Delaware Chews at Home French Toastananny

As much as I try to get the food photo before I start eating, sometimes I just can't wait.

French Toast in the morning is one of those times.

There are many ways to flavor up French Toast but what is most necessary is starting with the right bread and the right batter.  The right bread is your choice, I like a thick fresh potato style bread but wouldn't hesitate to use Rye if the French Toastananny mood strikes and that is what I have on hand.

I have also had it out at a restaurant with CHALLAH and it was YUMMY, but I can only think of one time a year when I MIGHT have challah in the house and the rest of the recipe would seem to be in conflict.

For the dipping batter I simply crack an egg into a bowl and add just enough milk to creep up the edges of the yolk. Scramble this up and give a few shakes of cinnamon.  Add a splash of vanilla and mix it in. All of the sudden I wonder what a splash of Cointreau might be like...will have to try this soon. This should be enough for two or three pieces of bread.  Warm and butter your pan in preparation.  DO NOT SOAK the bread...you do NOT want it to be soggy. 

When the butter has melted in your frying pan.  Press your first piece of bread into the batter and then turn so both side are covered.  Place in fry pan and repeat.  Fry to a golden  brown.

 

 

 

My mom used to fry one side each of two pieces, flip  and spread with a little cream cheese and jelly, then press the other piece cooked side on top of filling and continue to grill both sides.

I never really liked that all that much, but I do like a little ham and brie cheese grilled among two pieces making the most delicious 

 French Toastananny.

 The only way to finish this off is with REAL MAPLE SYRUP. 

Have a go at it...imagine up your own favorite ingredients to grill inside.

Double the batter and treat a loved one to this sensational weekend breakfast.

 

Foodie Friday Delaware Chews at Home

Winter time is a good time to have some basic ingredients available for making lasagna.
The sheets of lasagna that you can now bake without cooking shorten the process of preparing this classic meal on the front end -you don't have to boil the noodles- and on the back end, since you have one less pot to clean.  Bagged and shredded mixed Italian cheeses also saves time.
I had almost everything on hand except for Ricotta which I had to run out for.  I actually had some, but opened it to find out, I had it too long and it had already gone bad in the fridge.
I also had on hand 1 quart of Tomato Sauce in the freezer which I set out to defrost a day before preparing this meal.  Barillo pasta has been a staple in my house since seeing it on the restaurant shelves in Italy.  This lasagna will fill a 9x13 pan 4 across with 4 levels of noodles.

LasagNan

1 box no cook lasagna

1 quart tomato sauce

15 oz tub ricotta cheese
1 bag mixed Italian Cheeses mozzarella, provolone, parmesan
2 hand mound of fresh spinach stemmed and roughly chopped
1 roasted pepper (I pull it from a jar)
4-6 sundried tomatoes (also pulled from a jar with oil)
oregano
basil
Cayenne

Simply grab a few handfuls of the shredded cheese and mix it up with the Ricotta in a large bowl.  Add spinach and mix.  Chop the peppers and tomatoes, add to cheese mix finishing with herbs.

Layer 1 cup  sauce, 4 sheets noodle 1/3 cheese 3 times (make sure edges of noodles are moistened with sauce)
On your last layer of noodles spread the remaining sauce and sprinkle with shredded cheese from bag.
Cover and bake 45 minutes, uncover and bake till cheese on top is melted.

Now what makes this a delicious LasagNan is the very fact that I put in vegies I like, in this case the RED ones.  Not only the home made sauce in the freezer, but the selection of peppers sweet and hot, and the sundried tomatoes. Substitute some of your own favorite ingredients and vary the cheeses to individualize the lasagnas you make too....but don't call them LASAGNAN.

Foodie Friday Home Made Granolanan

I have been on a mission....it has to do with the SCALE...so there you have it.

I'm counting calories and steps.

Granola is expensive and at the Whole Earth Center in Princeton

where I purchased my last batch there is no bar code to scan.

I'm loving  the "Lose It" app on my I phone and can create my own recipes with a calorie count but I need the BAR CODE.

 

Granolanan

 

 

Here is the recipe and one of my tricks to make life easy.

 

 

 

Mix  in large bowl

3 cups oats

2 tbls brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

 

In small bowl blend

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

 

Pour over oats and mix well

 

Spread thin on a cookie sheet lined with one of those liners

 

Bake at 350 45 minutes or until golden brown

Let cool and separate if necessary.

 

1/2 to 1 cup of chopped pecans can be added at this time.

 

Simply lift silicone baking sheet from pan, fold, and pour into large Mason Jar...

store with cereals

 

 

1/2 cup serving is so delicious with an equal amount of vanilla yogurt, and comes in at about 350 calories but will keep you satisfied for a long while...add a handful of blueberries at hardly any calories at all for one of your daily fruits.

 

Ill be back with revisions of this one I'm sure...I want to try it with some ground flax and maple syrup substitute for some of the honey.