Ingredients:

• 4 slices of Schar Gluten Free Bread
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1/2  Cup  of Coconut Sugar
• 1/4  Cup and 1 Tablespoon of Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 Cup of Confectioner Sugar
• 2 Ripe Bananas sliced
• 1/4 Cup of Cream Cheese
• 1/4  Cup of Butter

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium-heat, add  the sliced ripened bananas and 1/4  cup of  butter.
2. Add 1/2   cup of coconut sugar and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to the bananas.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mixture and allow the sugar to dissolve to form a syrup.  Let cool.
4. In a bowl, add the 2 eggs then   whisk in  1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
5. Add bread slices to egg mixture and place onto a hot skillet with melted butter.   Cook the french toast evenly and then add the bananas foster mixture atop your french toast.

 The Bloody Mary.  A brunch staple.  The reason I was scared of mirrors as a child.  It has recently come to my attention that these can be quite refreshing.  Cheap Bloody Mary mixes are not the way to go.  The first Bloody Mary I had ever tried consisted of a mix and vodka.   Not too sure if a stalk of celery was even involved.  Either way I was left quite disappointed by this drink.  

Years later I came across someone selling their fresh, gluten free Bloody Mary mix and decided to give it another try.  Lauren's Bloody Mary Mix if you ever come across it.  They are based out of the Austin, TX area.

 I had finally realized the joy of a Bloody Mary.  Just like my love for Chicago Dogs, I enjoy being able to put whatever I can think of into these.  Bloody Mary bars are so enjoyable and you are left being able to make the drink based upon your palate versus the standard mix and vodka. 

The mix

There are some decent gluten free Bloody Mary mixes that I have tried.  I tend to liven them up with some extra ingredients which we will get to later but my mix of choice is V8 vegetable juice.  Yep!  Gluten free, cheaper than buying a mix that has to hold up space in your refrigerator and can take on lots of flavor.

The ingredients

To the V8, I like to add some fresh cracked black pepper, celery salt, and a couple dashes of Tabasco.  I've even gotten cray with blue cheese salt before.  I usually will salt the rim with a mixture of celery salt and pepper.

Fresh vegetables add a lot of dimensions to this drink.  Adding fresh chopped cilantro, fresh chopped jalapenos, or pico will add a lot of depth to the V8 juice.

Pickled okra, celery, pepperoncini peppers, are my favorite toppings to go along with this drink.  Any pickled vegetable is a great choice.  

The secret ingredients

These are probably my secrets that I like to add to the V8.  

• Tablespoon of pickle juice, pepperoncini juice,  pickled okra juice,  or any other canned pickling juice.
• Tablespoon of cocktail sauce.   People put horseradish into theirs, I had no horseradish so why not cocktail sauce?  It actually helps transform the V8 juice into another flavor.
• Fresh vegetables always liven up the drink.  Cilantro, jalapenos, serrano peppers, are all great choices.

Be sure and give this drink another try!  Having to rotate between wine, cider, and sorghum beer can get boring quickly.  It  is tasty to put a little effort into your drink, just as we do in cooking our food.

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"Oh my God what is this?"  Were my wife's words of choice this morning after seeing this.  Pancakes, a go-to breakfast for non-gluten eaters is actually not that far off  from the gluten free version.   My favorite gluten free pancake mixes so far have been Bob's Mill's and Bisquick.  For these pancakes I used Bob's Mill but use your favorite.

You can substitute brown sugar for the coconut sugar in the recipe.  I've recently ran out of brown sugar and have been using coconut sugar as a replacement mainly because of a buy one get one free deal.  Coconut sugar looks like brown sugar and I believe it is a great replacement.  

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cup of Bob's Mill Pancake Mix  
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
• 1 1/4   Cup Almond Milk
• 1/2 Cup of Coconut Sugar
• 1/4  Cup of Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Chopped Pecans
• 1 Tablespoon of Butter
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar

Directions:

1. Prepare the pecan praline syrup.  In a saucepan, combine 1 cup of almond milk with 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and 1/4 granulated sugar.  Mix the ingredients and bring to a boil.  Add the 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. 
2. Once boiling, find the level of heat you need to consistently boil the  mixture without boiling over and boil for 25 minutes.
3. Stir the mixture, and add 1/4 cup of almond milk to help cool and loosen  the consistency of the   syrup.  Add 1 tablespoon of butter preference for added depth in flavor.
4. Follow the directions  per your gluten free pancake mix and make your pancakes.
5. Top each level of pancake with the pecan praline syrup and  try to avoid diabetes!

If you are unfamiliar with Brazilian cheese bread you need to become familiar.  It is naturally gluten free.  They serve these at Brazilian restaurants like chips and salsa.  They are basically balls of bread that have a moist, almost raw-like center.  They taste just like cheese bread.  

