leftovers for breakfast: turkey bacon and kale scramble

The kale with roasted onion rings was made for this purpose: to try and recreate The Flying Biscuit's bacon-collard scramble. It might not look that appealing (no offense to The Flying Biscuit, but neither does their version - greens scrambled in eggs have a beauty in the eye of the beholder), but it was delicious. Using (mostly) egg whites and turkey bacon made this a healthy option for any day of the week.

Grocery list: leftover kale or collards, eggs, turkey bacon, grated cheddar cheese.



Chop 3-4 slices of turkey bacon, and saute in just a teaspoon of oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.



Add about 1 cup of leftover kale (you might want to run a knife through it to chop it a little more finely) and cook for 1 minute. Whisk 1 egg + 7 egg whites together with a tablespoon of half-and-half, then add to the skillet. Scramble until eggs are cooked, then sprinkle a handful of sharp cheddar cheese over top.

yogurt crepes with raspberry sauce

I've been looking for something new for the breakfast rotation lately. I mean, the buttermilk pancakes and french toast are fantastic, and I'm all over the eggs and grits with texas pete, but sometimes you just want something different. So I was excited to see an entire article dedicated to fresh breakfast ideas in December's Food & Wine - including one AHB will actually eat (sorry, salmon hash is *totally* out of the running here). Don't be intimidated by having to cook each crepe one at a time; if 8 minutes is really too long, get 2 fry pans going simultaneously.

Grocery list: 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cup milk, 1 cup AP flour, 3 T melted butter, 1/4 cup apricot preserves (I used orange marmalade), 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1 T fresh lemon juice, 1.5 cups plain greek yogurt, 3 T brown sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.



Since the batter has to rest for 20 minutes prior to cooking, start the batter first, then make the filling. Whisk 3 eggs with 1/4 cup of the milk and a pinch of salt, then add the flour and whisk until smooth.



The batter will be thick - almost a dough-like consistency. Carefully whisk in the remaining one cup of milk and 1 T of melted butter until smooth. Allow to rest for 20 minutes on the counter (do not refrigerate).



Add the marmalade, lemon juice and frozen raspberries to a small saucepan.



Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes - as you stir it, the raspberries will kind of melt, so the entire mixture takes on the consistency of thick syrup.



For the crepe filling, mix the greek yogurt with brown sugar and vanilla extract. (This tastes almost exactly like vanilla yogurt, so I'm not sure why you couldn't substitute. I guess it depends what you keep around the house - vanilla yogurt is always "stocked" here, but not greek yogurt...)



To cook the crepes, brush a 10 inch skillet with a little of the melted butter, and heat the pan over medium heat. Pour 1/3 cup crepe batter into the middle of the pan, swirling it around quickly so the batter fills up the bottom of the pan in a very thin layer. Cook for 45 seconds or until it's lightly browned on the bottom. Flip and cook until the other side starts to brown (15-30 seconds more). Move to a parchment lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven (stack cooked crepes between layers of parchment paper to prevent sticking). Brush the pan with melted butter in between each batch.



When all the crepes are done, assemble them to serve. Spoon a little of the filling in the middle, roll up the crepe, and top with a bit of raspberry sauce.

bacon cheddar quick bread

I've never had a desire to bake my own bread, but I guess that's the next step in my adoption of the "slow food" trend. When I saw this recipe for a bacon and cheddar quick bread in the October 2008 issue of Bon Appetit, it was time to bite the bullet. It only took a few minutes to put together, and made a great breakfast. This would be a great bread to throw together if you have house guests - impressive but very hands-off.

Grocery list: 5 slices bacon, 6 oz cheddar, 1/2 cup dried fruit (original recipe called for dried pears; I used dried cranberries), 1/3 cup walnuts, 1 T fresh sage (minced), 1 3/4 cup AP flour, 1 T baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 3 eggs, 1/3 cup whole milk, 1/3 cup olive oil.



First, chop up 5 slices of bacon and crisp it in a pan, then drain over paper towels.



Mix your "wet" ingredients - whisk 3 eggs and the milk and olive oil together.



Stir your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, pepper) together in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the flour, and stir just enough to combine (don't overwork the batter, it's good if it's chunky).



