Creme Brulee French Toast

Every now and then the idea of breakfast for dinner just hits the spot. This week was one of those weeks. I have been making this recipe for several years now. I first discovered this wonderful dish on the Whole Foods breakfast bar. I visited Whole Foods on many occasions just for this particular dish! I really wanted to make this one at home and was lucky enough to come across the recipe. Now, I can have this any day of the week without leaving the house! I love this recipe compared to other french toast casserole recipes because it doesn't have to sit overnight so you can decide to make it on a whim. The sweet caramel sauce on the bottom caramelizes beautifully and when combined with the sweetened orange vanilla custard produces a delicious breakfast casserole. I highly recommend using Whole Food's Challah to make this as it really makes the dish. I served this dish along with Maple Roasted Bacon and Country Hash Browns. This menu would be perfect for a Sunday brunch or just a fun weeknight dinner.

Crème Brulee French Toast

Makes 1 (9x9 inch) casserole

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 Tablespoons maple syrup

12 (1-1/2 inch slices challah bread)

6 eggs

1 cup half and half or whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

Strawberries and whipped cream for serving.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x9 baking dish.

In a saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and maple syrup just until the mixture begins to boil and brown, like caramel. Pour into baking dish.

Trim off crusts from bread and arrange evenly over the caramel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, vanilla, salt, orange juice and sugar. Pour over bread.

Let bread soak up liquid for 5 to 10 minutes. Bake for 35 minutes. Cut into square or slices and serve with strawberries and whipped cream.

Source: Whole Foods

A Healthier Gelatin

Until I had a child, I never paid that much attention to food labels. Now, I read everything. It is shocking the foods that have artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives etc. If it has any of these, I avoid feeding it to my child. These ingredients were not meant to be in foods and I think the health effects are yet to be seen. My little one has been under the weather a few times and I struggled with what to feed him. Jell-O is a great food for such an occasion. However, every time I went to the store and looked at what was in the box, I just couldn't feed it to him. I recently saw a post on the cooking board I read for someone trying to make their own Jell-O. I set out to research a recipe and found one on the Whole Foods website. I made this today and can honestly say, it tastes as good if not better than the boxed mix. I especially love how versatile this recipe is. You could make mango, pomegranate or custom combination fruit mixes. It takes gourmet to a whole new level! For my first experiment today, I made Strawberry Banana. I have to say this recipe is so easy, it really didn't take me any more time to make this than it would have to make a box of Jell-O. It also only has 1 Tablespoon of additional sugar. The rest of the sugar are natural sugars from the fruit juice.

Gelatin Fruit Dessert

Source: Whole Foods

This treat is great with many of your favorite juices or fruit nectars (avoid pineapple, kiwi and papaya juice though). Vary the fresh fruit according to season; we like raspberries, sliced grapes and blueberries.

Serves 4

• 2 cups berry juice (I used V-8 Fusion's 100% Strawberry Banana Juice)
  
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh fruit (I omitted to make the Gelatin plain)
  

Pour 1 cup of the juice in a medium heatproof bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the juice and dissolve.

Combine the remaining juice and the sugar in a small saucepan. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

Pour the hot juice mixture into the gelatin mixture and stir to combine. Pour into four ramekins, small ceramic bowls or one medium bowl. Add the fruit and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or until firm.

Easy Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

As I was putting together my dinner this evening, I really wanted some good rolls to go with it. We have been focusing on eating more whole grains lately so I set out to find a recipe for rolls that used whole wheat flour. I found this one on the Whole Foods website. I have found some great recipes on their website as well as in their monthly fliers. This recipe certainly lived up to its name as it was really easy in that no kneading is required. The rolls are done in a muffin tin so they are more muffin like in appearance . The result was a tender, delicious roll with the bonus of it being whole wheat. We will be having these on our menu again.

Easy Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
Source: Whole Foods

Serves 6 (12 rolls)

• 1 1/4 cups organic whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons evaporated cane sugar (I used regular granulated sugar)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 package active dry yeast (.28 ounce)
• 1 cup warm milk (105 to 115°F)
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large egg, room temperature and lightly beaten
• 1 cup unbleached white flour

Have all ingredients at room temperature to start. In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour with the cane sugar, sea salt and yeast. Add the warmed milk, melted butter and lightly beaten egg. Beat until smooth. Add the unbleached white flour, mixing until fully incorporated. The batter should be smooth. Cover and allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes to one hour.

Meanwhile, lightly spray 12 muffin tins with extra virgin olive oil spray. Set aside.

Once raised, stir the batter down. Spoon even amounts of the dough into prepared muffin tins. Allow this to rise until the dough comes just over the top of the muffin tins, about another 45 minutes to one hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition Info

Per Serving (112g-wt.): 280 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 4g dietary fiber, 9g protein, 43g carbohydrate, 50mg cholesterol, 230mg sodium

Cranberry Banana Oat Bread

I decided to try this recipe because I loved the idea of combining cranberries in banana bread and I had several bananas I needed to use. The texture of this bread was really nice, it released from the pan perfectly. My only complaint about this recipe is that it was not very sweet. Normally, I am not apt to add sugar to a recipe but this one needed a little more. I'm not sure if the addition of some brown sugar or honey would do the trick.

Cranberry Banana Oat Bread

Source: Whole Foods

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup quick oats 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups ripe mashed banana pulp (about 3 bananas) 2 large eggs 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated, non-dairy margarine, melted, cooled 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice Ingredient Option: replace the margarine with canola oil, if desired. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan with a small amount of margarine. Combine the flour, oats, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix together with a whisk and set aside. Whisk the bananas, eggs and margarine together in a bowl. Add the sugar, cranberries, and lemon juice; mix until blended. Gently stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until lightly browned, 45 to 50 minutes. Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour. Turn the bread out onto a cutting board and, using a serrated bread knife slice the bread into 3/4-inch thick pieces. Arrange on a platter and serve.

Nutrition Info

Per Serving (94g-wt.): 250 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 5g protein, 42g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 20g sugar), 45mg cholesterol, 380mg sodium

Slow Cooker Braised Sage Chicken and Stuffing

I found this recipe in one of the flyers at Whole Foods. I liked that it was a pretty simple recipe and didn't require lots of ingredients. This recipe turned out really well. I will definitely make it again. This was the first time I put the chicken in the slow cooker frozen and it cooked perfectly. I think I will use that method from now on instead of trying to defrost ahead of time. I used chicken tenderloins instead of thighs but breasts would work well too. I substituted Penzey's poultry seasoning for the fresh sage. I also used the recommend 365 Organic Stuffing. I highly recommend it. It really didn't taste like an instant stuffing. I made the recipe with chicken broth instead of water. You could really dress this stuffing up with apples, etc. I was wanting a simple throw together meal tonight so I made it plain.

Slow Cooker Braised Sage Chicken and Stuffing
Source: Whole Foods

• 1 organic yellow onion, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 3 cups Whole Fields™ Organic Petite Carrots
• 1/2 cup organic chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 clove organic garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 6–8 (1 1/2–1 3/4 pounds) bone-in, skinned chicken thighs
• 1 tsp 365 Everyday Value™ Paprika
• sea salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 package (10-oz) 365 Organic Everyday Value™ Stuffing Mix with Cranberries

Place onion in a lightly greased 6-quart crock pot/slow cooker and top with carrots. Combine broth, wine, garlic and sage and pour over vegetables. Generous season chicken thighs with paprika, salt and pepper and arrange on top of vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW heat setting 8 hours or until chicken and vegetables are tender. Prepare stuffing according to package directions and serve.