Week Seven: Finals Week Breakfast Special

Greetings! With dead week finished at UNI, I know that myself and others all across the U.S. (and other countries) are preparing for their final exams. Now, finals week is a very important week, and no one can really argue otherwise. With so much pressure on students to do well, one part of the day - the most important part - is often overlooked.

Breakfast.

This week's special will focus on delicious, fast, and fun breakfast items that will take your mind off of finals while you prepare and eat them. Some important things to remember about breakfast:

-Breakfast begins your day at a metabolic level. The sooner you get your metabolism going, the sooner you will wake up and the faster you'll be able to think and focus. Eat breakfast as soon as possible after waking up - within a half an hour is best, but within an hour will do just fine.

- Because breakfast gets your metabolism going so quickly, it helps you to digest and process everything in your food. You can literally eat just about anything for breakfast, and by the end of the day, any sugars or fats have been digested, filtered, processed, and expelled. In fact, this also helps to digest and process food throughout the day. The oven is hot and ready to go, as they say.

- Eating breakfast will help you to concentrate throughout the day, and will help you to study, too. Eating breakfast on days when you don't have finals will be beneficial to your studying, and also will help to keep you healthy so that you don't get sick as easily. It will also improve your stress levels and elevate your mood over time.


This Week's Recipes Are: Chocolate French Toast, Pizza Omelets, and Homemade Cinnamon Rolls


Chocolate French Toast
Makes 6 Servings
Prep Time: 7 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 slices bread, crusts removed (best if 1 day old)
• 3 milk chocolate candy bars (such as Hershey's) at 1.55 ounces each, halved
• 2 tablespoons butter
• confectioner's/powdered sugar (optional)

1. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour half into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.

2. Arrange 6 pieces of bread in a single layer over egg mixture. Place one piece of chocolate in the center of each piece of bread. Top with remaining bread; pour remaining egg mixture over all. Let stand for 5 minutes.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Fry sandwiches until golden brown on both sides. Dust with confectioner's/powdered sugar.

4. Cut the sandwiches diagonally; serve warm.

Review-
I tried this recipe last week and was incredibly impressed with it. You have to be sure that the egg mixture has solidified the bread enough to flip the sandwich, otherwise you'll end up trying to move soggy bread back into place. Other than that, however, this recipe was very easy to make. I'm not very good at making french toast, but even I could make this simple recipe. If you like chocolate, and you like french toast, then you'll love this recipe! :)


Pizza Omelets
This recipe makes one serving.
Start to Finish: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 10 slices pepperoni (more or less to preferences)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon shredded/grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a bowl, beat the eggs and milk. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the egg mixture. As the eggs set, lift the edges, letting the uncooked portion flow underneath. When the eggs are completely set, remove from heat.

2. Spread pizza sauce over half of the eggs. Top with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. Fold omelet in half; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Review-
This is an incredibly easy and fast recipe, and it's definitely fun. If you like pizza and omelets as much as I do, you'll definitely enjoy this. You can switch out other toppings (like ham, olives, onion, etc; ) for the pepperoni if you so desire, and it works really well. This seriously takes all of ten minutes per omelet, and is absolutely delicious.


Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Makes: 12
Start to Finish: 15-20 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups biscuit/baking mix (such as Bisquick)
• 1 1/3 cups milk

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup raisins, optional

Icing:

• 2 cups confectioner's/powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, combine biscuit mix and milk. Turn onto a floured surface and knead 8 to 10 times. Roll dough into a 12-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Spread with butter. Combine sugar, cinnamon and raisins if desired, and sprinkle over the butter.

2. Roll the dough up from a long side, and pinch the seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices, and place the slices with the cut side down on a large greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Meanwhile, combine icing ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and then spread over the rolls. Serve warm.

Review-
I remember cold winter mornings when I would wake up, greeted by the smell of my mother cooking cinnamon rolls on the other side of the house. Those days were always the best. Now, I'm engaged to a wonderful fiance who loves cinnamon rolls to the point that when I surprise him the way that my mother used to surprise me with them, the only word to describe his reaction is delight.
I have been looking (lazily) for a good recipe for cinnamon rolls made from scratch for over two years, and this is the best I've found. We absolutely love this recipe, and I enjoy making it. It can be tricky to make the first time, but if you read the instructions first, it's easier. While not the fastest (I had to re-knead and re-roll my dough twice because I messed up), this recipe certainly is well worth it.