Coconut Crusted French Toast with Coconut Syrup

I came up with this for Father's Day. One of our family traditions is breakfast in bed for Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthdays. I never like to repeat myself with the making the same breakfast that I have made in the past. I decided to spice up an old classic. I used as much coconut as I could think of for these babies. Coconut crusted french toast with coconut syrup! If you are a coconut lover, you will love it! I thought it turned out delicious. And Broc loved it. Really, that was all that mattered, since this special breakfast was for him!

I think it would have been even better topped with some fresh raspberries. But since this little island is fresh out of berries, I just gave him a banana to enjoy it with instead!

Coconut French Toast

2 eggs
2/3 cup coconut milk
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup flaked coconut, sweetened
6 thick slices of bread

Combine ingredients. Dip each slice of bread into egg mixture, soaking both sides. Place in hot pan and cook on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot. Top with coconut syrup and flaked coconut.

Coconut Syrup

1/2 cup butter, (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cream of coconut
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, place butter, sugar, cream of coconut, coconut milk, salt and baking soda. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, and boil for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Serve warm.

Mini Frittatas

I had planned to make a breakfast casserole for a baby shower that I was helping with. But I couldn't find some of the ingredients. We are limited with our resources here. So, I had to resort to a plan B. At the time, I wasn't really sure what that was. Then I had remembered I saw a photo floating around on pinterest that had eggs in a muffin tin. I thought I would attempt to make something from that idea. I mixed all of my ingredients together and threw them in a muffin tin. I was a little nervous, not following a recipe and unsure of how the end result would turn out- especially making it the morning of the shower. Luckily, they turned out and tasted divine, especially topped with a dollip of salsa! Is it just me or is everything so much cuter when it is in mini form? Simply perfect for a brunch.

After I made them I thought, this would also be a great breakfast for school days as well. Throw the stuff together the night before, or at least have all of your chopping and shredding done, and then just bake them in the morning! Enjoy!

Mini Frittatas

12 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
5 slices deli ham, diced
1/2 medium sized green pepper, chopped
green onions, chopped
hand full of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
crushed red pepper flakes, just a few shakes - depending on how much heat you like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk. Add cheese, ham, green pepper, green onions, cilantro, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

Fill muffin tin with egg mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until tops of frittatas are nice and golden brown. Take a knife and slide it around each egg. Carefully remove frittata from pan. Serve hot.


*When I made these, I filled each muffin tin to the very top with the egg mixture. And it made 12 muffin sized frittatas. I am sure you could just fill them 1/2- 3/4 of the way full and get about 20 out of the batch.

Homemade Granola

I got this fabulous recipe off of my friend Kristen. Thanks to her I am converted to making homemade granola! Since we on an island where good cereals are super pricey, and since we live on a student budget... I have began to make things I never would have thought of even trying before. I first made this before I left for the states, so Broc had something to eat for breakfast while I was gone. It is a favorite around our house. And it is one of those great recipes that I can make with my kids and let them dump and stir to their hearts content! So easy to throw together and tastes divine.

Homemade Granola

Recipe courtesy Kristen Morgans

3 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups chopped nuts (I used almonds)
3/4 cup flaked coconut
4- 6 Tablespoons honey (or sugar) I used honey
4 Tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

Mix together oats, nuts and coconut. Set aside.
In a saucepan combine honey (or sugar), butter, salt and sweetened condensed milk.
Cook over medium heat until well blended and sugar is dissolved.
Pour over oat mixture and spread on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Watch the color carefully- do not overbake! It will continue to cook as you take it out of the oven. Store in an airtight container. 

New Name, New Look, New Blog!

Some of you might notice a little change with the name and look of the blog! I can thank my friend Katie Price at Priceless Design Studio for that! Though I probably drove her completely in sane with my indecisiveness, she came up with an amazingly lovely design. I love it! Since the change, I have added a few more posts- so take a look around. It is still a work in progress, but it is done! Yay! I am so excited to have a real home to house my recipes and ideas! Welcome to Lovely!