Take that french toast and stuff it!

I stayed at a bed and breakfast recently, and the innkeeper made french toast stuffed with fruit filling... inspiration!

So, for this Saturday's breakfast I decided to relive the experience and share with the family:

French Toast stuffed with Caramelized Bananas

Let me just say, it was waaaaaay better than I thought it would be - the warm buttery sweet caramel flavor with bursts of banana, cinnamon and vanilla, encased within fluffy french toast... NOM NOM NOM... It was also incredibly simple and quick.

A couple of notes:

1) I would definitely use a large, crusty loaf of French bread cut into slices of 1-inch thickness, makes the splitting/stuffing much easier.
2) I intentionally did not use super ripe bananas, as I find overly-ripe bananas tend to overpower every other flavor in a recipe. But to each his own.
3) I did not use as much sugar as a similar recipe called for, so it was just lightly sweet - increase amount of brown sugar for extra sweetness (but to no more than 1 cup).
4) Use a bread knife or some kind of serrated knife to slice the cooked french toast - it was still a little difficult, so if you have any suggestions on how to do this without burning fingers, let me know!

So, here it is - let me know how it turns out, and anything you would do to improve it.

French Toast stuffed with Caramelized Bananas - Serves 4

French Toast:
- 8 thick slices French bread cut into 1-inch thickness
- 3 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon/sugar mixture
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, for frying

Caramelized Bananas:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 bananas, diced
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of cinnamon

1) Heat a large skillet and small skillet on medium heat. In a medium sized bowl, combine eggs, milk, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, cinnamon/sugar mixture, and salt and whisk until well combined. When large skillet is hot, melt butter to grease the pan. While the butter melts, begin dipping pieces of bread into the egg mixture, allowing a few seconds for the bread slice to absorb the egg. Immediately place in hot skillet to cook, cooking each side for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.

2) While french toast is cooking, begin cooking the bananas. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in the smaller skillet, and let the butter heat until very lightly brown. Add the bananas and vanilla and stir constantly until the banana pieces sizzle and begin to caramelize (about 5 minutes). Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, and stir gently until the sugar melts.

3) Slice hot french toast in half lengthwise (see photo). Spoon bananas into center of french toast and close. Serve hot, and with a sprinkle of powdered sugar if the spirit leads.

Homemade Granola Bars

So, I used to spend a small fortune in commercial granola bars. No longer! A couple of years ago I found an incredibly easy recipe on allrecipes.com, and I will never go back. It's easy, economical, and endless in possibilities!

Granola bar day at the Shaw house is always a happy day. It begins with a quick rummage of the pantry for any nuts and dried fruits that will inevitably go into the bars. I've used peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, dried fruit bites from the baby snack aisle (prechopped, can it GET any better??), you name it.

Today was a very good rummage day... because Gracie and I made these:

Cranberry chocolate hazelnut granola bars.

I know. Shut. UP.

This is too good of a recipe NOT to be shared, so here it is. Just a note for today's featured bars: I omitted the cinnamon and vanilla, and for the "mixin's" I just used 1 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, 1 cup dried cranberries, and 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Just a note: in case there are those who aren't thrilled with the idea of using sweetened condensed milk (FYI: it literally only has two ingredients - milk and sugar, who knew??), I've heard that honey works well - haven't tried it yet, will probably alter the flavor a bit. Just be sure to substitute something sticky (and sweet!) to help give the granola bars form and flavor.

Basic Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups quick cook oats
1/2 cup butter (one stick), melted
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts (peanuts, almonds, etc)
1 cup sunflower seeds (sometimes substitute pecan bits)
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, chopped apricots or apples, etc)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1) Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Line large cookie sheet with foil and lightly grease foil with cooking spray. Set aside.
2) Combine all ingredients until well mixed. Pour oat mixture onto greased cookie sheet and press flat into pan.
3) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them. Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.

Happy granola making, and remember: silence can be bought.

Pancakes = Happiness

For almost as long as we've been a family, we've had a tradition of making Saturday a special morning where Jason or I prepare a hot breakfast for the family.

This morning, I decided to put a pitiful, lonely, almost too-ripe banana out of his misery by making him a part of the breakfast festivities. Here is what I came up with:

Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a medium/large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
2. In second smaller bowl, combine milk, egg, vanilla, oil, and banana. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine until just moistened. Fold in pecan bits and chocolate chips.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. Enjoy!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

...but muffins are so delightful!


I was inspired this morning to whip together some warm muffins to fend off the winter chill. What I love about muffins is that they are really quick and easy to make, and that you can add almost anything to them (fruit, nuts, cheese, meat... you name it).

This morning, I had pecans and dried cranberries on hand so... surprise! Cranberry pecan muffins - lightly sweet, more like fruity bread loaves. Here's the recipe in case you need some help fighting the brrrrs.

Cranberry Pecan Muffins
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk (or rice milk)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted, or oil
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
dusting of powdered sugar (optional) - gives a little more sweet

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line them with paper bake cups.
2) In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.
3) In another medium bowl stir together egg, milk, brown sugar, and butter/oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy - stirring too much will make your muffins tough). Fold in dried fruit and nuts.
4)Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done (if a toothpick is inserted into center of muffin and toothpick comes out clean). Dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Makes 12.