In Cindy's Kitchen

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Streusel Topped Baked French Toast: Breakfast Is Served

Hi everybody :)

Welcome to another Breakfast Is Served Sunday, if you're just tuning in to my blog every Sunday I post a Breakfast Is Served. Last week Breakfast Is Served Sunday's post is found here.

Today you're in for a treat, I'm making French toast with the bread for yesterday post found here. Not just any French toast but French toast made in the oven with a streusel topping and sprinkled with powdered sugar. OH YEAH!

Let's get it started...

Oven-Baked French Bread adapted The Woman's Day Cookbook: Great Recipes, Bright Ideas, And Healthy Choices for Today's Cook

Ingredients:

6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I also added 1/4 tsp. apple pie spice & 1/4 tsp. pumpkin spice)
12 1/2-inch-thick slices firm white bread (I used Multigrain Breads: Raisin-Swirled & Honey Wheat)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:
1. Adjust the oven racks so that one is in the lowest position and the other it in the middle. Heat the oven to 425°F Lightly butter 2 jelly roll pans

2. In a medium-size bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Stir in the milk, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until blended.

3. Soak the bread. 1 slice at a time, in the egg mixture for about 5 minutes, or until absorbed.

Place 6 soaked slices in each prepared pan. Cut the butter into pieces and scatter over the bread.

4. Place 1 pan on each oven rack. Bake for 8 minutes. Turn each piece and switch the positions of the pans. Bake for 7 minutes more, or until the top is golden brown.

5. Remove the French toast to a serving platter. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve right away.

What I Did and or Think:
I followed the recipe up to step #3. After soaking the bread, I dipped it in the streusel topping, recipe below. Then, I continue with the recipe as stated. Some I sprinkled with powdered sugar the others I left plain. I put some in the streusel topping, some I didn't. I like variety in my food :)

For the Streusel Topping
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter

Mix together dry ingredients cut in butter with pastry blender or fork.

The Taste: I LOVE the taste of the toasts. I even liked the little piece below with the raisin bread, my son said it was GREAT! The recipe will be going in my REPEAT files!

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:
Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #33 @ Addicted Recipes
Melt In Your Mouth Monday Recipe Blog Hop #87 @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Skip To My Lou: Made by you Monday
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday!

Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen # 12

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Multigrain Breads: Raisin-Swirled & Honey Wheat

Hi everybody

Multigrain Raisin Bread adapted Taste of Home!: 336 Crowd-Pleasing Favorites for Easy Entertaining

prep: 40 min. 4. ricing baking 40 min. 1 cooling
yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each)

Ingredients:

2 cups raisins ( I used 1 cup)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (110: to 115°)
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Drain, reserving 1/2 cup liquid. Stir oats into reserved liquid; set raisins and oat mixture aside.

In a large bowl. dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in honey; let stand for 5 minutes.

Add the eggs, milk powder, salt, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour and oat mixture.

Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Stir in enough remaining all purpose flour to form a firm dough. Stir in raisins (dough will be sticky).

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 - 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease the top. (I divided the dough and put the raisin in one part, as seen in the picture below.)

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; shape into two loaves.

(For the raisin loaf, I brushed it with 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkled with more cinnamon and some sugar, then roll up jellyroll style, place it in the loaf pan.)

Place in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

(I sprinkled oats on top of the loaf without raisins.)

Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Multigrain Honey Wheat Bread

Multigrain Cinnamon Swirled Raisin Bread

What I Did and/or Think:
I followed the recipe as stated except for the changes I made in Italic.

I only made one of them with raisins that's why I only use one cup of raisins. I love raisins in my cookies but I don't like them in my bread, I don't know why... I'm just funny that way :)
My husband and son love it in their bread.

The taste: Both of the bread were GREAT! My son told me he love the raisin bread. I really love the honey wheat loaf it tasted just like the honey wheat bread from the deli, only better.
I now have a great recipe for my favorite honey wheat bread, so they are definitely REPEATS!

The recipe stated that they make great French Toast too, so we shall see, join me for tomorrow Breakfast Is Served Sunday post, you don't want to miss it :)

Streusel Topped Baked French Toast

Cinnamon Bread Pudding

ENJOY Come again...

Linked to:
YeastSpotting!
BYOB @ girlichef: BYOB - Bake Your Own Bread
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sister's Stuff

Friday, October 12, 2012

Lemon Tea Mix: It's Tea Time!

Lemon Tea Mix

Hi everybody :)

Time To Put The Kettle On...It's Tea Time!

I been waiting to share this simple recipe with you all for awhile ... now is the perfect time. With the Fall weather finally arriving, it's time to heat up with a spot of tea :) jokey joke.. get it?... oh well...moving on.

This recipe takes only minutes to prepare, you just toss the ingredients together, blend, and store. Since I was done with it so fast, I did a little crafting project I would like to share also. Let's get it started...

Lemon Tea Mix adapted Gifts That Taste Good

1/2 cup instant tea
1/2 cup sweetened lemonade drink mix
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup finely crushed lemon drop candies

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Process briefly until ingredients are completely blended. Store in airtight container.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups of mix

To serve: Add 1 cup boiling water to 1 heaping tablespoon tea mix. Stir until mix dissolves completely.

What I Did and/or Think:

Keeping true to that southern tradition, I love drinking tea; cold icy teas in the Spring/Summer and hot teas Fall/ Winter. I LOVE this recipe so much that I doubled the recipe.

For Apple Cider Tea Mix - use hot apple cider instead of water

For Peppermint Tea Mix - add crushed peppermint candy in the place of lemon drops to your tea. I used both :)

In case Fall haven't fully arrived were you are, you might want to serve it over ice for a cool refreshing taste.

My Little Project: Tea Container

Cleaned Plastic Jar with Lid (I used a peanut butter jar)
Glue Gun/ Glue Sticks
Scissor
Silk Flower; optional (I used a Sunflower)
Adhesive Decorative Paper
Permanent maker (Sharpie fine point)
Letter Template

Write the words lemon tea mix on your paper using the template with a pencil. Trace over them with a maker.