French Toast Friday: Poppy Seed Cake French Toast

French Toast Friday

This is the first in a French Toast Series. This is NOT Weight Watchers Points Plus friendly, so I have not included the Points Plus values. I may make a few WW French Toast recipes...but these first few...are definitely not good for anyone's diet. But they are so amazing!

I could show you how to make basic plain ole' boring French Toast...but then I wouldn't be QUIRKY breakfast...I would be BORING breakfast. And that's just not right. So without further ado, I give you an overindulgence of French Toast JOY!

Poppy Seed Cake French Toast

So you're going to need to start with Poppy Seed Cake. There are a couple of ways that you can do this.

1. In order to ensure that you have the exact same recipe as me, you should have an aunt who bakes delicious poppy seed cake for Polish Christmas Eve.  Which I happen to have had this past Christmas, and many Christmases of my childhood. 
2. If you DON'T have an aunt who bakes you poppy seed cake, FEAR NOT! You can bake the exact same cake at home. All you need is the secret recipe. Which is printed on the back of the Solo Poppy Seed Filling Can Label... Or found on the Solo website.
3. I realize that this is a lot of work to put into breakfast...but I mean come on, it's AMAZING French Toast. But I guess if you're REALLY FREAKIN' LAZY, you can go buy a poppy seed cake from Dominick's or whatever grocery store you shop at. Lazy.

After you've got your poppy seed cake, you'll need 2 slices (about a half inch thick each), 1 egg, and 1/3 cup milk. What's that you say? Only 3 ingredients? Yep. It's easy. So stop being lazy and make the damn cake like a boss.

How to Make Poppy Seed Cake French Toast

1. First, turn the stove onto medium heat with a non-stick pan
2. Then, mix the eggs and milk together in a bowl. 

1. Next, dip the slices of poppy seed cake into the egg mixture, properly wetting both sides 

1.  Put slices on pan

Shown here with Almond Pound Cake French Toast

1. After a minute or two (when the bottom is properly browned), flip the French Toast to brown the other side.
2. This really doesn't need syrup, but if you want to add it, by all means, go for it. 
3. Enjoy. 

Also shown here with Almond Pound Cake French Toast

Isn't French Toast easy?

What types of French Toast do you make?

4 Points for Bacon and Brie on Weight Watchers

Yesterday, I lost my job. Which, of course, means there will be more time to write. But it also means that I have no valuable source of income. Which isn't fun. But life goes on, and I know that I will find another job that I love. My best friend told me that if anyone can pick themselves up by the bootstraps, it's me. So after a few Imperial Stouts, a pile of loaded nachos, and some cheesecake at Two Brothers Roundhouse, last night...I went to bed stuffed and happy (and maybe a little tipsy).

So this morning, I weighed in at my second Weight Watchers meeting. I lost 4.4 lbs! I lost a small percentage of my body and one daily point target point. And this is just the beginning! Of course, after weighing in, one doesn't want to eat a big breakfast. I'm always inspired to eat something really healthy and small. So I had a banana and a bowl of Rice Krispies. (Hello 4 point breakfast!)

But that's boring. So it's a good thing that I took a picture of yesterday's breakfast for you! It was also only 4 points...So maybe I should have just made this guy!I was trying to make up for my relatively "bad" week. I had eaten my fair share on New Year's Eve and Monday--oh GAWD...Monday...

Monday, we went to Mon Ami Gabi for their New Year's Brunch. An off-the-menu selection of French delicacies, I was in heaven...the BF was not so much. But he survived. And we got $50 in gift cards to come back! Yay! We started with the warm Brie cheese (can you tell I'm on a Brie kick?) served with roasted garlic, hazelnuts (ick), and drizzled with honey. Oh gawd so good! I had a Bloody Mary from the Bloody Mary Bar--mix, seasonings, hot sauces, olives, blue cheese stuffed olives, roasted red peppers, lemon, lime, celery, and cheese! :D Yes! Then for actual meal, I had a Quiche Lorraine. I'd been craving this for a while, hence the other day's Omelet Lorraine. It was decadent. I was bad. Weight Watchers would not have been proud. But I still lost this week so yay me! (I did try really hard to get my activity in to consume these extra points).

That being said, here's a healthy recipe/substitute for decadence. :D Enjoy.

Weight Watchers Bacon & Brie Omelet

• 2 egg whites
• 1 slice bacon, cooked and crumbled
• .5 oz brie
• 1 apple
• fresh ground Cinnamon

 

 I had cooked up the entire lb of bacon to save it for use throughout the week. This works for me, but some people may be tempted to eat all of the pieces in one sitting. Don't fall to temptation! Use the egg whites mixed with bacon to make your omelet, and fold it over a small slice of brie (that melts perfectly and spreads itself pretty evenly). Serve with the apple cored and sprinkled with fresh ground cinnamon.

