Hmmm... this picture may look questionable, but if you are looking for a satisfying, low-calorie breakfast, this may be just the thing. 

What is in it? Well, turkey sausage bits, egg whites, 1 whole egg, and tomatoes and onions. How many calories? About 200 when you use non-stick cooking spray, like Pam. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped tomato

1 whole egg

1/2 cup egg whites

Milk, Salt, Pepper (optional)

1/3 cup pre-cooked turkey sausage bits 

Cooking oil

Fresh Thyme (optional)

Directions:

1. Saute the onions, and add tomatoes when they begin to brown.

2. Throw in the sausage and cook until heated. I also added thyme at this step because I had it laying around. 

3. Combine the egg and egg whites, and add milk, salt and pepper, if desired

4. Pour the eggs over the rest of the ingredients in the pan and cook until done.

In Search of Decadent French Toast, Part II

I was looking for decadence, and I got it... but then Lemon Curd is about the most decadent spreadable I have ever lathered on a piece of bread. It is pretty much lemon meringue pie filling (and it has all the butter, eggs and sugar to prove it).                                                                                                                                       

"In late 19th and early 20th century England, home-made lemon curd was traditionally served with bread or scones at afternoon tea as an alternative to jam, and as a filling for cakes, small pastries and tarts." 

- Fruit Curd, Wikipedia

The British don't mess around when it comes to tea time. And the Food Network doesn't mess around with French toast - lemon curd, blueberries, powdered sugar and maple syrup add up to pure deliciousness. 

 

Ingredients:

Basic Recipe:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 Tbsp butter

Extras for Lemon Blueberry Variation:

Lemon Curd

Blueberries

Challah or Brioche

Powdered Sugar

Maple Syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress. Spread lemon curd on two slices of bread, sandwich blueberries in between two slices.

2. Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, sugar, salt in a bowl

3. Dip lemon blueberry sandwich in egg mixture

4. Cook sandwich in melted butter until brown, about 2-3 minutes per side 

5. Transfer to baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes

6. Cover in powdered sugar and maple syrup and serve.

Conclusion: Hmmm.... I think whoever came up with this recipe really liked sandwiches because they are trying to make two very clumsy French toast sandwiches (the strawberry shortcake French toast was a sandwich too, remember?) When I make this again, I will probably just make normal French toast and layer on the toppings after the bread is cooked on both sides. The blueberries fell out multiple times on the skillet, and it was very clumsy to flip the large challah sandwich I had constructed. Smaller slices would have helped too....

In Search of Decadent French Toast

 My obsession with french toast began with my mother's basic white bread and egg recipe and was further provoked by repeated visits to La Madeleine for their version covered in bananas, strawberries, honey, syrup and who knows what other secret, delicious ingredients.

So it is no surprise that I clipped out a recipe called "Perfect French Toast" from the Food Network Magazine and vowed to attempt all three variations -  lemon blueberry, chocolate and strawberry shortcake. I'm working in my best friend's kitchen today and I know she would appreciate the leftover english muffins, so I am going to start with the Strawberry Shortcake....

Ingredients:

Basic Recipe:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 Tbsp butter

Extras for Strawberry Shortcake Variation:

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

3 Tbsp sugar

3 cups halved strawberries

4 English muffins, halved

Honey (for drizzling)

Vanilla Yogurt (for topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress. Mix 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest with 3 Tbsp sugar, toss in strawberries

2. Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, sugar, salt in a bowl

3. Soak english muffins in egg mixture for five minutes

4. Cook english muffins in melted butter until brown, about 2-3 minutes per side 

5. Transfer english muffins to baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes

6. Sandwich strawberries in between muffin halves and top with yogurt and honey

How do I feel about this recipe? Conflicted. On one hand, I didn't exactly follow the recipe to the letter... using cinnamon instead of nutmeg, including less milk, not measuring and replacing regular english muffins with honey wheat.  On the other hand, the flavors that really stood out to me were not really coming from the french toast... they were from the strawberries, lemon and vanilla yogurt. The egg-y wonderfulness was hidden by these much bigger flavors, producing a subtle richness that balanced the sweeter flavors, but not a wow-that's-french-toast taste. 

Conclusion: yummy, but unless this recipe is super healthy somehow, the butter, sugar, milk and egg part of this recipe are probably not worth the calories... 

The nutritionals from SparkPeople are below you can decide for yourself:

Calories: 480 

Total Fat: 12 g

   Saturated Fat: 5 g

   Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g

   Monounsaturated Fat: 3.5 g

Cholesterol: 228.5 mg

Sodium: 327 mg

Potassium: 392 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 81 g

   Dietary Fiber: 3 g

   Sugar: 54 g

Protein: 15 g

Vitamin A: 30.5%

Vitamin B-1: 13%

Vitamin B-2: 24.5%

Vitamin B-6: 6%

Vitamin B-12: 8.5%

Vitamin C: 7%

Vitamin D: 26.5%

Vitamin E: 13.5%

Calcium: 29%

Iron: 16%