This is what Chebe has modified to bring enjoyable gluten free mixes over to the United States.  They are amazing!  I really miss doughnuts after going gluten free and these are the only exception I have found instead of eating a doughnut and getting sick later.  I just take the mix and add eggs, oil, and milk to them and form them into 1 inch balls and fry for a couple minutes.  Then you top them with a cinnamon-sugar mix, or make an icing for them and enjoy them as doughnuts.  They have a nice doughy feel because of the moist center and taste like a doughnut.  They beat buying Katz's Gluten Free doughnuts and heating them up in the microwave and melting the glaze.  If you are lucky enough to see these on the shelf be sure and purchase them and satisfy your doughnut craze.

Ingredients:

• 1 Box of Chebe  Cinnamon Roll Mix
• 2 Eggs
• 3 Tbsp of Oil
• 2 Tbsp of Milk

Directions:

1. Empty the mix into a large bowl.
2. Add the eggs, oil, and milk and slowly mix together the ingredients.
3. Form the dough into 1 inch balls and drop into heated oil for 3-5 minutes.
4. Take out the doughnuts and allow to cool on a paper towel.
5. Roll the doughnuts in a cinnamon/sugar mixture or in a glaze made by  heating powdered sugar and milk together.

Happy Watermelon Wednesday!  I put together this dish as a light breakfast one weekend.  It is truly easy and a great way to punch up your watermelon.  

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a whole watermelon
• 1 Cup of Pecans
• 2 Tbs of Honey
• 1 Tbs of Honey to drizzle over the watermelon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to  350 degrees.  Place the pecans evenly on a baking sheet  and roast for 13 minutes.
2. In a saucepan, heat up the honey and pecans until it starts to simmer.
3. Put the honey and pecan mixture on some wax paper and allow it to cool completely.
4. Slice up the watermelon.  I prefer thin wedges of watermelon instead of  large chunks.
5. Dice up the honey roasted pecans or add them to a food processor and process to the consistency of your liking.
6. Add the watermelon to a bowl, top with the diced up honey roasted pecans, and drizzle with honey.

This is an easy, delicious breakfast dish that I love to do on the lazy Saturday mornings that I so often come across.  I buy all the ingredients and put them in a dish and let the oven do the miracles!  I usually double this recipe to feed two.  Bake it in a large dish and serve from that dish!

Ingredients:

• 1 Jar of La Madeleine Tomato Basil Soupe 
  
• 3 Eggs
• 4 Strips of Bacon
• 1 Cup of  Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Tbs Fresh Basil Chiffonade (optional)
• 1 Tbs Butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use the butter to spread evenly across your baking dish.  I use Rachel Ray's 1.25 quart Stoneware but anything close to a 9x9 baking dish will do the trick.  
3. Add the jar of Tomato Basil Soupe to the dish.
4. Crack open the eggs into the soupe.
5. Top with the shredded mild cheddar cheese.
6. Place the dish in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.  This will make the eggs cook all the way through.  The egg yolks being cooked all the way through adds a great depth of texture and flavor to the  tomato soupe.
7. Top with the diced bacon.  I use the microwave bacon for convenience because it is easy to make quickly.  By all means go the extra mile and make bacon for a better taste but this dish is all about convenience for me.  I added the uncooked microwave bacon to the dish before cooking it in the oven, allowing it to heat up in the oven instead of cooking in the microwave and then topping.  Do as you please, you're the chef!
8. Top with basil chiffonade if you prefer.  A chiffonade is "fancy talk" for taking fresh herbs and rolling them up and cutting them into long thin strips.  

Here is a quick and easy way to  frill up your breakfast tacos for brunch.  Apparently, breakfast tacos are only a Texas thing!  The rest of the world is missing out.  You can add some capers if you would like to give these tacos some texture!

Ingredients:

• Guerrero  Corn Tortillas
• 1 Tbs Kraft Philadelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread
• 3 Eggs-(1 Egg per taco you are planning on making is my rule of thumb)
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
• Fresh Cracked Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1/2 package of Smoked Salmon
• 1 Tbs Butter

Directions:

1. Put your desired amount of corn tortillas on a microwave safe plate and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.  If you are heating more than 4 tortillas, turn over and heat another 30 seconds. (This is my method for cooking corn tortillas when I am wanting to reduce the amount of dishes I have to clean later or speed up my eating process)
2. Put the butter in a skillet and heat over medium heat.  When the butter is melted add the eggs, then season with salt and pepper. Continually scrape the bottom of the skillet with a rubber spatula until the eggs come together and scramble.  An easier method is to add the eggs to a  saucepan and continually whisk them until they come together.
3. Just before the eggs are totally formed, add 1 Tbs of the Cream Cheese spread to the eggs. Stir the cream cheese into the eggs and remove the skillet from the heat source.  Allow the eggs to finish cooking with the heat that is still in your pan.
4. Slice 1/2 package of smoked salmon into desired shape/length for your tacos.
5. Assemble your tacos.  To the tortillas, spoon on desired amount of the garden vegetable cream cheese spread to flavor your taco.  Add the scrambled eggs and top with black pepper and salt.  Then add a few smoked salmon pieces on top of the eggs.  You can finish these off with  a few capers for an added crunch.
6. Put said tacos in your mouth and chew!  This is How We Chew It!  With our mouths.  Crazy!
   

