Breakfast Doughnuts

Time to think about MY blog a little differently!  I cook so many wonderful things without a recipe and yet they don't make it to my blog or my cookbook because I think others can't replicate them without measurements and exact directions.  I've decided that if people can see pictures on Pinterest and replicate them from that, they can have ingredients and directions and go from there if they happen to visit me here!  That being said, here's the first with no exact measurements!

Barry's working nights again, giving me the great opportunity to expand my breakfast repertoire!  This creation was probably one of the best!  With canned biscuits left over from the camping trip, I let my imagination soar and this is what I came up with!

Breakfast Doughnuts
  1 can grand biscuits
  Crumbled bacon
  Scrambled Eggs
  Shredded cheese

Use two biscuits for one doughnut.  Put them between wax paper and roll them out into flat circles.  Use a small round cookie cutter or something else small and round to cut a hole in the center of each flat circle.  Now, on one of the rounds, place a little bit of cheese, bacon and scrambled egg.  Like this:

Now comes the challenging part!  Put the empty round on the filled round and press all the seams together really good.  Pinching lightly, patting and turning all work pretty good!  The outside is easy, the inside circle a little tricky but make sure you get it sealed up really good or the cheese will ooze out!  Fry this doughy creature in a pan of oil heated to medium heat.  Turn it frequently so it cooks evenly and doesn't burn on any side.



Now whip up a maple glaze with some powdered sugar, maple syrup and milk.  Just a little of each, you don't need too much.  Make it nice and thick so it doesn't all slide off your hot doughnut!  And here's what you end up with:

The inside will stay hot for quite awhile so be careful with that first bite!  And the outside stays crunchy even after it was reheated!  Surprise!  These are fun and delicious so enjoy - even without an exact recipe!

Recognition

Everybody needs a little recognition don't they? Those of us that love being in the kitchen and putting forth beautiful plates and bowls of food love that recognition - at least I do! I'm so excited to get that through my blog for the first time! A friend of mine read my last blog about my Mother's Day brunch and asked for one of the recipes I included in the list of menu items! Somebody besides my husband read my blog!! How exciting!

So here it is, the requested recipe!

Lemon Panini French Toast
12 slices of French Bread
1/2 cup egg beaters
1/4 cup evaporated milk, fat free
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
3 tbsp sugar
Squeeze of fresh lemon

Lemon Curd
1 oz butter
1/2 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup egg beaters

Lemon Curd (can be made ahead of time): in a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook on high about 2 minutes, stirring halfway through. The butter should be melted and the sugar dissolved. Whisk in the egg beaters and microwave 30 seconds. The curd should be thickened, if not, microwave an additional 15 seconds. (There will be leftover lemon curd for another use).

Preheat the oven to 200F. Place a baking sheet in the oven. Mix the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of the lemon curd. Divide between half of the slices of bread and spread to the edges. Top with the remaining slices of bread. Whisk the egg beaters, evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla extract. Coat the bottom and top of the panini grill with cooking spray. Working in batches, dip each sandwich in the egg mixture to coat both sides. Cook until golden brown. Do not press down on the grill! Transfer the grilled French toast to the warmed backing sheet and keep warm in the low oven. In a small saucepan, combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until thickened. Serve over French toast.

Although they may appear sweet, these are light and not nearly as sweet as we expected. I guess that's what made them so perfect! The cream cheese combined with the lemon curd is the perfect texture and combines well with the fruit topping. Put the syrup away - you definitely won't need any!

As for Weight Watchers and counting my points, well, what can I say except that it was Mother's Day!! I did calculate though and each full French Toast with the fruit topping was 8 points plus. That's not too bad if that's all I ate for breakfast!

Thank you for reading my blog, it makes me smile!

Doing What We Love

I love Mother's Day! Not only do I get to celebrate my mother, and celebrate with her, I get to be celebrated as well! For many, this means you don't have to go anywhere near your kitchen! For me, it means I get the opportunity to STAY in my kitchen, undisturbed, creating, playing and doing exactly what I love to do!

This year I was able to share some extraordinary delights with my mother and family, including my very dear friend Jackie! I created a brunch that had a little bit of everything for everybody and the menu went something like this....

Lemon Curd French Toast Panini ~ Sausage Gravy ~ Potato Roast ~ Tuscan Baked Eggs
Strawberry Strata ~ Son-In-Law Eggs ~ Crescent Rolls

For this post, I'm going to highlight the strangest and newest creation because it gave me the greatest pleasure to create and sample. A popular street fare in Thailand is now a treat at home!

Son-In-Law Eggs
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 tsp chopped lemon grass
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 lime, juiced
6 eggs, soft boiled
2 tbsp peanuts, chopped
1 green onion, sliced

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, reduce half of the can of coconut milk until it splits into oil. Add the curry paste and the lemongrass to the oil and cook for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat and add the rest of the coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the sauce is a creamy consistency. Keep sauce warm.
Heat a couple of inches of oil in a small saucepan over high heat. Once heated carefully add two eggs at a time to the oil and fry until the outer white turns golden brown and expands int a crisp honeycomb texture. Placed fried eggs on a paper towel prior to placing in a small serving dish. Spoon on prepared sauce, sprinkle with chopped peanuts and green onion.

