Banana Nutella Stuffed French Toast (serves 2)
1egg, beaten
1 tbs milk, 1/2 & 1/2 or water
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
4 slices of bread (French or Italian is best, but regular sandwich bread like I
used here works too)
1 large banana
Nutella
Maple Syrup (VT is best of course)
1 tbsp butter
In a bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, nutmeg & milk (or whichever liquid
you prefer). Spread the Nutella on one side of each piece of bread (all 4
pieces). Peel and slice the banana, about 1/4" thick and distribute them
evenly onto two of the pieces of bread. Take the other 2 pieces (the 2 without
the banana) and place on top (you will have to sandwiches stuffed with the
Nutella & bananas). Heat the butter in a large skillet on medium heat until
melted.
Place each "sandwich" into the egg mixture and make sure it's evenly coated
before turning it over and doing the same thing on the other side. Place into
hot skillet and cook on each side until it's a nice deep golden brown. Remove
from heat and serve hot with maple syrup (since the Nutella & banana are
sweet, just a little drizzle of syrup was enough for us).
Tomato & Spinach Omelet (serves 1)
2 eggs, beaten together with a tbsp of water
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 frozen spinach, thawed & drained (feel free to use fresh spinach)
2 tbsp onion, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic, chopped
1/8 cup Montery Jack cheese, shredded
1/8 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tbsp butter
Melt butter on medium-low heat in a medium size skillet. Add onion and saute
until translucent. Add tomato and spinach and cook for a couple of minutes,
or until tomatoes start to wilt. Add the garlic, and cook for another
minute. Turn the heat down to low and add the eggs, making sure to coat the
pan evenly. Allow to cook until the eggs look mostly cooked thru, then
sprinkle your cheese evenly over the eggs. Cover pan with lid for a couple of
minutes until cheese is mostly melted, then fold 1/2 of the omelet over onto
the other 1/2. Turn off the heat & place the lid back on. Let set for a 1-2
minutes, the remove from pan. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.
Balsamic Pot Roast
3 lbs beef chuck roast, boneless
Garlic salt & pepper seasoning
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 fresh sage leaves (or a sprinkle of powdered sage)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup red wine
1/3 cup GOOD balsamic vinegar
1, 14.5oz can beef broth
3 tbsp corn starch
Salt & Pepper
Baby carrots, about a bag
2 medium potatoes, cut into mouth sized pieces
While I prefer to cook my pot roast in a crock pot, I do think it's essential to
sear the meat first. I usually to do this part the night before. Sprinkle garlic
salt & pepper seasoning all over the meat. Heat olive oil on medium-high in a
large skillet. When nice and hot, sear the roast on all sides - couple of
minutes on each side. Remove from pan and place in the bowl of your slow
cooker. Top with the sliced onion, chopped garlic and balsamic vinegar. I took
a piece of cheesecloth and placed all the herbs in it, tied it up with kitchen
string and placed it into the pot - this way you don't need to fish all the herbs
out later. Cover pot and put in fridge overnight.
In the morning, add the red wine and beef broth. Cover and turn slow cooker
on low and cook for 6 hours. Add the carrots & potatoes, turn the slow cooker
up to high heat and cook for another 3-4 hours. Once everything is done to
your desired tenderness, pour the liquid into a large measuring cup. Let it
settle, then skim off the fat. Add about half of it to a bowl and mix in the corn
starch until it's nice and smooth. Add the other half of the liquid to a medium
saucepan and turn it on medium-high heat and bring to a slow boil. Add the
cornstarch liquid to the saucepan and stir to combine. Heat until it gets hot
and thickens up a bit. Once you've got the thickness you prefer, turn off heat
and pour the gravy/sauce back into the crock pot over the top of meat and
veggies. Serve hot.
*If you want to shorten the cook time for this, cook it on high for 6-7
hours. Steam the carrots until tender, and microwave your potatoes. Cut the
potatoes into bite sized pieces and add them and the carrots to the pot. While
the veggies are cooking you can work on the sauce.*