I really enjoyed this one, and will definitely be making it again.

Weight Watchers Points Plus Breakfast

So I went to my first meeting last week. Yep, a real Weight Watchers meeting. It's been a while since I did the online thing WITH the meetings, and this time it's going to stick. I'm ashamed to say that I am the heaviest that I have ever been, and it's time for a change. In college I lost almost 50 lbs doing the WW plan, so this time I'm going to keep it all off. The new plan is different--more carb based, which sucks in one respect but in another, it's not half bad. You can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want for 0 points, you have a higher point value than on the old plan, and hopefully it works the same way!

Of course, in doing Weight Watchers, the key to success is still enjoying food, and not thinking of it as a diet. It's a healthy lifestyle. And guess what, kids? I can still eat delicious breakfast foods. In fact, I can make amazing breakfasts for less than 10 points a pop. And still eat cheese. Boo-Ya!

So I've made this omelet twice already because it's REALLY good and only takes about 10 minutes from prep to dine. As well you may have noticed, I'm a big fan of Mexican breakfast. My love for Chilequiles should speak for itself. Of course, tortilla chips would drastically raise the point value of my breakfast, so no mas for now.

Weight Watchers Mexican Omelet

• 3 egg whites beaten
• 1 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded or sliced (you can lower the point value by using reduced fat, but I don't)
• 3 tablespoons black bean salsa
• 1 medium vine ripened tomato sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh sliced avocado
• sea salt
• ground black pepper

  Pour the beaten egg whites into a small, heated pan sprayed with PAM. Let the egg cook through until the top is almost cooked as well. Then, gently flip the entire egg. Add the cheese to one side of the round egg, and fold the other half over the cheese. Slide the omelet onto a plate with the sliced tomatoes, garnish with salsa and avocado. Then sprinkle the tomatoes with sea salt and black pepper. Voila! Breakfast is served.
Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 7

The best part about my little weight watcher's omelet is that this will fill me up for a decent amount of time. I won't be hungry until lunch. And worst case scenario, if I am hungry, I can eat an apple or two without wasting any points at all. I call that a win.

Traditional Breakfast

My Breakfast: Eggs Over Medium, Ham off the Bone, and a Bagel with Giardinara Cream Cheese

The traditional breakfast consists of eggs, a starch, and meat. I covered all of the important food groups this morning with double protein (eggs & ham), starch (egg bagel), dairy (cream cheese), and fruit/veggie (OJ).

My breakfast was delightful, and I was super proud of the eggs, especially. I managed to cook them pretty darn perfectly. I thought it was kind of funny, though. I'm always spouting off on Yelp about how restaurants do or do not know how to properly poach an egg, and I rarely poach my own eggs anymore. I think it's faster sometimes not to, but it's just amusing that I'm such a poached egg elitist and I barely do it myself.

I really have to tell you about that ham, because it rocks. Ham off the Bone comes in the deli meat section, right next to your Oscar Mayer, Budding, and Hillshire Farms. It's in a little Tupperware looking container with a yellow lid. The BEST pre-packaged deli ham for your money. It tastes like that deliciously spiral cooked ham. It's awesome. Trust me. Just try this stuff.

The bagel is from Dominick's--my all time favorite grocery store. God, I love that place. Plus the bagels are always fresh and relatively inexpensive.

The cream cheese is from Jake's Bagels & Deli. I love this place, and get excited when I have to drop the BF off at the train, as it is conveniently located across the street. I feel super guilty that my bagel breakfast isn't from my favorite bagel shop when the cream cheese is (oh irony, you dirty devil, you), but I'm trying to pay off a credit card bill, and it was either get bagels or cream cheese...and Thursday I went with cream cheese. I love love love their Giardinara cream cheese, the salsa cream cheese, and I just tried the seasonal pecan swirl cream cheese. Oh wow. It's like dessert. Bring on the graham crackers.  I was a little sad to see the pumpkin cream cheese go, but hello, pecan swirl. :)

Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausage with Eggs

I know, I know, it's quite a mouthful, but so so delicious! I had this really tasty sun-dried tomato and basil chicken sausage that I bought at Woodmans. I sliced it up into small pieces, and nuked it. I was in a rush this morning, don't knock my methods! The nuker is designed to make things easier and more convenient. Then I topped the tasty sausage pieces with some shredded Romano cheese, as you know how I feel about cheese. I nuked it a little longer for melty goodness. I made some delightfully over-medium eggs to top my meaty cheesy goodness with, and voila! Breakfast!

