Easy Autumn Breakfasts! French Toasts, Pancakes and Waffles

I told you all last week that I'd post a great Pumpkin French Toast recipe, sorry I couldn't do it. Soooo instead of just one, I have 3 recipes for you!!! I love y'all.

First up: Pumpkin French Toast. I found a pin on the ever so great Pinterest for Pumpkin French toast. How easy is that? Made some for my son's breakfast and he DEVOURED it!



Ingredients
About 4-6 slices if bread- your preference-whole-wheat or white
1/2 cup milk (almond, dairy, soy- i used vanilla soy milk)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
3 tablespoon of sweetener of choice- (I used maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spices (or a 1/2 tsp worth of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves)
a pat of butter or coconut oil (for that brown flavorful crust!)
A pinch of salt

Directions:
Allow bread to dry out on a plate overnight.
The next morning, or whenever you make this, mix all ingredients except for the butter/coconut oil and the bread. Pre-heat skillet or griddle to medium heat. One piece of bread at a time, soak the bread in the pumpkin mixture per side until the bread feels slightly spongy. Cook in skillet for about 3 minutes per side. If you're making a lot, preheat oven to about 100C-200F and add the  cooked french toast to a sheet pan or any oven-proof dish. Repeat until you're done! Top with whatever you please! We topped with maple syrup. I also love fruits, or confectioner's sugar!


Next, these are pumpkin pancakes I made using annie eats recipe. I added pecans, and just used 3/4 cup of whole wheat white flour from King Arthur's Flour. HEAVENLY and it freezes quite well!!!



Last but not least, my favorite recipe from this weekend- Sweet Potato Waffles with Homemade Blueberry Glaze!!! YUMMM! Found this recipe from the Mayo Clinic. I Made a few changes to my taste. Enjoyed by all!

Ingredients

For the syrup
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
6 tablespoon honey
Pinch of ground cinnamon

1/3 cup peeled and diced sweet potato, or 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup 1% milk (or any milk of you choice)
2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
Directions

To make the syrup, in a saucepan, combine the blueberries, lemon juice and zest, honey, , and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the berries burst and the juices are slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Frozen berries may take slightly longer to thicken. Set aside and keep warm.

If using sweet potato, bring a small saucepan half full of water to a boil. Add the sweet potato, return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until very tender, about 10 minutes.  (I roasted a large sweet potato for 45 minutes)  Drain and puree in a food processor or mash with a potato masher until smooth. Set aside. If using pumpkin puree, reserve.

In a small bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, sweet potato puree, coconut oil, egg brown sugar. Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.

Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 225 F. Preheat a waffle iron. Spoon or ladle about 1/2 cup batter into the waffle iron, depending on the size of the iron. Spread evenly and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the batter thickens, thin with a little soy milk. Transfer the waffle to the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 6 waffles. Serve topped with the syrup.

ENJOY!!!!!

Crispy Pork with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce AND Triple Chocolate Cookies

I had intended on making a blog post on just the Crispy Pork with Dipping Sauce last night, but when I was trying to set up the shot, my daughter knocked over my tripod and broke my new lens! I was gutted, but it was an accident and just material things. I seriously did cry (don't look at me like that) but I did forgive my daughter almost instantly. She was genuinely sorry and very apologetic! My husband was able to fix it, but the auto focus is kaput. Makes it a bit more difficult, but still doable :) Anyway, the photo isn't the best, but this recipe is damn good and easy. 

Crispy Pork with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce
Inspired by BBC Good Food
Can be doubled but I recommend you triple this- it's that darn delicious!!!
Ingredients
1lb pork belly
2t 5 spice powder (I made mine homemade)
Coarse Salt such as Kosher or Sea Salt
For Dipping Sauce
4 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T honey (optional)
1 scallion finely chopped
Directions:
Rub the pork with the five-spice and 2 tsp sea salt then leave, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 2 hrs, but preferably overnight. When ready to cook, heat oven to its maximum setting. Lay the pork on a rack over a roasting tin, making sure the skin is exposed. Roast for 10 mins before turning down the heat to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, then leave to cook for a further 1½ hrs. Have a look at the pork - if the skin isn't crisp, turn up the heat to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7, then cook for another 30 mins until crisp. Leave to rest on a board for at least 10 mins.

To make the dipping sauce, mix all the ingredients together with 2 tbsp water. Cut the pork into small pieces, then serve with the sauce, plus boiled rice and steamed greens, if you like.




Next recipe!
Since we're trying to eat a bit healthier after a smorgasbord of cakes, cookies, cakes, rich meat and cheese, cakes, pies, drinks AND cakes I thought I'd make one of my favorite "healthy" or rather healthier than your normal cookie cookies. This recipe is courtesy of Ellie Krieger. I tried this recipe last summer and the whole family loved it. They couldn't believe it used whole wheat flour and canola oil for butter! Great if you have a sweet tooth you just can't kick if you're trying to eat a bit healthier. The addition of nuts and dried fruit is optional, but it gives the cookies a but body and crunch. I made them without nuts and fruit last year and they were still amazing....tasted like mini brownies actually.


