FRENCH TOAST DIPPERS

This is a fun and interesting twist to the classic french toast. French toast or eggy bread is a dish made by dipping bread (usually stale bread) in beaten eggs and fried. This is my recipe of making french toast as a sweet dish making use of cinnamon, vanilla essence and sugar and served with a crème fraîche and macerated strawberry sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 100ml crème fraîche
• Punnet of strawberries
• 4 brioche bread rolls
• 2 eggs
• 60ml whole milk

How to prepare:

-The first thing I make is the cinnamon sugar, this is typically made by mixing 1/4 cup of caster sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (I use caster sugar because it has a much finer grain). I usually make a lot of this and store in a air tight container at room temperature.

 

-Wash, hull and slice strawberries add remaining 1/4 cup of caster sugar and lemon juice and mix until strawberries are completely coated with sugar and leave for 30 minutes. Stir strawberries through crème fraîche.

-Prepare the bread, I made use of stale brioche bread rolls cut in half. Any bread can be used to make this toast, if using sliced bread remove crust and slice into strips.

-In a bowl crack eggs add milk, vanilla extract and remaining 1 tsp of cinnamon, beat until well combined.

-Place a pan over medium heat and add a knob of butter.

-Dunk each piece of bread into egg mixture soaking both sides. Remove and place on a wire rack sprinkle cinnamon sugar over top.

-Place in a pan  and fry till a golden cinnamon sugar crust forms, flip only once and fry other side  until golden brown.

-Serve in a plate with a dusting of cinnamon sugar and a scoop of  strawberry crème fraîche.

BREAKFAST CUPCAKES

This past Saturday I decided to be creative and make these very delicious breakfast cupcakes.
Now cupcakes may not seem exactly like an ideal breakfast food but don't knock it till you try it, its the perfect combination of all your favourite breakfast foods.

Ingredients

• 3 slices of Bacon
• 6 Slices of Ham
• 2 Potatoes
• 6 Eggs
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

 How to prepare:

-Peel and slice potatoes in to medallions place in a pot of water and boil until potatoes are soft.

-Slice bacon into bits and fry as preferred (I do not like my bacon too crispy so I did not fry for too long).

-Grease a cupcake tray properly, this is a necessary step because these cupcakes tend to stick a little.

-Place one piece of ham into the bottom of the cupcake tray, add boiled potatoes and cooked bacon bits.

-Crack one egg into each cup (to prevent shells from breaking into eggs I break into a separate bowl and poured into cupcake tray). You can also scramble eggs before pouring into cups.

-Season with salt and pepper as desired and place in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees for 14 to 18 minutes. If you prefer your egg whites a little runny serve at this point, I like mine cooked through so I baked for 20 minutes after baking I covered my cupcakes with foil paper and left for five minutes before serving.

I served these delicious cupcakes with a couple of grilled sausages and chicken dippers.

BACON AND EGG SALAD SANDWICH

This is a super simple yet delicious and easy lunch recipe idea. It's quick and easy to make and most, if not all, of the ingredients are readily available. It's packed with protein which will help you power through the rest of your day.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 3 slices of bacon
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/8 tsp mild curry powder
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 8 slices white bread
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Recipe

-Place eggs in a saucepan cover with cold water and simmer on low heat for about 15mins. Immediately drain and place hard boiled eggs in a bowl filled with ice water to cool the eggs down and peel the shell (This is an important step which prevents the greenish “ring” from forming on the surface of the yolk over time).

-Chop the eggs and place aside.

-Add bacon strips in cold frying pan and turn heat to medium-low, cooking this way allows as much fat as possible to be removed off the bacon without burning it. Turn constantly to cook both sides (if too much fat collects on the pan you will have to drain it). Depending on how thick the slices are the bacon usually takes 10-15 mins to get done. When finished place on paper towels and allow to cool down and then crisp up, the paper towel helps absorbe any excess fat. Crumble up and set aside.

-In a bowl, combine chopped eggs,mayonnaise, mustard, black pepper and curry powder and mix together well. Stir in crumbled bacon bits and mix well.

-Toast bread slices. Spread egg salad on four pieces of bread and top with remaining bread. Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

(This makes 4 sandwiches) 

Tips

To make an healthier option

-Ditch half the yolks, when making 6 eggs set aside 3 of the yolks. 

-Substitute sliced whole wheat bread or 100% wheat bread for the sliced white bread.

-Instead of using mayonnaise, mix nonfat yogurt and low-fat mayo and use crumbled bits of turkey bacon.

-Making use of fresh vegetables also add great texture to the salad, you can layer lettuce, egg salad and tomato slices on bread before topping with another bread slice.