Of course, I had a few mishaps...

I may have overcooked the sausage just a teensy bit. It still tasted delish. Also, I had mad issues with the eggs this morning. they wouldn't flip right, so it was just a big ole mess. Both eggs broke in the pan before I could put them on to the sausage. Of course, they still had some gooey goodness, but they didn't look pretty enough for a picture.

Guess I should have used PAM. ;-)

Chilequiles Are My Favorite Breakfast

 

Can I just say that this was pretty much a fiesta in my mouth. Fiesta. The flavors. The colors. The fun! 

Seriously, I savored every last bite of my newest creation. 

So, this morning, I did a mental inventory of what ingredients were available in the bf's kitchen. As always, chips and pico (a staple in this house) were among my options...

Chilequiles it is! 

I used the Tostitos Hint of Jalapeno for a little extra flavor in my breakfast (like I actually needed it). I softened them up in a pan with some of the pico (and all of the juice from the pico). Then, I put them on the plate, added some horseradish havarti and some queso crumble cheese (yum!). I melted the cheese on top in the microwave for 30 seconds. I cooked up some eggs over medium (I have seriously been having problems with cooking eggs lately! They kept sticking to the pan...I'm going to go buy some PAM and see what happens. 

I put the eggs on top of the cheesy tortilla chips, diced half an avocado on top, added the rest of the pico, and as a final garnish, a small dollop of light sour cream. I also used some medium garlic salsa (like I needed more flavor). 

Let's just say I was a happy breakfaster this morning.

Apple and Swiss Egg White Omelet with Walnuts

 

So, after two mornings of cold Chinese food for breakfast (taking one out of the BF's breakfast book), I decided it was time for a real breakfast. But what to eat...

After trolling the fridge, I happened upon Amish Baby Swiss, from the Cheese People, of course and apples. These two delightful items happen to go very well together on a regular basis...so I thought to myself, this is a brilliant plan.

I busted out the eggs, and decided on an egg white omelet with apples and Swiss cheese. I chopped the apples into small pieces and shredded the cheese. Let's just say I was very generous with that cheese... :)
I then scrambled up the egg whites (and I cheated a little bit with just a smidge of yolk.)

Then I heated up a non-stick pan with some cooking spray (I don't trust non-stick pans) and tossed in the apples for a little warming. I poured in my egg mixture and let the magic happen.

After a few mishaps with not so perfect omelet gone scrambled eggs, I decided that I'd use this sneaky little trick I learned about omelets. After it was mostly cooked, instead of flipping the whole thing over, I piled on the cheese into half of the flat egg, folded it over, laid it on a plate, and.... I nuked it. Yeah, I put it in the microwave to ensure melted cheese and fully cooked egg... It tastes great that way, I promise. After nuking the omelet, I added a few more apple pieces to the top for garnish.

While I was taking my initial picture of breakfast, I thought to myself, I should add something and I wished I had a little rosemary to garnish it with. But I didn't. So instead, I added some walnuts to my delightful omelet of joy. It was, to say the least, happiness. The walnuts were an excellent decision. Overall, two thumbs up. Fine breakfast fun. I love a good omelet. :)

 

Hangover Breakfast

 "And last but not least, the wonderful crew at McDonald's for spending hours making those Egg McMuffins, without which I might never be tardy." -Travis Clueless

So last night was a bit rough on my system...Thanks to a six pack of Grimbergen (*drool*), a Blue Moon, aaaand an Oktoberfest...Whoops. Woke up this morning to rain, rain, rain...and wanted to go back to sleep. Unfortunately hangover won't let me sleep until I've consumed some water, some advil, and some breakfast.

Cue McDonald's for the catchall cure-all. I have a general plan of attack when it comes to hangovers. If I'm totally nauseated, then I bring in the big guns with Alkaseltzer morning relief. Otherwise, I go straight for McDonald's Breakfast. I know I know. Bad...but so so good! There's a non-essential amino acid in eggs (cysteine) that breaks down the toxins that cause the hangover. Also containing this substance is pork (mmmm insert sausage McMuffin with egg here) so your hangover is on the way to recovery with this happy breakfast. Although greasy food doesn't actually help hangovers, I always seem in better spirits the morning after drinking with a nice crispy hash brown...or two... In college it was always about those delicious potato triangles (sometimes dipped in liquid cheese sauce...I know sounds gross...but come on...it was college).

