Bonnie's Doughnut French Toast

The following is the full on just gotta do it right Doughnut French Toast. Just like a warm jelly doughnut fresh from the bakery...except that it's a lot less fatty. In the Notes section are suggestions for changes to make a light version for those days when you want flavor, but feel more virtuous.

The nutrition facts for both the full tilt deliciousness and the light version await you at Calorie Count!

serving suggestion: sliced mixed berries

Doughnut French Toast

Serves two

Ingredients:

4 thick slices of bread
2 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 T butter
2 T sugar
1 pint strawberries
1 t lemon juice
4 T sugar, powdered or granulated

Directions:

Whip the eggs, vanilla, and milk together in a bowl. Soak the bread and use up every last little bit of the good stuff.

While the bread soaks, put the sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice in a blender and give it a good spin.

In a pan, melt the butter over medium heat and fry up the french toast till nice and brown, dredge each peace in a little sugar (or sprinkle with powdered sugar), and top with the strawberry mix..

Notes:

To make this much lighter, use egg substitute, fry up in a spray of oil or Pam, use the sugar substitute of your preference, or simply leave the strawberries unblended and ladle over the toast in slices.

Laura's Experimental Crunchy Almond Butter Granola Bars

Easily varied to your taste for a delicious snack or quick breakfast. This recipe is currently under construction and testing, but the most recent version (below) was pronounced DELICIOUS! The bar does not yet quite hold together, but was so tasty the testers were picking up each crumb.

If you would like to collaborate with us on this recipe, give it a try with modifications you think necessary to make the bar stay together but not be like a rock, then post your suggestions below.

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count!

Crunchy Almond Butter Granola Bars

makes 12 bars

Ingredients:

3 1/2 T chunky almond butter
3 T. honey
3 1/2 T pure maple syrup
1 T vanilla
1 T brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Kashi Go Lean cereal (not the crunchy type)
1/2 cup bran cereal
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not the quick-cook kind)
1/3 cup dried fruit such as cranberries or blueberries
1/3 cup salted sunflower seeds
1-2 t cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.

8- or 9-inch square pan lined with a long sheet of parchment paper that extends up the side of the pan a bit and then lightly sprayed with Pam.

In a medium pot, warm almond butter, honey, syrup, vanilla, and brown sugar until sugar has melted and almond butter has thinned. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients and sprinkle with cinnamon. Pour warm liquid over the dry ingredients, mixing well.

Spread the mixture into the pan and press well (use a piece of parchment paper. Bake for about 25 minutes. When you remove the pan from the oven, use a piece of parchment paper to flatten the bars a bit. Allow to cool completely. Lisft the ends of the parchment and place the granola onto a cutting board and cut into bars or squares.

Note:

substitute your favorite nut butters, syrups, cereals, dried fruit, seeds, or nuts. Try it with a bit of coconut either raw or toasted.

Meganr's Frittata with Broccoli and Mushrooms

The nutrition facts for this wonderful frittata that can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner can be found at Calorie Count!

Frittata with Broccoli and Mushrooms

four servings

Ingredients:

6  eggs (at room temperature)

¼ cup  water

¼ cup  mustard (a spicy brown type or Dijon)

½ tsp  oregano, dried

½ tsp  basil, dried

3  garlic cloves, minced

6 tbsp  Parmesan cheese

½ cup  tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups  broccoli, cut into small pieces

¾ cup  mushrooms, sliced

½ cup  onions, minced (or 2 green onions)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 500 F.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, water, mustard, herbs and garlic. Add the Parmesan and tomatoes and mix well.

In a large skillet (see above, cast-iron is great), saute the broccoli and onions in the olive oil for 3 - 5 minutes, until mostly tender. Add the mushrooms and saute for another 3 minutes.

Before adding the egg mixture to the pan, make sure the saute mixture is evenly spread out. Then add the egg mixture, but do NOT mix or scramble, and cook for about 6 - 9 minutes or until the edges of the frittata are starting to separate from the sides of the pan.

At that point, put the pan directly into the oven and bake for another 5 minutes or so, until the center of the frittata is fully cooked. Remove from the oven.

Cut into four wedges.