Looking for an easy, yet scrumptious holiday breakfast? Here are two recipes which will leave you full and with plenty of time to open presents. Both recipes can be made the day before and reheated in the oven the next morning or assembled on Christmas Eve and baked Christmas Day.

The Loaded Hash Brown Casserole will stick to your ribs and satisfy even the hungriest of sleep deprived parents. While my recipe for Apple Walnut Coffee Cake will fill the whole house with the smell of warm cinnamon. Which makes having your kids to wake you at 5 a.m. almost worth it.

Recipe for Apple Walnut Coffee Cake

Recipe for Loaded Hash Brown Casserole

In honor of National French Toast Day, here’s a link back to the Cinnamon Roll French Toast recipe I posted a few months ago and demonstrated on Indy Style in honor of Mother’s Day (click here for a clip of the show). While French Toast has traditionally been a breakfast food, there’s no rule that says you can’t enjoy this for dinner tonight!

Click here to view my recipe for Cinnamon Roll French Toast.

Here’s the recipe I made during my cooking segment on the Indy Style TV show (broadcast on WISH-TV Channel 8 for those of you in Indianapolis).  It’s a great way to use up day-old cinnamon rolls but you could also make it with cinnamon raisin bread if you don’t have cinnamon rolls.  Whatever you do, don’t use cinnamon rolls that have icing or glaze on them as they will burn during cooking!

Cinnamon Roll French Toast

You will need:

• 2 eggs
• ½  cup of milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 leftover cinnamon rolls (you can also use cinnamon raisin bread)
• 1 Tablespoon of butter

To make:

1. Whisk eggs, cream and vanilla together and pour into a flat bottomed container like a Pyrex dish or pie pan. Set aside.
2. Slice the cinnamon rolls in 2 or 3 pieces so they are ¼ to ½ inch thick (slice side to side not top to bottom).
3. Melt butter in a skillet on a medium high heat.
4. As the butter melts, soak the sliced cinnamon rolls in the egg mixture (be sure both sides get coated thoroughly).
5. Once the butter has melted and the pan is hot, drain the soaking cinnamon roll slices and place them in the pan.
6. Cook for about a minute on each side.
7. Top with Maple Glazed Granny Smith Apples.

Maple Glazed Granny Smith Apples

You will need:

• 2 Granny Smith Apples
• 2 Tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup of REAL maple syrup

To make:

1. Peel, core and slice the Granny Smith Apples into ¼ inch thick slices. Store in just enough water to cover and a tablespoon of lemon juice to prevent browning.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet or frying pan.
3. Drain the apple slices and place into the melted butter.
4. Let the apples cook for a minute or two.
5. Pour in the maple syrup and bring mixture to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the apples are tender.
7. Pour hot mixture over Cinnamon Roll French Toast before serving.

Mother’s Day + Breakfast in Bed = Happy Mom.

An omelet is an omelette is an omelet. No matter how you spell it, an omelet is a great Mother’s Day breakfast in bed delight.

As a kid, when Mother’s Day rolled around, it was our family tradition to serve breakfast in bed to Mom. She loved it. What mother wouldn’t?

As my cooking skills improved, so did the menu. Tea and toast soon gave way to fried eggs and fresh fruit. Which eventually evolved into pancakes topped with homemade blueberry syrup. But when I figured out how to make omelets, the Mother’s Day breakfast in bed menu was complete.

20 years later, and I’m now the Executive Chef for MCL Restaurant & Bakery. Mom must be proud.

If you’re in search of something simple, yet tasty to prepare for the mother in your life this Mother’s Day, I’ve got you covered. And diced. And flipped. And topped with melted cheese.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to showing Mom how much you care.

Step 1: Get prepared

Here are the basic items you’ll need:

• A good non-stick pan. This is key when you get to the “flipping” part.
• A rubber spatula.
• A whisk.

Step 2: Pick an omelet, any omelet.

Get as creative as you like. Here are some thought starters:

• Ham and cheese omelet.
• Smoked salmon and cream cheese omelet.
• Mexican omelet with chorizo, tomatoes, peppers and cheddar served with sour cream and salsa.
• Steak and eggs omelet.
• Veggie omelet.
• Asparagus omelet with brie.

You get the point. But no matter what you choose, don’t overfill your omelet, or it’ll likely fall apart.

Step 3: Break some eggs.

Here’s my recipe and top-secret technique for the famed Western Omelet.

Western Omelet Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/8 cup green and red peppers diced small
• 1/8 cup onion, diced small
• 1/8 cup ham, diced small
• ¼ cup shredded cheese of your choice
• Butter
• Salt & Pepper to taste

How to Prepare:

1. Start by cracking the eggs into a bowl and whisking them until they are fluffy. Set aside.
2. Heat your omelet pan on a medium high heat with enough butter in it to coat the bottom.
3. Add your onions and peppers to the pan and cook until tender. Do not brown.
4. Add the ham to the vegetable mixture. Stir so that everything is equally dispersed.
5. Ok now for the fun part. Check to make sure there is still some butter in the pan and the other ingredients haven’t soaked it all up. You can add more if you think you need it.
6. With the pan still hot, pour in your whisked eggs and take your rubber spatula and swirl the mixture while it is cooking.
7. As soon your eggs have started to get firm but are still a little runny, stop swirling. Make sure that the mixture is evenly covering the bottom of the pan.
8. Evenly spread the shredded cheese over the egg mixture.
9. Once the cheese has started to melt, you can fold or roll your omelet over. To do this, hold the pan at a slight angle and using the other hand with the spatula gradually lift and roll/fold the omelet down the pan.
10. To plate the omelet just slide it out of the pan onto the serving dish.
11. Garnish it with more shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream or fresh herbs.

And now for my top-secret technique: If at any point you mess up, you can scramble the eggs and confidently call them “Loaded Scrambled Eggs.”

Now get in that kitchen and make Mom an Omelet. Or a Loaded Scramble, depending on how it goes.

Best,

Chef