If the McD's breakfast ceases to work or isn't your thing, bring out the big guns with a vanilla frozen custard shake from Culver's. It helps. Really. I can't explain why, though I think it has something to do with that cysteine stuff again...


Regardless, I had a delightfully bad for me breakfast, and I'm okay with that.

Italian Breakfast Scramble

Tuscan cheese curds. In my eggs? Delicious? You don't say. Well, you don't, because you don't know. You. Don't. Even. Know. But I do. And it rocked. Om nom nom. So I started with some fresh chopped red onion (a staple in the fridge) and sliced grape tomatoes from the Aurora Farmer's Market (also a staple in the fridge). Let it heat up in a pan. The add 3 egg whites, and let that cook up for a bit. Mix it up, top it with the Tuscan cheese curds, and garnish (yes, I said garnish) it with a fresh chiffonade of basil and voila! Breakfast is served.

The cheese curds, obviously from The Cheese People of Beloit, purchased at the aforementioned market...yum yum yum. Have you ever cooked relatively fresh cheese curds? Still freaking squeakin' in my dang mouth. Holy delightfulness, Batman!

I've had some pretty great breakfasts this past week, but haven't had time to log them all. Let's just say that the cheese and I are gettin' pretty creative in the kitchen. And I'm sure that you'll hear all about some of my tasty treats eventually when I remake/perfect them. *drool*

In other news, yesterday's breakfast was a homage to McDonald's Monopoly, which of course, I'm not too thrilled with...they changed the game on me. and there were kinks in the system. and it was un-fun. But last year, I won a $50 gas card to Shell...so I'll keep playing. Gotta get my SASE ready for mailin'! In case you're wondering, here is the list of breakfast items to get your grubby little hands on game pieces:

medium drink
McCafe bevs (smoothies and frappes, but not coffee!)
Egg McMuffin
Sausage McMuffin with Egg
Hashbrowns (2 for $1.49, people)
Oatmeal

I'm thrilled that I don't have to get any of the strange breakfast sandwiches and I can enjoy a less than terrible for me egg McMuffin of joy.

Grilled Cheese and Eggs

Imagine for a second this delightful menu item:

Gruyere, aged cheddar, mozzarella, Brie, roasted tomato concassé, fried
shallots, candied bacon confetti melted in parmesan crusted sourdough

Now imagine it open face with an egg on top. Yep. Pretty f*ing delicious. Excuse my language, but it was truly that delicious. Last night we ventured to Lady Gregory's for an awesome dinner and drinks. You can check my review at Yelp for the tasty experience that it was.

So this morning, I nuked it (got the cheese all melty and the bread all soft) and topped it with the aforementioned egg for an amazing breakfast.

Yesterday's breakfast was an Irish breakfast, as I spent the morning watching my first Irish football game at Gaelic Park with the bf and fam. This game is intense, btw. It's like football and soccer and rugby combined...hardcore fans and unpaid athletes. That's dedication!

Anyways...breakfast....eggs, potatoes, bacon, bangers, black pudding, white pudding, and Irish soda bread. I only nibbled on the bf's breakfast (basically, at the meaty stuff), as I had a baby shower to attend, but man it was good. For those of you who don't know...

Bangers= Irish breakfast sausage. Creamier than your standard breakfast sausage. Super yum.
Black pudding= Blood sausage that's been deep fried.
White pudding= Oatmeal sausage.

All of them are delicious and you should try them at least once.

Top 10 Breakfast Reasons Why I Haven't Posted...

10. Leftover Indian Food (Cold)
9. Just Cheese Curds
8. Cold Chicken
7. McDonald's
6. Dunkin' Donuts
5. Leftover Greek Food (Cold)
4. Non-standard Breakfast Sausage
3. Chips and Salsa
2. Cupcakes



And the number one reason why I don't always post about my breakfast...



1. Sometimes, I skip breakfast...


I didn't yesterday or this morning though!

Yesterday was delicious Chilequiles (one of my favorite breakfast delicacies.) Tortilla chips cooked in a sauce or salsa until they're a little soft. Then, I added Portobello mushrooms, cilantro, jalapeño, tomato, and red onion. Mixed it all up, like a Mexican breakfast skillet. Then topped it with cilantro and chive farmer's Jack from Rick my favorite cheese monger at The Cheese People and a delicious egg over medium. A dollop of sour cream to cool the jalapeño heat and voile! Breakfast of JOY.

This morning's breakfast was a simple conglomerate of sun-dried tomato sausage, a few basil cheese curds from the aforementioned cheese monger, and two eggs over medium. Of course, I managed to over-cook the eggs a bit...but it worked well with the sausagy goodness of my breakfast.