We Love Breakfast!

One of the great things about being a part of the Sisterhood is finding things in common - and a love of breakfast food is definitely one of those common things. So here are a couple of great breakfast ideas - with a twist.

Croissant French Toast - by Megan

Those of us who married into the Albright Fam (ie. Sarah and I) also married into a crazy, breakfast-loving group of eaters (particularly the men). That would explain why Cracker Barrel is always the restaurant of choice when we go out to eat. We all love nothing better than breakfast for supper. Or lunch. Or whenever. (I was actually surprised a few weeks ago when I went out with a group  to Cracker Barrel and discovered that there ARE people out there who actually order from the non-breakfast menu at Cracker Barrel. Weird.) Well, my husband, Joel, only ever gets one thing at C.B. - the "Momma's French Toast Breakfast." He LOVES french toast - passionately. So, when I saw this grand-prize-winning french toast recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine, I couldn't resist trying it. 

When I first tried it, I did all the parts of the recipe: the french-toasted croissants, the vanilla ice cream sauce, and the raspberry sauce - all of which were incredible. However, I noticed that it was really only the females that enjoyed experimenting with the vanilla and raspberry sauces on their french toast. The guys just wanted to pile on the butter and maple syrup. So, if you're going to make this for a group of guys (or a family of mostly males), I would recommend just doing the french toast. (This also works really well if you have a few leftover croissants from making sandwiches with them and don't want them to go bad.) However, if you're going to have a "fellowship of female friends," then definitely try out the raspberry & vanilla sauces (I'd also recommend doubling the raspberry sauce, since it ran out quickly). I made this recipe again for my sister's bridal brunch, and it was a big hit. Enjoy!

Bridal Brunch = good breakfast food.

Vanilla Sauce:

• 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 C. whipping cream
• 1/2 C. sugar
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream

In a bowl, combine flour, egg yolks and vanilla; set aside. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the whipping cream and sugar to a boil; remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot cream into egg yolk mixture; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in ice cream until melted. Set aside.


Raspberry Sauce 

• 2 C. unsweetened raspberries (frozen or fresh)
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan. Simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
        
French Toast: 

• 3 eggs
• 4 croissants (split)
• 2 Tbsps. butter or margarine

In a shallow bowl, beat eggs. Dip both sides of croissants in egg mixtures. On a griddle, brown croissants on both sides in butter. Serve with vanilla and berry sauces.

Julie's bakin' bacon

Bakin' Bacon - by Julie

My husband, David, and I also love breakfast food. However, one of the problems we’ve discovered with cooking lots of breakfast food is cleaning the messy pans afterward. My sister, who has been cooking for a lot longer than I have, started to bake her bacon in the oven, rather than fry it on the stove top - and let me just tell you, the results are wonderful! All you have to do is cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and place the bacon onto it . With the oven at 400 degrees, bake for about 10-15 minutes or until done to your liking. (Some like it really crispy and some don’t.) Then, for clean-up, all you have to do is roll up the tin foil and throw it away. The oven bakes the bacon nice, straight, and even too.  

Note: This same concept will also work with pepperoni. Baking the pepperoni prior to assembling your pizza removes much of the grease and makes them crispy. Pepperoni only takes about 8 minutes at 350 degrees.