French Toast Kabobs

Breakfast kabobs are a favorite at our house.  

The kids love these for a fun breakfast on the patio or in front of the fireplace in the middle of winter.  

We think they are a special treat no matter which fruit you choose to use.  

I am using strawberries, blackberries and bananas for a red white and blue treat.  

The board of ingredients:

• Texas Toast
• Milk
• Fruit
• Vanilla Extract
• Syrup
• Eggs
• Bulk Sausage 
• Sugar
• Skewers

Let's start by cutting up the bread.

Cut all the crusts off first.

{Don't toss the crusts into the trash, use them to make breadcrumbs.}

Finally, cut the bread into quarters.
You can do this step the night before to make your morning a bit easier.
Stale bread makes the best french toast.

Now for the sausage balls.
I love these things and so do the kids.
Start by putting the sausage into a bowl.

Use a mini ice cream scoop to make little meatballs.

Once all the balls are made, add a bit of water to a non stick pan and cook the balls over medium heat.
The water will help cook the meatballs by slightly steaming them.

Once the meat starts to caramelize, keep turning the balls.
You don't want burnt sausage balls.
Sausage will burn more quickly than most meats because the sausage contains sugar of some sort.
Sugar burns quickly so keep an eye on your pan.

Now we can make the custard for the french toast.
Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk them.

Add the milk.

Add the vanilla and sugar.
Whisk it all together.

Dip the bread pieces into the custard.

Coat both sides and get them out of the custard quickly.

Cook the french toast bites in a non stick pan over medium heat.
I am cooking the french toast with just a thin coat of non stick spray.
You could cook them in butter.

Cook the bites until they are golden brown.
These are beautiful.

Now for the fun part.
It's time to start building the kebobs.



I use two pieces of french toast together...you can do it however you want.

I LOVE making these.
They are already looking good.

All you need is a tiny drizzle of syrup.

This is really a fun breakfast for adults as well as kids.

Enjoy!

French Toast Kabobs

Ingredients:

1 Pound Bulk Breakfast Sausage
30 Slices Texas Toast
Eggs
Milk
Sugar
Vanilla
4 Bananas, Each Cut Into 5 Pieces
20 Strawberries
20 Black Berries
Syrup

Directions:

1. Roll sausage into 20 equal (roughly large tablespoon sized) balls. Put the balls into a non stick skillet over high heat and add a quarter cup of water to steam the sausage balls. When the water is evaporated, turn the heat to medium and turn the sausage balls to cook evenly until they are cook through.

2. Cut the crusts off the bread and reserve for bread crumbs. Cut the bread into quarters.

3. Crack eggs into a bowl. Add the milk, sugar and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

4. Dip bread pieces in egg mixture and cook in a non stick pan over medium low heat. When bread is golden brown, flip the bread and cook the other side until it is golden brown as well. Set cooked french toast cubes aside until all the cubes are cooked.

5. To assemble the skewer,add six cubes of french toast, a piece of each fruit and a sausage ball to the skewer.  Makes 20 skewers.  Enjoy!

For a printer friendly version of this recipe click here.

Pickles

My kids LOVE pickles.

And a big jar of fresh pickles is such a great thing to have in the fridge.  

Pickles are SO easy to make and so rewarding.

The board of ingredients is pretty simple.  

An empty jar of any kind will work.

• Sliced Onions
• Fresh Dill
• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Pickling Spices...More About That Below

I forgot these are pretty important ingredients that you should also see.

• White Vinegar
• Pickling Salt

I cut up a pile of pickle sized cucumbers into 8 wedges per cucumber.

Here is my pickling spice.

I started with a basic recipe from Happier Than a Pig in Mud.
I skipped the cinnamon and cloves.

Then I substituted some fresh ginger for ground ginger to bump up the flavor profile a bit.

Fresh ginger really adds a kick to your pickles.

I really recommend it, but do not over do it because the ginger also adds a bit of heat to the pickles. 

One thin slice for this gallon sized jar made a BIG difference.
I have a little over a cup of pickling spice for the container I am using.

Lots of fresh dill and garlic is also a must for these pickles. 

I am using a one gallon glass container to make my pickles in.

It will be prefect to go from the fridge to the table on the patio.  

This is the ultimate make ahead dish.  

Anyway, start with a layer of onions and a few garlic cloves. 

Add about one third of the cucumbers to the pickle pot and sprinkle with the pickling salt.  

I went very light on the salt.

Add about a third of the pickling spices.

Add another layer of onions, half of the dill and a few more garlic cloves.  

Just keep layering until your pot is full.

When your pickle pot is full, fill it up three quarters of the way with white distilled vinegar.  

Fill the last quarter of the jar with cool water. 

Let the pickle marinate in the fridge for three to five days and then enjoy.  

:-)

They go perfectly with a messy, saucy plate of BBQ anything. 

They go perfectly with a sandwich and some chips.

They go perfectly with a burger and baked beans.

They go perfectly with any wrap you could imagine.
The pickled onions are really terrific on a hot dog.
They make a great cold snack.

The whole jar goes perfectly with summer. 

Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients:

Pickling Spices
Pickling Salt
Fresh Dill
Sliced Onions
Garlic
Cucumbers Cut into Wedges
White Vinegar

Instructions:

1. Into a clean glass vessel, layer your ingredients in any order.
2. Fill vessel three quarters of the way with white vinegar.
3. Fill rest of the vessel with cool water.
4. Cover and let the pickles marinate in the fridge for three to five days.
5. Enjoy

I am linking to Foody Friday at Rattlebridge Farms.

I was browsing this morning and came across this organizer.

It holds wax paper, aluminum foil and paper towel.
Do you know how much space this would save in my drawers???

Challenge:
Anyone have any ideas on how I could make this?