The recipe called for 1 cup grated cheddar plus 1/2 cup of 1/4 inch cubes of cheese. For color more than anything, I used yellow extra-sharp cheddar for the grated 1 cup of cheese, and then cubed some seaside extra sharp white cheddar to make the extra 1/2 cup. Fold the cheese, dried fruit, walnuts (toasted and chopped), sage, and bacon pieces into the dough.



Grease the sides and bottom of a one pound loaf pan (8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5"), and spoon the dough in. Bake at 350 degrees on the center oven rack, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. The recipe said 55 minutes (an exact number, which I interpreted as authoritative - should have checked it at 45-50 minutes, as it turned out a touch drier than I would have liked). Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the sides of the loaf from the pan with a knife, then invert on a rack and allow to cool to desired temperature.

banana flambe french toast

Would it be completely ridiculous to admit I made such an indulgent breakfast on a weekday? Well, I did. No special occasion either. I just had 2 overripe bananas and a couple of half-stale loaves of brioche from the sale rack of the farmer's market that I had to get rid of, and a Thursday seemed as good a time as any. I've covered my yogurt french toast recipe before - it's SO easy, breakfast is done in 10 minutes, no exaggeration. This time I just made some bananas on the side. Try it and see what you think (my hungry bear said he liked it as much as the strawberry version, which is a good sign).

Grocery list: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup milk, 2 eggs, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, brioche or challah bread, a couple bananas, sugar, orange liquor (I used Cointreau), orange juice.



Make the french toast as usual. While it's cooking, melt a few tablespoons butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Stir in about 1/2 cup orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the sliced bananas and a couple tablespoons sugar, and a generous splash (or 3) of Cointreau. It will simmer very quickly and turn into a nice syrup after a few minutes - just keep stirring. The longer you let it cook, the thicker the syrup will get. Pour over the french toast slices and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

weekday breakfast: egg white omelet

Making a healthy breakfast only takes me about 10 minutes. It may seem like that's 10 minutes you don't have in the morning, but if you invest there, you won't have to take extra time out mid-morning to go get a snack or another coffee. I also take one morning (or Sunday afternoons) to prep the ingredients for several breakfasts at once, so it's even easier to just grab a handful of veggies and throw them in the pan.

Here's a version of an egg white omelet I've been making this week - but you can switch up any of the ingredients. My mom was actually just telling me about her omelet du jour, a greek-inspired version with feta, sundried tomatoes, spinach, tomatoes and red onions. I'll try that one next.



First, I dice up a couple slices of center cut bacon, and fry those in a pan for 3-4 minutes, till they are almost done. Then, I add 3-4 sliced button mushrooms.



After they've cooked for 3-4 more minutes, I add a couple handfuls of fresh spinach. The spinach only takes a minute or 2 to wilt, then you can add the eggs (or egg whites, if you prefer).



I normally cook 6-8 egg whites for me and A - with him getting about 2/3 of the entire omelet. Anyway, once you pour in the eggs, stir them a few times slowly, so that the eggs that have started to stick to the bottom get shifted around. This will help them cook more evenly. After about a minute or two, even out all the fillings and half-cooked egg whites so it's flat and in the right shape. From this point, you won't have to do anything, just leave it alone for a couple minutes (turn down the heat to medium-low if you don't want the eggs overcooked on the bottom). Add cheese if you like, then fold in half. I'll serve this with a slice of wheat toast (with peanut butter and jelly for extra energy!) and I won't be hungry again for hours.

one more thing to love about weekends: ABLT egg sandwiches

Bacon, egg whites, lettuce, heirloom tomato slices, mayo, extra sharp cheddar, all on a toasted bun. How could you NOT have the best Sunday ever?

eggs benedict

While on vacation in Anguilla, I decided to try eggs benedict for the first time. I'm not a big fan of egg yolks, and other than eating around what some people consider the "best part" of a poached egg, I loved them. When I suggested to my boyfriend that I might try them at home, he was skeptical -- why try something so involved, so unhealthy? Ahh, a challenge -- can I make eggs benedict, and at least a little healthier than the original? Of course, and it wasn't nearly as involved as I thought it would be. It'll be part of the weekend brunch rotation from now on...

Grocery list: whole wheat english muffins, canadian bacon or ham slices, eggs, butter, texas pete hot sauce, vinegar.



