The Perfect Fall Salad - For Breakfast!

I briefly mentioned my vision of a breakfast salad last week, chock full of various flavors and textures, including bacon fat roasted walnuts and a fresh pear dressing. Little did I know when I was dreaming this up that it would quickly become a favorite for breakfast! I served this up for brunch one weekend morning and even got the man stamp of approval! It not only has a nice variety of colors in the fruits and vegetables, but the mix of soft, juicy, crunchy, and meaty textures keep you coming back for more.

The ingredients in this salad are very versatile and are easily mixed and matched for other salad creations. Feel free to sub in whatever's fresh, in season, and/or on sale that week to suit your preferences. The salad is just as lovely without the bacon as well for those who are vegetarian or vegan. My favorite part? The ingredients are simple to prep and prepare ahead of time which means I can throw this together in a minute.

Fall Breakfast Salad

Ingredients

• 2 C salad greens of choice
• 2 strips crispy bacon, chopped
• 1/4 C pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 Hachiya persimmon, diced
• 2 tbsp Bacon Fat Roasted Vanilla Cinnamon Walnuts
• 1 tbspPear Vanilla Salad Dressing, or to taste

Method

1. Layer salad greens with bacon, pomegranate seeds, persimmon, and walnuts. Drizzle with salad dressing.

Yield: 1 serving

I've been calling this my "breakfast salad" since its inception, but the portions can easily be reduced or increased to suit any meal.

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Almond Flour Waffles

I love making and eating waffles but almost never get around to doing it. This week I found a recipe for Almond & Yogurt Waffles which sounded good enough for me to whip out the waffle iron for a batch. For mine, I used fresh ground almond flour and added a couple teaspoons of vanilla with the wet ingredients.

The waffles have a hearty, rustic feel to them courtesy of the almond flour, but it goes quite nicely with a little butter and some maple syrup, YUM.

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Eggnog French Toast

Lost and forgotten in the depths of the archives, I just found this recipe which I never got around to posting. Not overly fitting to be posting a recipe with eggnog in the middle of the summer, but perhaps it'll get you thinking ahead...? Here's to hoping :)

This recipe came about during a post dinner dessert hunt. With eggnog and maple syrup in the refrigerator and a loaf of crusty bread going unused on the counter, why not make some french toast? I cut the bread into little rounds using a biscuit cutter and garnished with chocolate chips.

Eggnog French Toast

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp eggnog
• 1 tbsp dark rum
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 egg
  Crusty bread, sliced

Method

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
2. In a bowl, whisk all ingredients until thoroughly combined.
3. When skillet is hot, dip bread slices into egg batter until coated, and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.

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Simple Cinnamon Roll Filling

I was watching Everyday Italian the other day and Giada was making hazelnut cinnamon rolls. Now, I am not a fan of hazelnut but got to thinking how good walnuts might be in its place. Next thing you know, I'm making cinnamon rolls with apples, cherries, and walnuts.

One of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had, if not the best, were those a coworker brought in at work. Let me tell you, they were so good I think I ate three of them (and they were HUGE)! There's no way I'll ever get that recipe and I'd be lucky to stumble across anything as good.

If you're not into making bread dough, try store bought dough as Giada recommends. Otherwise, any sweet dough will do. Roll out your dough into rectangles.

Simple Cinnamon Roll Filling

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• Dash vanilla extract

Optional mix-ins:

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/4 C dried cherries or cranberries, diced
• 1/4 C walnuts, chopped

Method

1. Mix ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Add optional mix-ins, if desired.
2. Spread evenly onto dough, then roll, cut, and bake as normal.

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Bagels

I had my first cheese bagel the other week and was blown away by how delicious it was. I decided I needed to make my own, as spending $1.50 for an impulse snack seems unnecessary, especially since bagels are so easy!

Here is my favorite bagel recipe: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/homemade_bagels

I've made this recipe several times, last time I believe was around Mother's Day for brunch. They are really easy to make, especially if you have experience working with yeast, as this can sometimes be tricky.

To make these "cheese bagels", simply sprinkle with shredded cheddar after brushing with egg, and bake for the specified time.

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