Peach French Toast Bake

I decided to make this for Easter brunch this past weekend and it was a great option for a breakfast casserole. In the past when I've made breakfast casseroles, I've usually done the ones with potatoes, eggs, meat, cheese and veggies and they've been delicious. This time, I was in the mood to try a new recipe and got this one from a friend through a post on facebook where I asked for input on people's favorite brunch items. If you are looking for an option that's a bit fruity, but not too sweet, then I'd recommend giving this one a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 large whole-wheat baguette (about 8 ounces)

8 eggs

1 cup low fat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen

1/2 lemon, juiced about 1 1/2 tablespoons

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Slice the baguette into 1/2-inch slices and arrange the slices in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan. In a medium bowl, toss peaches with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar. Scatter the peach slices evenly on top of the bread. Combine the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm with (or without) maple syrup.

Breakfast Success

After a long run on Saturday morning, I was really hungry - in fact I had pancakes on the brain. That's all I really wanted, but once I drove home from my run I wasn't in the mood to go drive back out to a restaurant, so I whipped up what ended up being one of my new favorite breakfast treats.

I surveyed the fridge and my plan was to make scrambled eggs with veggies and bacon. When I opened the vegetable drawer there sat a huge portabella mushroom that was totally calling my name! I sauteed that baby right up in some olive oil and threw some diced red onions and green pepper along side the mushroom cap and pulled them all off the heat once they were done. Trying to keep the dishes to a minimum, I wipped out the pan and scrambled up two eggs with a dash a black pepper. Once the eggs were ready, I added the veggies and some shredded mozzarella cheese and mixed that all together. When the cheese was melted, I topped the sauteed mushroom cap with the egg mixture and sprinkled on some more cheese and it was fantastic!

This was a really fast and easy breakfast to make. It also seems like a great way to come up with new ideas if you use the mushroom and eggs as starter ingredients...so many good combos come to mind - diced ham & cheddar cheese, spinach and feta, breakfast sausage with onions and peppers. Basically just pick some of your favorite omelet "fillers" and see what tasty combinations you enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Bread

I whipped up this delicious bread and I think it will be a big hit with JJ, who has been on a huge blueberry kick lately The recipe comes from the Joy of Baking website and it was very easy to follow. On the website you will find a extra step that calls for a glaze for the bread, I decided to skip this step, so that part of the recipe is not listed below.
Here's my take on the Lemon Blueberry Bread Loaf:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1/2 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inch).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Ta-Dah - now I think a slice of this bread would be a great way to start your day - Enjoy!

Banana Muffins

This week we had a few left over bananas in the fruit bowl, so I thought in honor of Earth Day today, I'd bake up some banana muffins - instead of throwing 3 bananas in the trash. (See how I tied that one together!)

I used the recipe below from allrecipes.com:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

I had a few dried cranberries in the pantry, so I threw a few of those into the last bit of batter. Lots of recipes call for chopped walnuts, which sounds good - if you are a nut lover; me - not so much. I was intrigued by the recipes that added chocolate chips - which is totally more my style, maybe I'll add those next time!