Saturday morning breakfast

With visitors in town (Judy, Chris, Ashley) I was persuaded to "reprise" the special breakfast I made for Bonnie's birthday (or was it Mother's Day?) a few weeks ago. It's called "Strawberry Stuffed French Toast." It didn't turn out quite as well as the first time (I needed to grease the baking pan better and bake a little longer), but at least I took a few photos this time. The recipe follows.



RECIPE: STRAWBERRY STUFFED FRENCH TOAST
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INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
4 T sugar
4 - 1" thick slices of French bread
1 cup low fat milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. baking powder
4 egg whites
2 eggs
3 tsp. butter
fresh strawberries
strawberry or maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together the 1 cup of strawberries, the lemon juice and zest and 2 T sugar. Set aside.

Cut bread slices in half and cut a slit in each slice to form a pocket. Stuff with strawberries, secure with toothpicks. (I didn't use toothpicks, just put the open edges facing each other, and they did fine.) Place slices in a 13" X 9" baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, combine milk, sugar, vanilla, baking powder and eggs. Mix well. Pour over stuffed bread, turning to coat. Chill for 20-30 minutes, turning bread pieces occasionally.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease another 13" X 9" inch baking pan. Move bread pieces to this second pan and bake for 6-8 minutes on each side. Broil for a minute or two on each side if more crispy finish desired.

Serve warm with additional strawberries and syrup.

Yield: 4 Servings