto the center of the iron. Follow the instructions that came with your waffle maker to know how long it should be cooked (ours takes about 3-4 minutes each).
Keep waffles warm until you finish cooking all of them. Top with pure maple syrup and fresh fruit.
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