Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast

As avid fans of the Food Network, my husband and I have really been enjoying the new show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" from the Food Network Stars. Recently there was an episode about breakfast foods and the one that Bobby Flay talked about just made my stomach growl. I had to try it.

Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

6 slices day-old white or wheat bread
1 to 2 ripe bananas
8 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash salt
Butter or oil, for frying
Powdered sugar, for topping
Maple Syrup, for topping

Method:

Lay out the pieces of bread and spread out the peanut butter on each slice. Top every other piece of bread with slices of banana. Combine to make the sandwiches.

In a shallow medium sized bowl, gently whip, by hand, the eggs, cream, vanilla, rum, cinnamon and salt.

Heat skillet to medium heat, around 350 to375 degrees F, or until butter melts and begins to sizzle. Dip 1 sandwich at a time into rum batter and place into skillet. Cook until golden brown (about 3 to 4 minutes before turning) on each side. Remove from skillet and cut in 1/2 diagonally. Top with powdered sugar, butter and maple syrup.


Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast

The Verdict: Well it was good, but it was really rich. I think I added too much peanut butter. I will use less next time. I also forgot the nutmeg the original recipe calls for, so I'd use their recipe instead of my recipe! Definitely will play with this one and perfect it sometime!

French Toast, Bacon and Hash Browns

With this year being James' first Father's Day, I wanted to make him a special breakfast. Normally he makes breakfast every Sunday morning, but I got up extra early and made a big pitcher of orange juice, French toast, fried some bacon and a skillet of hash browns. It's a meal that warms your tummy as well as your heart. It's also great on a cold night for dinner (not the case here, in July...in Louisiana!).

French Toast

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
a few shakes of nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
a dash of salt
6 slices Texas Toast

Method:

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the two eggs. Add in vanilla, milk and seasonings. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, spray with additional cooking spray (I know some say not to do this, but it works for me!). When heated, dip slices of toast in the liquid, then place on the skillet. Let cook until brown and then flip. Repeat with remaining slices of toast.

Top with butter, syrup or powdered sugar.

I serve this with fried bacon slices and hash browns. I reserve 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the bacon drippings and 2-3 strips of bacon, crumbled for the hash browns.

Christen's Hash Browns

Ingredients:

1/2 bag Ore Ida Southern Style Hash Browns, defrosted
crumbled bacon
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
Seasonings to taste, I like Tony's seasoning, salt, garlic and onion powders.
Reserved bacon drippings.

Method:

Heat bacon drippings over medium heat. When warmed, add the onions and garlic and saute till tender. Add the potatoes and bacon. Cook, stirring often, until potatoes are crisping. Serve warm.



The verdict: This is awesome! My husband doesn't really care for sweet stuff for breakfast, but even he loves the French Toast. The potatoes are fantastic, what makes it even better if if you have some leftover from a crawfish or crab boil. But the Ore Ida do in a pinch ;)

Olive Cheese Bread

This fabulous concoction comes from one of the best cooking websites there is, The Pioneer Woman. I am one who thinks that olives are the best thing since sliced bread...so what better to pair them with than bread? And cheese just puts it over the top! The photography on PW's website are just great, I'd love her camera! On her site, she explains how you can flash freeze the bread to serve at a later date. I definitely think I will do this with small pieces, so I can pull out to go with dinners for Hubby and I.

Olive Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

1 loaf fresh French Bread, cut into two halves
1/2 cup real mayo
green onions, chopped
1 6 oz. can black olives
1 6 oz. can green olives
1 pkg. finely shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 stick butter, softened

In a bowl, combine butter, mayo and cheese. Coarsely chop both black and green olives and add to bowl. Add green onions and mix well. Spread mixture generously over French Bread and bake at 325 for 25 minutes or until cheese is turning golden and melted through. Cut into small portions.


The Ingredients


The olive cheese mixture





I couldn't wait till tonight to try this so I cut the end off of the loaf and made myself a sample to go with my leftover French Onion Soup for lunch (see previous recipe). Here is what my sample looked like!

Verdict: OMG! This is heaven! I thought I'd cheat and buy the already chopped can of black olives and will not do that again next time. They were chopped too fine and I'd rather them be chopped more coarsely. But this is fantastic, you MUST try it!