I tell people about these eggs and they look at me like I was crazy for deep frying the egg - I thought I was too! Who ever heard of such a thing? Not to mention deep frying anything is pretty much never mentioned in this house!

It being Mother's Day and all - yes, I used every extra point I had and probably points leftover from last week and the week before! This one tasty, delightful morsel alone is 8 points plus per warm, comfortable egg!

Note: This is a bit spicy! Okay, it's a lot spicy! Use less curry paste to tone down the heat but I wouldn't omit it completely.

Cooking For One

No, not me! Everybody knows I cook for a minimum of 6 every night - adding to that, the requirement for two leftover lunches and everything I do is for 8!

Wait a minute... breakfast and lunch! I cook for one twice a day!

Couple of things going on today that made me title this the way I did... the realization that I've lost 32 pounds is starting to sink in and the conversation I had with a friend last night. Both of those made me realize how important cooking is in my life. My friend was telling me about the horrible frozen lasagna she had (I witnessed her purchasing it at the grocery store) and the fact that she had chicken nuggets for dinner on Cinco de Mayo... both devastating tragedies! Her excuse was that it was too hard cooking for one. I'm here to prove her wrong!

Breakfast Tostada

1 corn tortilla
3 tbsp re-fried beans, fat free
2 tbsp cheddar cheese, shredded, low fat
1 egg
1 tsp sour cream, fat free
Salsa or tomato slice

Spray a small non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Heat the skillet to medium and add the corn tortilla. Spray the exposed side of the tortilla lightly with cooking spray. In order to get a perfect texture and color, turn the tortilla frequently, over and over. Also, press down on the tortilla with a spatula as the tortilla will rise up in the middle. When the tortilla is golden and crispy remove to a paper towel. In the same skillet, fry the egg to your liking. While the egg is frying, heat the re-fried beans in the microwave for 30-45 seconds and spread on the tortilla. Sprinkle the beans with 1 tbsp of the cheese. Place the fried egg on top of the cheese, sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with tomato and sour cream.

A delicious breakfast cooked for one in about 5 minutes! Add to that the fact that it's only 4 points plus and the understanding of the weight loss comes into full focus. Cooking for one is actually pretty easy... just takes imagination, food in the pantry and plenty of plastic containers to save the portions of food not used!

Celebrations With Food

I cook all the time and definitely don't need a special occasion to make special food. I love the creative process and the billions of tastes and flavor combinations that happen in the kitchen no matter what the celebration, holiday or occasion.

It's Easter time and of course that means another holiday event that has it's traditional menu of family favorites and traditions. Why deviate? I've tried the deviation route and it failed miserably - why do it? To me and my family, the food served on Easter Sunday must resemble brunch served sometime around 11:00 and then a Ham dinner. Easy enough right? Nobody has any other expectations than that so as long as I stick to those simple rules everybody will be happy and I can create to my hearts content!

Brunch - big or small? This year - small and late! We had a wonderful evening with friends the night before which required a return trip to bed after sunrise service! Late or not, the family raved over our small brunch and we'll definitely be repeating it.

Healthified Monkey Bread

1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cans Pillsbury reduced-fat biscuits
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup fat-free caramel topping
2 tsp vanilla

Heat the oven to 350. Spray a 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with cooking spray. In a 1-gallon resealable food storage plastic bag, mix the sugar and cinnamon. Separate both cans of dough into 16 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Add biscuit pieces to sugar mixture. Seal the bag and shake to coat. Layer biscuit pieces and pecans in the prepared pan. In a small bowl, mix the caramel topping and vanilla. Pour over the biscuit pieces. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in the center. Invert onto a serving platter and serve warm. (Serves 16)

This yummy treat is 6 points-plus for four pieces (a full biscuit). Although that's quite a few points for only one part of brunch, it's substantially less than the "real stuff" and yet has all the flavor and warmth. Can't wait to make this one in the Dutch oven while camping!

And now for the main event!!

Maple Sausage & Waffle Casserole

6 homemade waffles, using fat free mix
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
8 links turkey breakfast sausage
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, 2%
6 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup, sugar free
2 cups milk, 2%
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the sausage from casings and brown in a skillet until no longer pink, drain on paper towels. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onions, peppers and celery until softened. Transfer to the bowl with the sausage. Coat an 11x8 inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Cut the waffles in half and arrange 6 halves to cover the bottom. There will be some space between the halves. Sprinkle the waffles with half the sausage mixture and half the cheese. Repeat the layer with the remaining waffles, sausage and cheese. Whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl with the syrup, salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the waffle layers. Bake 45 to 50 minutes until the edges are puffy. Cool 5 minutes and serve. (Serves 10)

At only 5 points-plus per serving this sweet and savory breakfast casserole will please everybodys palate!

And that's it! Believe it or not, that's all we had for brunch this year and everybody was very satisfied! Nope - no eggs Benedict, no fruit with the chocolate fountain and no seafood selection. Plain and simple - perfectly delicious!

Hurry and clean up - almost time to start dinner!