Breakfast Toast 4 Ways
May 11, 2019 by Nicole Collins
We’re taking a journey through the crazy thought process that is my brain today!
Do your thoughts ever take you so far down the rabbit hole that you wonder how you ever get back to reality?
I mean, really. Sometimes I wonder if someone were to study my brain, would it look like a ping pong ball bouncing around in there? Would the pictures of my brainwaves be like BOING BING BANG WHOMP BOING? Because, that’s how I feel sometimes.
Today’s recipe kinda took me on one of those journeys. It all started with this amazing breakfast sandwich that I bought at the farmer’s market a couple weekends ago.
When I go to the farmer’s market, I have to make one complete lap through the vendors before I start shopping. I need to see what everyone has, and I need to seriously evaluate what I actually need vs. everything I want. So on this particular trip, two ladies working at this bagel stand called me out for walking by for the second time. Of course, they drew me in; we started chatting; and the next thing I knew, I was walking away with a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a cinnamon raisin bagel (per their suggestion). And, it was amazing!
As much as I LOVE the salty sweet combo, I couldn’t believe that I’d never thought to make a classic BEC sammie on this sweet bagel. I went to the grocery store immediately after the market to pick up the items I didn’t find at the market, and I picked up a bag of mini cinnamon raisin bagels to recreate this deliciousness at home.
BUT, then I saw the cinnamon raisin bread, I swapped the bagels out for that, and a flood of ideas started rushing in my brain.
From there, I stood in the middle of the Aldi aisle building my master plan: an array of breakfast toasts! We’ve all heard of avocado toasts and all of the different variations on that. And, I love this open faced sandwich idea, because you only need 1 piece of bread which is saving on carbs. So, my original plan was breakfast toast 5 ways…one for each day of the work week. Then, the Libra in me started thinking about the balance in my pictures with an odd number of plates, and I revised the plan to breakfast toast 6 ways. But then, I thought “well, if you’re going to make 6, you might as well make 7 to cover every day of the week”. But, that spiraled me back to my original “odd number” problem. So, I evened it out in the other direction and settled on 4 toasts.
See…RABBIT HOLE!
But regardless, this long story brings us to today’s recipe: Breakfast Toasts 4 Ways!
The great thing about all 4 of these toasts is that they’re super simple to put together with totally basic ingredients. And they’re adaptable, so you can swap or add ingredients at your leisure! Plus, the components can be prepped in advance so you can assemble when you arrive to work so everything can be freshly toasted.
Our first toast is the one that sent me on this journey in the first place: Cinnamon Raisin BEC Toast. It’s really as simple as toasting a piece of cinnamon raisin bread; piling crispy bacon, an egg prepared however you like, and American cheese on top; and going to town! I have this little electric mini egg griddle that I like to use which can cook an egg in 1-2 minutes with zero hassle. It’s the best of salty and sweet in one breakfast bite!
Our second toast uses that cinnamon raisin bread again, but this time in a more sweet way. We start our Apple Nut Toast by spreading some whipped cream cheese crust to crust on the toast. Then, we top it with some fresh apple slices and chopped pecans. That’s it! If you’re packing this to go, toss the apples in a little lemon juice to keep them from browning. You also have the option of using your favorite nut. Walnuts, pistachios, almonds, or peanuts would also go great here. And, we really don’t need to add any other ingredients to boost the flavors thanks to the sweet cinnamon swirled through our toast. YUM!
For our third toast, we’re going to make what I like to call BAT Toast. The base for this toast is a nice hearty slice of wheat bread. I chose a larger loaf of bread, so I can have more surface area to pile on the goodies. We start by mashing avocado with some salt, pepper, and a splash of citrus juice. Normally, I’d mix lime juice with avocado. But, I already had some lemon juice to spare from our sweet toast, so I chose to mix a little of that in instead. Once we spread the mashed avocado on the toast, we top it with some crisp bacon, juicy tomatoes, and another sprinkle of salt and pepper. That’s it! BAT Toast…bacon, avocado, tomato. Nice and savory, and perfectly filling.
Our final toast is the most labor intensive of them all. But, it’s totally worth the extra little bit of effort. Last up, we’re making Southwest Scramble Toast! We’re going to make a quick scrambled egg with some onions, jalapenos, and cheese mixed in first. Normally, I’d sweat out the veggies before adding the egg mix in, but I wanted to keep the crunchy texture of the peppers and onions for this one. So, the raw veggies get whipped right in to the egg with some milk before cooking them to a soft scramble. Then, we pile the eggs on top of some more of that hearty wheat bread that’s been kissed with a little spread of butter, and we top the eggs with a few slices of avocado and a dollop of salsa. And, done! See, that wasn’t so hard.
I love that these toasts are all so different despite using almost all of the same ingredients between them. So, you really don’t need a mile long grocery list to make 4 DELICIOUS breakfasts! And, most of them are more assembly than anything. So when fast + simple = YUM, could it really get any better?
Alright, everybody. Now that you’ve had the tiniest sneak peak of how my brain develops an idea, it’s time to debrief with our faces buried in delicious breakfast!
I hope you enjoy, and keep your bellies full with your minds clear today. Let’s eat!
Breakfast Toast 4 Ways
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
For the Southwest Scramble Toast:
½ tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp onion, chopped
½ jalapeno, diced
2 eggs
¼ tsp taco seasoning
1/8 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp shredded cheddar
1 slice whole wheat bread
¼ avocado, sliced
1 tbsp salsa
For the BAT (Bacon, Avocado, Tomato) Toast:
½ avocado, mashed
1 tsp lemon juice
1 roma tomato, sliced
2 strips bacon, cooked
1 slice whole wheat bread
salt and pepper, to taste
For the Sweet and Savory BEC (Bacon, Egg, and Cheese) Toast:
1 slice cinnamon raisin bread
1 slice American cheese,
2 slices bacon, cooked
1 egg, fried
For the Apple Pecan Toast:
1 slice cinnamon raisin bread
1 tbsp whipped cream cheese
½ apple, sliced
½ tbsp chopped pecans
Directions:
Make the Southwest Scramble Toast: In a mixing bowl add eggs, taco seasoning, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, onion, jalapeno, and cheddar. Whisk well to combine. Melt butter over medium high heat in a small non stick skillet. Add eggs, and cook, stirring often, until eggs have set and are cooked through, about 6-8 minutes.
Toast bread to desired doneness. Top toast with scrambled eggs. Top eggs with sliced avocado, salsa, and salt to taste. Serve!
Make the BAT Toast: In a small bowl combine mashed avocado, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, to taste. Toast bread to desired doneness. Top toast with mashed avocado, sliced tomato, and bacon. Serve!
Make the Sweet and Savory BEC Toast: Toast bread to desired doneness. Top with bacon, fried egg, and American cheese. Serve!
Make the Apple Pecan Toast: Toast bread to desired doneness. Spread cream cheese over toast. Top with apple slices and chopped pecans. Serve!
Recipe notes:
*I love using this mini egg cooker for fried eggs in no time flat!
*Whipped cream cheese is one of my favorite ingredients, because you can have perfectly spreadable cream cheese without having to wait for it to soften.
*For the wheat bread recipes, I like to find a nice wide whole grain wheat bread with lots of surface area. That gives us more room to pile on the toppings!
*If you're going to pack the Apple Pecan toast to go, toss the slices apples in a squeeze of lemon juice to keep them from browning.
