Loaded French Toast Brunch Burger with Fries - Fries Before Guys Burger

Hope you came hungry, because this brunch burger is not for the faint of hearts or stomachs.

This loaded brunch burger idea came just around one of my favorite holidays - Valentine’s Day. So officially, unofficially I’m also naming this burger the “Fries Before Guys” Brunch Burger.

Stacked mine with a fried egg, bacon, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. The beauty of it is it’s sandwiched between two french toast slices, adding that sweet and savory element to the dish. Come hungry, eat it with friends or roommate while binging Netflix or make for a extra special date night at home, perfect for that brunch loving couple type.

Ingredients:

For the French Toast buns:

• Brioche Bread

• 2 Eggs

• 4 Tbsp - Milk

• 2 Tbsp Vanilla

• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon

For the Burgers + Condiments:

• Burger patties or ground beef to form patties

• Cheese Slices (Optional Condiment)

• Lettuce ( Optional Condiment)

• Tomato (Optional Condiment)

• Fried Egg (Optional Condiment)

• Bacon (Optional Condiment)

• Avocado (Optional Condiment)

• Bag of Frozen Fries Fries/Tater Tots/Sweet Potato Fries - Your favorite potato.

Instructions:

Make the French Toast Buns:

• Slice the brioche buns into four slices

• In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon

• Heat a pan with some butter (or can use oil, or non-stick spray)

• Dunk the bread slices in the egg mixture and place in the pan, about 2 at a time to not crowd the pan.

• Cook until both sides are golden brown and little crispy (about 5 minutes each side), set aside

Make the burgers:

Season your meat with salt & pepper. On either the a grill or pan, cook your burger to your preferred temperature. Set aside.

Assemble:

Once the burgers are done. Time to assemble on the french toast buns. You can add as many condiments as you want to your burger. I went ALL out!

For the fries (in the photo) I did make these homemade. Honestly, it was a ton of work and I’d definitely recommend saving the hassle and time by just getting a frozen bag of your favorite potato and heating those up in the oven to go with the burger. Enjoy!

Red Pepper and Spinach Egg Muffin Quiche Bites

Being a big egg fan and not a big chef in the mornings… ( I love my sleep.) I make these quiche egg bites almost every week as my breakfast meal prep. It makes mornings so much easier to reheat in the microwave for a minute, make my coffee and be on my way.

These mini quiches pack a lot of veggies in and can easily switch up or add ingredients, this particular batch I added bacon and cheese. It proves to be a no fuss recipe as I use pre-made pie crust, sauté some vegetables, and bake.

Hope you enjoy these bite sized egg bites!

Red Pepper and Spinach Egg Muffin Quiche Bites

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 12

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Ingredients:

Base:

• 1 Pre-made pie crust (I use Pillsbury pie crust)

Fillings:

• 1 red pepper

• 1 6oz bag of spinach

• half an onion (diced)

• 2 cloves garlic

  • Optional or Additional Filling Options:

  • Cheese: shredded cheese, feta

  • Bacon

  • Mushrooms

Egg Mixture:

• 6 eggs

• 1/4 cup of milk

• Salt & Pepper

Hardware:

• Muffin Tin

• Mason jar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop up and dice the garlic, onions, and red pepper.

Drizzle some oil in your pan and sauté the garlic, onions, and red pepper until slightly browned and softened (about 10 minutes).

Add in the spinach until wilted. Set the veggie mixture aside.

Get out your muffin tin and spray with some non-stick spray.

Roll out your pie crust on a clean surface. I use a mason jar to cut out circles in the dough. If you have a round cooke cutter that would work as well. When I use my mason jar it gives me 8 round dough circles before I have to re-roll out the dough for the remaining 4 circles.

Place the round dough into the muffin tin. Next, I put these in the oven for about 7 minutes to cook the dough a bit for a sturdier base for when I add the filling.

Meanwhile, start making the egg mixture.

Combine 6 eggs in a bowl. Add the milk and some salt and pepper and whisk up.

Add the egg mixture and fill each muffin tin to the top.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy for brunch, breakfast, or meal prep for the week.

That’s it! But here’s some additional notes….

Reheating: Place on a plate and heat up in a microwave for 1 minute.

In this recipe I used bacon. I prefer to bake my bacon at 350 degrees and let it bake until I start to smell the bacon and until it gets really crispy. You can then chop up some bits and add the the veggie mixture you create. I also added Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheese and it’s just so good in this recipe… options ;)

Meal Prep: Make Ahead - English Muffin Egg Sandwiches (To-Go/Freeze)

Going to make this recipe super short and sweet. This make ahead freezer english muffin sandwiches were such a life saver during quarantine or when I had a really busy morning and had to quickly grab something to eat. Wanted to share this easy meal prep or make ahead hack for saving you a ton of time when it comes to breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs

• 2 Tablespoons milk

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 12 slices cooked bacon, sausage patties, or ham

• 12 English muffins or potato bread roll (my fave, so soft and delicious!)

• 12 slices cheddar cheese , or your favorite cheese

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease a 9x13’’ pan

• Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. (I use mixer to make it easier).

• Pour the egg mixture into the greased pan (I used an 8x12in pan) and bake for 18-22 minutes, or just until the center is set. Don’t over-cook.

• Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting into 12 squares. 

• Form your egg sandwiches with English muffin, egg square, cheese, meat.

• Combinations I did:

  • egg and cheese

  • bacon, egg and cheese

  • sausage, egg and cheese

To Freeze:

• Wrap each sandwich individually in wax paper and place them in a freezer safe resealable bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. 

To Reheat:

• Microwave: Remove paper and wrap sandwich in a paper towel.  Microwave for 40 seconds - 1 minute. Flip the sandwich over and microwave for another 30 seconds to a minute, until warmed through.

• You can also reheat the sandwiches in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or in the toaster oven. 

Simple Shakshuka Brunch Recipe

What is Shakshuka you ask?

Shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onions and garlic, and commonly spiced with cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. It is an North African dish that is now made throughout the Middle East; it is especially popular in Israel, where it is often eaten for breakfast.

There’s so many variations. Personally, I like to add spinach or kale and chickpeas; with either feta or goat cheese. Whichever items you add here’s a simple recipe on how to make it for your next brunch meal.

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Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1/4 tsp chili powder

• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

• 6 large eggs

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

Additional Ingredients to add to the dish:

• Spinach

• Kale

• Chickpeas

• Feta cheese/Goat cheese

• +++ Thick bread for dipping and scooping in the dish.

Instructions:

• If using a cast iron skillet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet or if you don’t have a cast iron a sauté pan is fine, heat on medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.

• Add garlic and spices and cook an additional minute.

• Pour in the can of tomatoes and juice into the pan and break down the tomatoes using a large spoon. Season with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer.

• Once the sauce is at a simmer, use your large spoon to make small wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each well.

  • If using a saute pan: Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the eggs are done to your liking.

  • If using a cast iron: Put in the preheated oven for 6-10 minutes.

• Garnish your dish with chopped parsley. And feta or goat cheese on top and serve.