I've started utilizing watermelon in different ways just so that I could term the phrase "Watermelon Wednesday."  Too bad today is Thursday!  Either way, this is a great addition to watermelon slices for a light breakfast or mid afternoon snack.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a Watermelon cut up into small chunks
• 8oz of Mascarpone Cheese
• 1/4 Cup of Heath Bits O' Brickle Toffee Bits
• 1/4 Cup of Pecans
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Cut up watermelon into small chunk pieces.  I tend to purchase quarter pieces of watermelon in an effort to not force myself to......cut myself open by trying to slice through a huge watermelon.
2. In a food processor, pulse the Heath Bits and Pecans until processed.
3. Add the mixture to a bowl and stir in the mascarpone cheese and vanilla extract.
4. Put the watermelon into a bowl and add the mascarpone crumble to the top and enjoy an easy snack! 

So....apparently it has been  a few days since I have updated my gluten free life.  Sorry, but I was off with Matthew McConaughey searching the "Interstellar" solar system for another planet suitable for life.  

Anywho...this is a quick and simple recipe that is also delicate and delightful.  Low in carbs, light, and helpful in keeping my "out of shape" body looking "in shape."

Ingredients:

• HEB Wild Smoked Salmon
• Philadelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread
• English Cucumber
• Fresh cracked Black Pepper

If you have never had smoked salmon it  is really similar texture and taste wise to sashimi grade salmon, just with a smoked flavor.  I prefer the English cucumber because it has no seeds and makes a more stable surface for making stackable items like this one.  English cucumbers are the cucumbers that are already wrapped in plastic wrap at the grocery store FYI.


Directions:

1.  Slice the English cucumber into even pieces.  For a "fancy" beautiful appearance, you can peel alternating sides of the cucumber with a vegetable peeler.  This will  leave green pieces evenly in between the flesh peeled pieces of your slices.  After slicing, they will have a beautiful appearance.  I am no "fancy pants" though.  I need to eat FAST!
2. Use a spoon to spread the cream cheese evenly across all your slices of cucumbers.
3. Cut the smoked salmon into equal square shaped pieces.  The salmon is usually thicker in the middle of the package and  you can often turn these  pieces into two by peeling off the top layer of salmon.  Place the salmon on top of the cream cheese cucumber.
4. Crack black pepper evenly across the salmon.  The smoked salmon is naturally salty from being salt cured so there is no need to salt this.
5. Real simple to get this meal prepared in less than 10 minutes.  Makes about 40 pieces of Salmon Cream Cheese Cucumbers.
   

My favorite part of the week is when work is not calling my number and I am able to spend time making this favorite brunch meal with a bloody mary.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• Simply Potatoes Steakhouse Diced Potatoes, or Hash Browns, or peel and dice raw potatoes
• 4 pieces of Bacon
• 2 tsp of Himalayan Salt
• 4 tsp of Lemon Pepper
• 1 tbsp of White Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 cup of Butter
• 1/2 cup of Mixed Cheese 
• 1 tsp of Paprika
• 1 tsp of Olive Oil
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp of White Wine Vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat skillet over medium-high heat.  Add package of Simply Potatoes to skillet with 1 tsp of Olive Oil.  Cover potatoes to let potatoes cook throughout stirring occasionally.   These take the longest to cook and therefore are the first to start with.  When they are done, I add the mixed cheese and bacon (I use microwave bacon to save on dishes used and help ease the difficulty of the dish.)  Keep warm until plating.
2. Poach the eggs.  For better clarification, follow Alton Brown's directions for poaching an egg, (video linked below.)  Heat an inch and a half of water over medium heat until bubbles start to form over the whole pan.  Add eggs to ramekin to easily drop into the heated water.  Add 1 tbsp of White Wine Vinegar to the water.  Scrap off all the bubbles before dropping the eggs into the water.  Leave the eggs in the water for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.  When the time is up remove the eggs from the water and let dry on a paper towel.  Season with salt and lemon pepper.  It's that easy.
3. Prepare the Hollandaise.  This is actually easier than it seems as well. In the microwave, melt the 1/2 cup of butter.  Set up a double boiler.  Put two inches of water in one pot and allow to come to a soft boil.  Over the pot of water you place a glass bowl that fits in the pot above the boiling water line.  Add four egg yolks to the bowl with 1 tsp of White Wine Vinegar.  Whisk the mixture together.  Remove the top layer of the melted butter if any separated.  Now, slowly add the melted butter while constantly whisking the eggs.  Continue whisking until the mixture starts to coagulate and form a heavier sauce.  Remove glass bowl from water and add paprika, lemon pepper, and salt.
4. Put down hash on plate.  On top add the poached eggs and spoon hollandaise sauce over the eggs and onto the plate.
   
   
   It sounds complicated but after you master the hollandaise sauce it really is real easy to make this a customary dish for your weekends.  Enjoy!