Quick and Easy BUT Delicious French Toast

OH MY was this the best breakfast I have ever made.  Well, maybe not the BEST but pretty darn close!  And was it ever easy!!  If you are looking for a fast, but delicious breakfast, look no further!!  AND the best thing is that is not expensive and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand!!

This breakfast "adventure" comes to us from Zestuous.com.  I modified the recipe a bit.  In their recipe, they make their own blueberry sauce.  I cheated and used my own Blueberry Ginger Jam which worked out wonderfully.  In fact, I think you could substitute any jam for a different taste and it would be delicious! 

The only ingredient you need to buy is the King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.  I found these at our Kroger Store in the Baked Goods Section.  They weren't very expensive - I think I paid $3.89 for the package - you get 12 rolls.

Now onto the recipe . . .

Blueberry French Toast

1 jar your favorite Blueberry Jam or Preserves
6 King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
2 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 T butter.

Place the blueberry jam in a disposable Wilton Decorating bag with a large decorating tip.  Set aside.

Crack the two eggs into a bowl and whip. 

Mix the sugar and cinnamon into another separate bowl.

With a knife, slice a small slit in the side of the roll and with your finger, widen the hole.

Dip the roll in the egg bowl and then dip the roll in the sugar.  Pipe the blueberry jam into the hole.  Repeat until all 6 rolls are done.

Place the butter into a baking pan and melt in a 400 degree oven.  Place the rolls on their side with the blueberry side facing up.

Bake uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Serve warm.

YUM, YUM, YUM!!

Need I say more!!  Next time, try a different jam or preserves - won't this be great with peach preserves (oh be still my beating heart!! - life just doesn't get any better than this, does it!!).

Enjoy!

The best of both worlds Jam!

Can you imagine a jam made with your two most favorite fruits in the whole wide world!  Here it is . . . well, that is if you love blueberries and peaches!!  

OK, these happen to be two of my most favorite fruits, so when I found this recipe I KNEW I HAD to give it a try!!  I thought it just couldn't get any better than this!!

The best thing about this is that the blueberries came from my own yard - how cool is that!!  OK, I am getting overly excited! 

Here is the recipe:

Blueberry Peach Jam

3 cups fresh blueberries (I imagine you could used frozen, but thawed blueberries)

2 cups fresh peaches

1 pkg powdered fruit pectin like Sure-Jel

1/4 tsp cinnamon

7 cups sugar

Crush the blueberries and put them in a medium size saucepan.

Peel and remove the stone from the peaches.  Cut the peaches into slices and chop them into small pieces.

Add them to the blueberries.  With a potato masher or something similar, mash the peaches and blueberries.

Mix the fruit pectin and cinnamon into the blueberry/peach mixture and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil while stirring constantly.

Add the sugar all at once, mix to blend into the fruit mixture.  Bring to a full boil and boil hard for one minute - stir constantly.

Remove the pot from the heat.  Skim any foam.

Ladle the jam into hot jar and seal.

Place in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 7 to 8 half-pint jars.

How does this taste???  Wonderfully delicious!!  OK, I will try to be more precise.  Definitely blueberry but with a slight peachy "kick."

As you can see, it looks more like Blueberry Jam than Peach Jam.  This is definitely a keeper recipe!

ENJOY!

Caramel Oatmeal Bars

This recipe was given to me by a customer.  OH MY!! are these the BEST brownies or bar cookies that we have ever tasted!!  You just can't eat one!!  If you are on a diet, definitely do NOT make these because they are addictive!!  I swoon at the thought of these - they are THAT good.  The best thing is they are so easy to make, too!!

She said they are also known as "Caramel Crack" - LOL!!!  Anywhere, here is the recipe!!

Caramel Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Brown  Sugar (packed)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups Oatmeal
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 sticks unsalted Butter melted
1 jar Caramel Topping
3/4 bag of 12 oz Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan.

Combine the brown sugar, flour, oatmeal and baking soda.  Add the melted butter and mix until crumbly.  Press HALF of the mixutre into the bottom of the baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and spread the jar of caramel topping on top of the crust, followed by the chocolate chips.

Sprinkle the remaining crust over the top.

Bake in the oven for an additional 15 t0 20 minutes, until it is a light golden brown.

Allow to cool and chill completley before cutting them into squares.  ENJOY!!  These are SO good! 

Grilled Pizza?

Who ever heard of such a thing as Grilled Pizza?  My husband thought I was nuts.  You can't grill a pizza!!  How on earth on you going to do this?  You have had some crazy ideas but this one sounds just plain silly!!  Grilled pizza!!  If you want pizza that bad, just call the pizza shop!  Those were my husband's comments last night before I made Grilled Pizza.  He is singing a different tune this morning!!

To be quite honest, I did have the Pizza Shop's phone number handy just in case . . .   Now I wish I had taken pictures, but we didn't make these until 9:00 last night and it was pretty dark outside.  This was a combination of two different recipes.  The pizza dough recipe came from the Become A Better Baker website and the pizza sauce is from the book Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila.

Before I get to the recipe, there are a couple of things I want to note or point out.  We used a charcoal grill.  You can make these on any type of outdoor grill.  Secondly, let the grill cool a bit.  We put the dough on when it was a bit too hot and some of it burned.  Live and learn.  On to the recipes . . .

This pizza dough is EXCELLENT!!  It recommends that you use Fleischmann's Pizza Crust Yeast which I never heard of.  Here is a website that tells where you can buy or order it: http://www.pizzacrustyeast.com/  If you can't find it, just use the Rapid Rise Yeast instead.

Pizza Dough

3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour
1 package Fleischmann's Pizza Crust Yeast or Rapid Rise Yeast
1 T sugar
1 1/3 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Blender Pizza Sauce

28 oz. can of Crushed Tomatoes
2 T sugar
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 tsp dried basil or 1 T fresh basil
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
5 T tomato paste

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.
Keeps in a covered container for 5 days in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Start the charcoal fire or gas grill to medium high heat.

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and sugar.  Add the very warm water and oil, mix until well blended - about 1 minute.  Gradually add the rest of the flour to make a soft dough.  The dough will be slightly sticky and form a ball.  Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and put on a floured surface.  Knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed.  (I love how this dough feels - you can tell it is going to be good!!).

Divide the dough into 6 or 8 balls.  Pat or roll each dough on a well floured surface to about 8 inch circles (doesn't have to be perfect!). 

When the grill is ready, place the dough circles carefully on the grill (remember it is HOT!!).  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from grill with cooked side up.  Cover the cooked side with your sauce and desired toppings (i.e., pepperoni, cheese, etc.).  Put back on the grill for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.  (We put the cover back on the grill to help the cheese melt - the instructions don't say that but we think that helps the toppings heat up and melt).

Remove from the grill and ENJOY!

VERDICT:

Really good pizza!  The crust was excellent.  My husband liked this crust so much better than my other crust recipe.  He said whatever I did, remember it because he loved this pizza!!   So we have a winner!!