Start by slicing and toasting all the english muffins, and pan fry the ham slices in a nonstick pan (using no oil) over medium-high heat. Flip after a few minutes, till brown on both sides, and lay 2 slices of ham over each slice of english muffin. To make it easier to poach the eggs, find 4 ramekins and crack an egg into each one (this will allow you to get all the eggs into the water at the same time). It's good to get this prep out of the way -- it will all cool to room temp, but when you add the hot egg and hollandaise later it will all warm back up to perfect.



Fill a large saucepan with water 1 1/2 - 2 inches deep, add a splash of white vinegar, and bring the water to a gentle boil. Set up a double boiler for the sauce: using a small saucepan with a shallow layer of water, find a glass or stainless steel bowl that will fit into the top of the saucepan so the bottom doesn't touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer -- it will heat the contents of the bowl and cook it indirectly. To the bowl, add two egg yolks, 1 T of warm water, salt, and a few splashes of texas pete hot sauce. Whisk well to start, and continue to stir every minute or so for about 5 minutes.



To poach eggs, you want to carefully slip whole eggs into the boiling water all at the same time, which is why you want to crack all the eggs into individual bowls ahead of time. Slip all 4 eggs into the water at the same time. Cook for 3 minutes (longer if you want the yolks cooked a little more), then remove carefully with a slotted spoon. The first one I placed on a paper towel to absorb the water, but it can get stuck easily. After that trial and error, I just removed each egg with the slotted spoon and patted the spoon against the paper towel -- doesn't dry the egg completely, but it also doesn't destroy it in the process.



To finish the hollandaise sauce, melt 4 T of butter, then slowly pour that into the bowl with the sauce, whisking at the same time. Add a poached egg on the top of the ham and english muffin, the pour the hollandaise sauce across the tops. Garnish with a little bit of chopped parsley, if you're feeling overly ambitious.

buttermilk pancakes

Whenever I crave good pancakes, I always assume this means I have to make a trip to either the Flying Biscuit (great oatmeal pancakes) or to the Original Pancake House in Atlanta. I associate at-home pancakes with the crappy Aunt-Jemima all-in-one mix or Bisquick or whatever, and those don't come even close to "real" pancakes. This morning I realized I had some buttermilk, some flour, some eggs -- why not try to make them from scratch? I found this fairly generic recipe on foodnetwork.com, and made a half batch (the half batch is listed below), which made 6 pancakes.

Grocery list: 1 cup a/p flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 2 T sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk, 2 T melted butter, extra butter for cooking.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Stir the buttermilk, melted butter, and 1 beaten egg together. Stir the wet ingredients in with the dry *but don't overmix the batter!* You want to keep it lumpy; if you over-stir it, the pancakes won't turn out fluffy.



Melt a T of butter in the bottom of a fry pan, then spoon the batter into the pan. You'll know it's time to flip when the pancakes are bubbling and you can see the edges are golden. This entire process took about 3 minutes longer than making the "instant all-in-one" pancakes, so I've got a great back-up plan next time I don't feel like trekking across Atlanta for a buttermilk pancake fix...



Side note: I served this with a simple side of fried bacon. I prefer the Maverick Ranch hormone- and antibiotic-free bacon, it's delicious.

making strawberry syrup

a quick note on strawberries... i normally slice up a pint of these for the challah french toast. if you slice them the night before (or early in the morning before brunch), put them in a tupperware container and sprinkle a handful of sugar on the top. the sugar reacts with the strawberries to create the perfect strawberry syrup to drizzle on top of the toast when serving.

challah french toast

this is my favorite french toast recipe ever. it's actually not as unhealthy for you as most, since it reduces fat and adds more protein by substituting vanilla yogurt for a lot of the cream and eggs. grocery list: 1 loaf challah bread, 3 eggs, 3/4 c vanilla yogurt, 1/2 c milk, dash vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon. strawberries and powdered sugar for topping (or just syrup if you prefer).



i love challah bread for french toast -- you can find this in the bakery section of any grocery store. slice off the end pieces and then cut on the diagonal. lay all the slices flat in a large pan (or 2 pans if needed).

make the batter: beat the eggs, then add the other ingredients and mix well (the vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon -- maybe 1T, 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, if i had to put a measurement on them?). pour over the bread slices, flip and make sure there is batter touching all pieces. let stand for a few minutes.



in 2 big fry pans, heat 1 T butter in each pan over med-high heat, plus drizzle about 1 tsp vegetable oil in each to keep butter from browning too much. fry the toast slices till brown.