stuffed french toast.

french toast was always more weekend fare as far as breakfast was concerned when i was a kid. weekday options were rice krispies (which i'd top with way too much sugar when my mom wasn't looking), toast, poptarts, fruit and the like. of course, my mom would have made me anything i wanted, but let's be honest, i wasn't much of a breakfast person growing up. especially on school mornings. on those days my stomach was already in knots before my feet hit the floor in the morning and breakfast never sounded very appealing. on the weekends, when school seemed to be a million miles away, breakfast became brunch and the options were delicious. from pancakes and french toast to eggs, waffles and turkey bacon -- brunch was a meal that left you feeling satisfied and looking forward to the next sunday.

as i've become an adult, brunch is still a treat in the same way it was as a kid. different options are suddenly readily available and now you can consume alcohol with said items before 11am without judgement. double score. but what else has changed is that "brunch items" can now be consumed during the week, because A) i actually like my job and B) i am way less lazy than i was as a kid. for instance, stuffed french toast......

start out with your bread, peanut butter and banana.
slather (yes, i said slather), each side of the bread with natural peanut butte and banana slices.
i just did naner slices on one side, but hey go crazy, do both sides if you feel like it. then seal the bread together with a good press. my dad used to do this "press method" when burgers were too big when i was a kid, making them nice and flat so i could get my whole mouth around them:)

next you'll need your egg mixture. mix together one egg with a dash of cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg.
soak both sides of the french toast sammie in the bread till its fully coated and the egg mixture is gone, gone, gone.

warm a small skillet on medium heat and add about a teaspoon of real butter, give it a swirl and then add your stuffed french toast.
let it cook for a good 3-4 minutes and then flip.
let it cook another 3-4 minutes before removing from the pan. set on a plate and top with more peanut butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
the only thing that could have improved this was ice cold milk, but we were out so coffee definitely made for a nice accompaniement. while this was made with peanut butter which is pretty fatty, its mostly good fat so it was relatively guiltless. also with the egg and whole wheat bread, my fiber and protein consumptions were at a pretty good level for breakfast. most importantly, this kept me full for about 4 hours. this really is the biggest selling point, as i am pretty much ready to eat at all times of the day and night.