For this recipe I recommend you use valrhona or natural cocoa powder :)



Triple Chocolate Cookies
Ellie Krieger
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or regular whole wheat flour, as I did!)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (2 ounces)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate (2 ounces)
2/3 cup chopped pecans, optional
1/4 -1/2 cup dried cherries, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mash together the butter and sugars with a fork until well combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy. Mix in the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. 

Stir in the dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and the pecans and mix well. Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

 Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Faux Chicken Doner Kebab- It's our Anniversary!

Today is my 3rd year marriage anniversary. It's like a normal day to us, really. My husband went to work, and I stayed home with the kids and even babysat for a friend.

 It's no biggie to me as we worked the day we married as well. I went to work, on my lunch, got married and went back to work, ha.

I was 8 months pregnant with my daughter and I was exhausted. Not only because I was big and pregnant, but because I spent a good 2 months fighting hard for us to get married. Since we were getting married under German law, we needed paperwork up the ying yang and it didn't help that my husband was married twice before! We also had to get every single document translated and the translator we hired took her sweet ass time doing so. To make matters more annoying, the translator talked our ears off whenever we'd see her. I know more about her than I do my own mother! Not to mention it all cost me over 1500 dollars!!! 

We also were on a very crucial time-limit. I was separating from the military and in order for me to stay here in Germany we had to get married, which we planned on anyway. So that day, I was just happy for it all to be over. No photos were taken, unfortunately, and we ate a doner kebab at the stand or what the Germans call Imbiss. It was a delicious doner, our favorite stand in fact!

Quick history of doner kebabs from Wiki: Doner kebab (Turkish: döner kebap or döner kebabı, literally "rotating roast", often abbreviated as döner, also spelled donair, donar, doner, or sometimes donner), is a Middle Eastern dish made of lamb meat (mainly) cooked on a vertical spit and sliced off to order. Two similar dishes are called shawarma in Arabic and gyros in Greek,^[2] although ingredients and sauces differ. The English term kebab in some countries refers specifically to doner kebab.

There are many variants in the composition of the meat, the ways of serving it, and the garnishes. 

A while back I watched a show on the Good Food Channel on UKTV and there was a chef, Simon Rimmer competing against a Doner Kebab takeout/takeaway shop to see who makes the best food quicker, tastier and cheaper. The dish he created looked AMAZING. Light refreshing and just damn good. The doner shop doner looked like your standard messy doner, but won in the end as the customer wanted a spicier taste. When I saw that I HAD to try it. So I did tonight.

This tasted delicious and was quick to whip up. Everything is fresh and homemade...well except the ketchup used, but even Gordon Ramsay keeps ketchup in his pantry, so I am not ashamed! This recipe  can be easily changed. Use whole wheat flour for the flatbread (our went bad in the pantry oops), use pork or traditional lamb fillets. Add loads of veggies, make it meat free, JUST TRY THIS!

Chicken 'doner' kebab (adapted from Simon Rimmer's)

For the chilli sauce

• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 jalapenos, chopped or to taste
• 1/3 cup tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

For the chicken

• Boneless skinless chicken breast, about 3
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• about 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ lemon, juice only

For the flatbread

• 2 1/4 cups bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• about 1/3 cup hot water

For the onion rings

• vegetable, enough to one-third fill a deep, heavy-based pan
• 1 cup all-purpose
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• about 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 medium onion, sliced into 1cm/½ in-thick rings

For the dressing

• 1- 1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint, plus extra to garnish
• ½ lime, juice only

Preparation method

1.    For the chilli sauce, place the vinegar and sugar into a non-aluminium pan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Add the chillies and cook for five minutes to reduce the liquid by half. Add the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, stir and simmer for five minutes.

2.    For the chicken, slice each chicken breast into 5-6 long strips and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3.    Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken breasts over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly browned.

4.    Pour the stock over the chicken. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add the butter and lemon juice and stir. Simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. (No pink should remain when the meat is cut into. If any pink remains, cook further.) Keep warm.

5.    For the flatbread, place the flour into a bowl. Add the olive oil, cracked black pepper, salt and hot water and bring together to form a dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic.

6.     Divide the dough in half. Using a rolling pin lightly dusted with flour, roll half the dough out to form a circle7-8in in diameter. Repeat with the remaining dough to create a second circle.

7.     Heat half of the vegetable oil in a frying pan and place a dough circle into the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown all over. Remove and keep warm. Heat the remaining oil and cook the second dough circle as before.

8.     For the onion rings, heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

9.     Place the flour into a clean bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the water and whisk to form a smooth batter.

10.  Dip the onion rings into the batter to coat completely. Carefully place into the hot oil in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and drain onto kitchen paper.

11. To serve, divide the chicken pieces between the flatbreads. Drizzle with the chilli sauce and place a dollop of the yogurt dressing on top. Top with a few onion rings and garnish with extra chopped fresh mint.

Hope you love this as much as my husband and I did!