Monday, January 7, 2008



Stuffed French Toast Casserole

In our home, Christmas morning starts with a huge homemade breakfast. This tradition started in my husband's family and is something our children look forward to almost as much as they do the gift exchange! My husband is in charge of the hash browned potatoes and the bacon and I am in charge of the eggs and pastries. Our menu ALWAYS has these items, but the type of pastries change through the years. For the hash browned potatoes, my husband bakes large russet potatoes the day before and lets them chill completely and thoroughly overnight in the refrigerator. Then he grates them and cooks them in lots of butter, adding salt and pepper as they are cooking. The bacon and scrambled eggs are cooked in the usual manner -- but as a treat, I use 1/2 and 1/2 in the eggs instead of 1% milk! The pastries. . . ah the pastries. These have been German Peach Kuchen, Cinnamon Rolls, Hawaiian Coconut Rolls, Sticky Rolls, Chocolate Filled Sticky Rolls. . . the list can go on and on and on. Several years ago, I tried Stuffed French Toast Casserole and it became such a hit that it is on the Christmas menu permanently! It's a super easy dish and so that's just fine with me. The older I get the more I don't want to mess too much with the lengthy raised yeast recipes. So, here's the recipe:

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

Cut into ½” Cubes:
1 loaf of firm white bread (Country Potato or Country Buttermilk)
Layer ½ of the bread cubes in the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.
Cut into ½” Cubes:
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
Evenly scatter the cream cheese cubes over the bread cubes in the baking dish. Cover with remaining bread cubes.
Mix together:
10 Eggs
1 ½ Cups Half and Half
¼ Cup Maple Syrup
½ Cup Melted Butter
Pour mixture over bread cubes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes – 1 hour, until lightly browned and knife inserted in the center reveals no liquid. Cut into squares to serve. Serve with maple syrup or fruit syrup. Our favorite is Strawberry Syrup.

3 comments:

Karen Winters said...

These sound wonderful. I do something similar (but savory) for Christmas morning - a cheese strata made with eggs, half and half or milk, cheddar cheese, bread cubes, etc. But I like the idea of making it a sweet dish and doing something different for the eggs.

This year we went to a cafe in Idyllwild where they made a bread pudding from their leftover Danish - whatever was baked the day before and not used - all mixed with eggs and cream. To die for!

Brenda Yarborough said...

Thanks for visiting, Karen! A friend of mine makes a bread pudding with leftover Krispy Kreme donuts! Must be very similar--I'll have to get the recipe from her and post it.

Teri said...

I didn't know you added cooking to your talents. This looks luscious and I need to go eat something :)