Stuffed French Toast

Let's face it, even though I love to cook and bake, there are times I just don't want to make dinner. Whether it's a time thing or a lazy thing, but sometimes I don't want to cook anything even if it's already been planned.

Enter the time-saver: Breakfast for Dinner.

I know this isn't breaking news. Every one has breakfast for dinner, right? But sometimes I feel guilty making plain ol' pancakes (again) or boring frozen waffles (even if I try to jazz them up with peanut butter or something).

My favorite thing to do lately is Stuffed French Toast. The best thing about this meal is that you can tailor this to each person's likes and dislikes. You can make them sweet or savory and just have fun with it. And it was easy to throw together. I had everything in my pantry and refrigerator ready to go and it was on the table so fast. This is also super easy for breakfast, so maybe surprise your family one morning!

Here I did whipped cream cheese (easier to spread) and strawberry jam, drizzled with Nutella and topped with powdered sugar. Hey, I never said it was super duper healthy. Serve with a side of fruit and you'll feel better :)

Some other stuffing ideas:

 PB&J

peanut butter and Nutella

marshmallow creme and Nutella

Fluffernutter (marshmallow creme and PB)

cheese and bacon

bacon, tomato and avocado (savory Stuffed French Toast!)

The possibilities are endless. Just use what you have and top it off with what you want.

Start with your ingredients. Some of the ingredients might be tricky to keep in (tomato, bacon, etc) but I'll just show what I did. I smeared cream cheese on both sides (A) because it's good and (B) because it makes a good "glue" for everything. Then I added some jelly. 

Smoosh together and dip in your egg mixture. Use both hands and be kind of careful, You basically want to make sure the egg doesn't get inside the filling since that party won't really be getting cooked, just warmed.

And I love using Texas Toast for my French toast! It's thick and yummy. I use Franz bread here in the NW, but any thick sliced bread will do.

Spray your pan with Pam (or whatever spray works for you) and cook on both sides until golden brown.

Yummmm. Something about cream cheese and jam oozing out of my French toast is delightful. And Nutella really brings everything up a notch, doesn't it?

Stuffed French Toast

by Girls in Aprons

6 eggs

splash of milk

dash of cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

Put ingredients together in a shallow bowl (I use a pie dish) and wisk with a fork until combined.

Texas Toast (or other thick sliced bread)

Whipped cream cheese

Strawberry Jam

Nutella

Powdered Sugar

Heat your pan to medium heat and spray your with nonstick cooking spray.

Start with two slices of bread and smear some cream cheese on each slice, top one slice with jam and press the two sides together. Carefully dip each side of the "sandwich" into your egg mixture, making sure not to get the egg into the cream cheese/jam.

 Place your French Toast onto the pan, cooking each side until golden brown. Top with a drizzle of Nutella and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Serves 4-6

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

Ever thought of something and smacked yourself, "Why didn't I think about that before?!" It happens to me a lot :)

I was at work and a friend was talking about the amazingness of Nutella. Because it really is amazing. And we were wishing it was calorie free. I told her that my son only eats peanut butter sandwiches if they include Nutella. Her husband dips his fruit into Nutella...and therefore counteracting anything healthy and low-calorie about his snack. Her favorite was dipping bananas in Nutella and then freezing it.

Gasp. Frozen Nutella banana. Dipped in crushed hazelnuts. I just died.

Nutella...with a bananas....

That's it! Why haven't I thought about this before (as I smack myself in the head)?! I can't really call it Nutella banana bread because I use the Kroger brand that is about a dollar cheaper and tastes just as delicious. And one of my tips...don't mash your bananans. I used a large bowl with egg beaters (as opposed to my Kitchenaid which was being used for cookie dough) and just threw the peeled bananas in. The beaters mash up some of the bananas and cut the rest into pea-size amounts. The best bites contain warm banana bits and Nutella. And then I have this urge not to share any of it.

Can you kind of see how the chocolate hazelnut spread kind of marbles? I just stick a butter knife in the loaf pan and swirl in around (usually I play and spell my name) and it moves the batter and spread around in a marble effect.

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread
by Girls in Aprons

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
5 overripe bananas
1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella), microwaved until warm (about 15 seconds)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans or place cupcake liners in a muffin tin.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in vanilla, eggs, and overripe bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour half of the batter into prepared loaf pan or muffin tins. Drizzle half of the chocolate hazelnut spread over the batter and repeat with the batter and spread. Using a knife, make zig-zag patterns in the batter. This will incorporate the chocolate hazelnut spread into a marble pattern.

Bake in preheated oven for 2 hours, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.