PB&J French Toast

In the three years and some odd months that we’ve been parents, we’ve been fortunate that our children have been mostly happy and mostly healthy. But during these past few weeks, our littlest guy has been sick. What started as a typical ear infection, treated with amoxicillin, led to an allergic reaction and two weeks worth of running back and forth between our doctor’s office, multiple emergency rooms, and specialists. As this week progressed, we thought we were through it. No more swelling. Very mild, occasional hives. No fever. No pain. Happy baby. Happy parents.

Until yesterday, when my momentarily healthy baby woke up from his nap with a scalding fever and complaining of pain in his leg; the opposite leg from the one which led us to last week’s all-nighter at the ER. Another visit to the doc revealed an angry red throat, seemingly unrelated to everything else. The poor little guy can’t seem to catch a break. A call to the orthopedist reassured us that the additional leg pain was a normal part of the reaction, if anything about these past few weeks can be called normal.

As I’ve learned during these past few weeks, there is nothing more nerve wracking for a parent than having a sick child. Watching our baby deal with all of the symptoms and the resulting medical tests and treatments has been so heartbreaking. The weight of trying to stay informed and make the best decisions for our baby has been emotionally draining. I wish I could just take the sickness away from him; put it on me instead. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I could.

With everything that’s been going on, I have to admit that I’ve been spoiling both of the kids a bit; a couple extra treats after dinner, little presents from the store, endless hours of snuggles. They need a little extra spoiling and I’m equally compelled to give it.

So, when it came time to make dinner this evening, I wanted to make something a little special for the kids;  a little treat at the end of a long week.  My first thought was breakfast for dinner, which is always a treat in my book. Perhaps some banana-nut pancakes or maybe chocolate chip waffles. Then, I started thinking about my comment yesterday, about my picky eater’s love for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And that is how we ended up eating Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast for dinner.

PB&J French Toast

Ingredients

• 8 Slice of Thick-Cut Bread (like Texas Toast)
• 6-8 Tbsp Peanut Butter
• 4-6 Tbsp Jelly or Preserves
• 3 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 2-3 Tbsp Butter, for the pan
• Syrup and/or Powdered Sugar, if desired

Directions

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on 4 slices of bread. Spread jelly on the other 4 slices. Put the slices together into 4 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. In a small baking dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt. In a pan, melt some of the butter. Dip both sides of each sandwich in the egg mixture. Cook for a few minutes on each side until lightly browned and the eggs are fully cooked.

*If you’re making a large quantity and want to serve them all at once, heat your oven to about 250 degrees. As you finish cooking each batch, place them on a piece of foil or a baking sheet in the oven to keep warm until you’re ready to serve.

If desired, sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar. You can serve the French Toast with syrup on the side, though it’s honestly sweet enough as is!