It’s Monday. Shocking news, I know. Surprisingly I don’t always dread Mondays, particularly when they usher in a week chock full of fun activities. (Think Thanksgiving week or season premiere week… Most of my fun activities involve food, wine and relaxing on the couch, but I digress) Other Mondays should come with their own warning labels. These are the Monday’s were you wake up to find your beagle has helped himself to the trashcan, but first he had to dump the contents all over your freshly mopped floor… including the coffee grounds you had dumped in there the night before. Nothing says crappy Monday morning like waking up to coffee grounds on your feet. That’s right, I am usually well out of bed and moving around before I consider myself awake, but again we are moving off topic.
This Monday morning was somewhere in between. Not quite bad or good, this morning was teetering on the edge and could really go either way. I decided to tip the scales in my favor. My go-to, guaranteed to make the morning a little happier French toast recipe. I don’t share this recipe lightly, since it has enough sugar to power a small child for several days but it is well worth the extra calories.
My French toast mood-booster recipe:
(Better than Prozac and without that pesky insurance co-pay)
Nutritional Information: If you have to ask, then don’t make it. This is unhealthy, that’s what makes it taste good.
Ingredients:
- A loaf of French bread (I am not sure what the technical term for the long skinny loaves are called, but the ones that my toddler or my husband would try to use in a sword fight. I have seen the glint in their eyes; I know what they are thinking.)
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/3 cup of sugar
- ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon and nutmeg will do if you don’t have this)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier and a pinch of orange zest (This is optional and is best reserved for mornings when you need a little more mood adjustment. By the way, did you know you could COOK with liquor? What a concept. Now I don’t look like a lush with a stocked liquor cabinet, I am just a gourmet chef.)
- Powdered sugar for dusting (for those mornings you want to make it look pretty. On other mornings you just want to binge eat the carbs as quickly as possible you can skip this. I don’t judge, do what you need.)
Slice the bread into 1 inch slices. (Put your ruler down! This isn’t exact. The thicker the bread the longer it takes to soak up the mixture, but don’t slice it too thin or the bread will fall apart when you try to transfer it to the pan. Just test it out and see what works for you.) Pour the flour in a 9×13 pan; add the eggs and milk whisking while you do so the flour doesn’t get lumpy. Add the sugar, spices and vanilla. Place the slices of bread in the egg mixture and soak for about a minute. Flip it over and let the other side soak for up to 30 minutes. (On a Monday morning I took a power shower and got dressed. The longer it soaks the custardier the French toast will be. I swear custardier is word, spell check approved it and it is my new favorite word today. Custardier, Custardier…)
Heat up a skillet or griddle to medium low heat and spray it with a little Pam or butter. Cook on each side for three to four minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with syrup and butter. Delish!
If you need a French toast mood adjustment and you don’t have time to make it on a Monday morning you can also make this ahead of time. When the toast has cooled put in a freezer safe Tupperware container and line each layer with waxed paper. You can just pop the frozen pieces out of the freezer and into the microwave for a quickie breakfast.
Aren’t you in a better mood already? Now, don’t turn around but you have mess to clean in the kitchen. Pass the Grand Marnier.
a life just ordinary 