French Toast with Caramelized Bananas & Pecans

Although I am not a huge fan of French toast, my family definitely is and we had our friends Dave, Siobhan, and their kids staying over for Thanksgiving...so I chose this recipe from Canadian Living because it looked delicious and would feed a crowd at breakfast ~ we paired it with bacon and sausages and it was fantastic!!!

FRENCH TOAST WITH CARAMELIZED BANANAS & PECANS

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped pecans

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups 5% cream or milk

 2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 loaf of egg bread

2 tbsp butter

Bananas:

2 tbsp butter

6 firm peeled bananas, halved crosswise and lengthwise

1 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• On a baking sheet, toast pecans in 325F oven for approx. 6 mins.  Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.  Cut egg bread into 3/4" thick slices; dip into egg mixture until soaked.
• In a large skillet, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat and cook the slices, in batches and adding more butter as needed, until golden, approx. 3 minutes.  Transfer to 2 rimmed cookie sheets.  Bake in the oven at 350F until puffed and heated through, approx. 8 mins. Place in a large 9" x 13" casserole dish, and set aside.
• Caramelized Bananas:  Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt half of the butter over medium high heat.  Fry half of the bananas, turning once, until golden and tender, approx. 3 mins.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining bananas.
• In the same skillet, bring maple syrup and brown sugar to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer for 2 mins.  Stir in bananas; simmer for 1 minute.
• Spoon over the French toast and sprinkle with the pecans.
• ENJOY!!

Apple Cranberry Crumble

My sweet tooth was aching for something the other day so I went to my binder of recipes and found this super-easy and super delicious dessert. It uses items that I had in my freezer and pantry and took only minutes to put together...my friend Michelle's family loved it!

APPLE CRANBERRY CRUMBLE

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped peeled apples (I used golden delicious)

2 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed

3/4 cups sugar

1 cup old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

• In a greased 8" square baking dish, combine apples and cranberries; sprinkle with sugar. In another bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and butter; sprinkle over cranberry mixture. Top with pecans if desired.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 55-60 minutes, or until browned and bubbly. Serve warm (although it's delicious at room temperature too!)
  

Long Grain & Wild Rice with Pecans and Craisins

I have had a bag of wild & long grain rice sitting in my pantry for quite a number of months, so I decided today was the day that I was going to use it up! This is a delicious and deceptively simple rice that looks and tastes like a gourmet dish.

LONG GRAIN & WILD RICE WITH PECANS AND CRAISINS

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 cup uncooked wild rice

2/3 cup craisins (or dried cherries)

1 large carrot, finely diced

1 rib of celery, finely diced

1 small red onion, diced

2 tbsp butter

5 cups chicken broth (or use vegetable broth)

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

• In a large saucepan, saute celery, carrot and onion in butter until tender, over medium-high heat. Stir in the broth and the wild rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 mins.


• Add long grain rice; cover and simmer 20 mins. longer. Stir in the craisins; cook 5 mins longer or until the liquid is absorbed. Just before serving, stir in the toasted pecans (to toast them you can either dry fry them in a skillet, or place them on a baking sheet under the broiler...just make sure you keep turning the nuts so that they don't burn!)