Dannon Yogurt French Toast

So I promised you some more recipes from my Dannon Sunday brunch this week. I wanted to make lots of creative things with yogurt and settled on tasty french toast as one option. This is super simple. Instead of just soaking the bread in milk and eggs, I added some Dannon Activia Harvest Picks Mixed Berry Yogurt, which added an incredibly rich and creamy taste to the french toast. The tasty berry flavor also added a really tangy taste, which upgraded this from traditional french toast.

I made some healthy substitutions to a traditional french toast recipe. I used skim milk and no butter. Instead, I used olive oil cooking spray, which worked really nicely and created a crisp crust to the bread. At brunch I topped this with fresh berries mixed with some more yogurt and powdered sugar. It was a insanely decadent, yet light treat!

Read more for the full recipe!
Read more »

Chicken Caesar Pasta - Guest Post at Cravings of a Lunatic

Hey all. I am honored to be guest posting today for Kim at Cravings of a Lunatic. If you don't know Kim, I suggest getting to know her ASAP. In addition to being a very talented cook, she is an absolutely hilarious writer. Every time I read her blog I get dirty looks for laughing so hard at work...

I was agonizing about what to create for her super awesome blog and I finally settled on this quick and simple pasta. Head over to Cravings of a Lunatic for all the deets.

As I mentioned you should get to know Kim and bookmark her site immediately. She has all sorts of amazing features on her blog, including Ice Cream Sundays, which is my favorite. I am particularly in love with this Pumpkin Spice ice cream she made last fall... Like myself, Kim is obsessed with Mason jars, but unlike me, she uses them to make adorable and yummy recipes! And finally, I would be remiss not to mention that Kim has a teensy weensy turtle obsession. Check out these super yummy turtle recipes.

So head over there and tell her I sent you!!!

Lemon Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Everyone knows they should eat more fish. However, it can be so difficult to find and get fresh, healthy and environmentally conscious fish. I am lucky enough to live in a place where fish is affordable and easy to come by, but for many that's not the case. This is one of the many reasons I love tilapia. It's plentiful, low in mercury, safely farmed and relatively easy to find, especially frozen. It's also generally cheaper than other types of fish (salmon, swordfish) and can be quickly and easily turned into a delicious dinner.

Craig and I were both feeling like fish after a decadent weekend, so I decided to dress up some tilapia filets we picked up. I combined two strong flavors, lemon and parmesan, with some whole wheat breadcrumbs for a light and healthy topping for the fish. Start to finish this recipe takes about 15-20 minutes total, making it a great weeknight dinner option.

The result was tangy and delicious. The flavors complimented the fish without being overpowering. I was  really happy with the taste as well as the simplicity of the recipe. I served this with asparagus and wild rice, but it could work well with anything.

Full recipe after the jump
Read more »

Sunday Brunch with Dannon Activia Harvest Picks

I had the wonderful opportunity today to host a lovely brunch to try out some new flavors of Dannon Activia Harvest Picks. We did the brunch at my mom's new house, which was awesome. She has such a gorgeous (and huge) kitchen, it made cooking for a crowd a snap.

I don't cook a lot of breakfast food for this blog so I jumped at the change to develop some yummy new recipes using these Dannon products. The Activia Harvest Picks line comes in four tasty flavors, strawberry, peach, cherry and mixed berry. These new flavors have large chunks of real fruit and a perfect texture, not too runny and not too firm. I also liked that they were not overly sweet. Once I gave each flavor a taste test, I set to work figuring out a yummy brunch menu that would incorporate these flavors well.

I settled on a menu that would work well with the Activia Harvest Picks, but would also feature a ton of fresh fruit. The weather cooperated, giving us a beautiful spring day. At one point it was well into the 70s! It was also a great day for grilling, which I wanted to incorporate as well. Grillmaster Craig grilled some tasty fruit skewers beautifully. He also grilled some delicious, thick cut bacon. If you have never grilled bacon, do so immediately! It is soooo yummy.

Menu:
Raspberry Lemonade Sangria
Grilled Fruit Kebobs with Honey Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Peach Yogurt Muffins
Cherry Chocolate Chip Yogurt Muffins
Potato, Asparagus and Caramelized Onion Frittata
Ham, Cheddar and Spinach Frittata
Grilled Bacon
Strawberry Yogurt French Toast

All of these recipes will be posted up this week. So stay tuned. How did brunch turn out? Read more after the jump!
Read more »