FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

I was asked to make a breakfast casserole for the PTA's back-to-school breakfast for the teachers this morning. Last week, I started looking for my "tried and true" recipe that I have had for years and used successfully many times. Well, I couldn't find it! I probably tossed the hard copy thinking that it was safe on my hard drive. I searched everywhere for that recipe, I searched for it on my hard drive, in my kitchen drawer, on the Internet and nothing. I found LOTS of other similar recipes. Unfortunately, none of them is exactly the same as the one I love. I tried another one of the recipes that I found on the Internet. This recipe is similar to mine in that you have to cube the bread and soak it over-night in the fridge. The differences are that in my old recipe, the cream cheese was not blended in with the egg but cubed and placed on top of the bread. Also, instead of powdered sugar my old recipe called for cinnamon sugar. My only complaint with it is that it took way longer than the 30 minutes the recipe suggests to bake it. I kept it in the oven for at least one hour. I am also going to pass on several of the other recipes I found online. If I find my old recipe, I'll be sure to post it for you, too.

French Toast Souffle
All-Recipes by Betty

10 cups white bread cubes (about 1 large loaf)
1 (8 ounces) package low fat cream cheese, softened
8 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

1. Place bread cubes in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in milk, half and half, maple syrup, and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over the bread; cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next morning, remove souffle from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm.

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
From Cooks.com

1 loaf (12 slices) slightly stale white bread
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, cubed
1-1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole pan.Cut crust off bread and cube. Mix maple syrup, milk, vanilla and eggs. Pour over bread. Add cream cheese cubes. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour in a greased pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve with warm maple syrup.

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

This makes an excellent and easy weekend brunch - preparation takes about 10 minutes. Assemble the night before and bake in the morning.

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp maple syrup
Chopped pecans (optional)
1 loaf cinnamon bread (can use cinnamon raisin bread if desired) - Thomas' brand is good
1-8 oz. pkg cream cheese
5 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
Powdered sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9"x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Melt butter and add to the pan, along with brown sugar and 2 Tbsp of maple syrup. Mix in pan until the mixture can be spread evenly around the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans if desired.

Divide loaf of bread into halves. Cut half of the loaf into small cubes (about 1" square) and scatter over the brown sugar mixture. Cut cream cheese into cubes and scatter over the top. Top with the remaining bread cut into cubes.

Whisk eggs, half and half, and remaining 1 Tbsp of maple syrup in a bowl. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and press down gently with plastic wrap to make sure all bread is coated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight.

Take out and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until casserole is gently browned and well set.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with your favorite syrup topping or fresh fruit. Serve with bacon or sausage.

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

1 loaf egg bread, cut into cubes (Challah bread)
8 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries, tossed lightly with 2 tablespoons flour
Cinnamon
8 large eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup maple syrup
6 tablespoons butter, melted


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Layer one half of bread cubes in baking dish. Cut cream cheese into cubes and scatter over bread. Layer the coated blueberries over the cream cheese. Cover the blueberries with the remaining bread. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. In a bowl combine the milk, maple syrup, eggs, and butter. Whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the bread and press the mixture into the bread with a spatula. This will help the bread soak up the egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

Chocolate Overnight French Toast Puff
http://www.cdkitchen/.

Ingredients:
12 slices white bread, crusts removed
2 cups skim milk, divided
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 eggs
2 cups half and half

***Topping***

3/4 cup butter, very soft or melted
1-1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

Instructions:

Generously grease a 9x13" baking dish that is at least 2 inches deep. Arrange trimmed bread slices on bottom of pan in 2 layers. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk, chocolate chips and sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until chips are melted and sugar is dissolved. Do not let mixture come to a boil. Stir in vanilla. Let cool. In a large bowl, beat eggs, remaining milk and half and half. Mix chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Pour over bread slices. Cover pan tightly and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove from refrigerator and prepare topping.

Prepare topping:

In a medium bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, walnuts, and syrup. Spread or spoon the topping over the bread slices. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until center is set. If edges are browning to fast, cover with foil. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes or so until cool enough to spoon or slice. Top with syrup, if desired.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Instructions:

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

All of these recipes sound awesome to me. I have tried the first one today for the teacher's back-to-school breakfast. The second recipe is the closest to my original tried and true recipe. I can't wait to try the blueberry version and Paula Dean's version. I think that D will like the Chocolate version best.

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes and how you like them.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Home-made Onion Dip

As I have mentioned more than a few times on this blog, I have a problem with using MSG in my cooking. I just don't like it. It is a chemical that shouldn't be ingested, in my opinion. I recently realized that almost all of those soup packets and soup cubes that you can buy at the grocery store contain MSG. In the past, I always made dip with packets of soup mix. At the beginning of the summer, I met a neighbor of mine who gave me a recipe for onion dip from scratch. I lost her recipe but I found it again on the Internet. My neighbor likes the Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I made Alton Brown's Onion Dip and that was also really good. Either recipe would be perfect to bring to a party. You'll definitely be invited back, if you do. I brought Alton Brown's version to our neighborhood get-together on Friday night and everyone seemed to enjoy it. My neighbor brought The Barefoot Contessa's dip to my get-together back in June and there wasn't any left! I am even going to suggest that making either of these onion dips for a party or get-together is SO much better for you since they don't contain MSG. You can also control the fat content by using lower fat sour cream or mayo. Although, The Barefoot Contessa's recipe calls for regular mayo why not try it with light and see how it tastes to you?

Onion Dip from Scratch
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 cups diced onions
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

In a saute pan over medium heat add oil, heat and add onions and salt. Cook the onions until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.

Pan-Fried Onion Dip
from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

40 min/10 min prep

SERVES 12

Ingredients:
2 yellow onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise, not light

1. Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds.
2. (You will have about 3 cups of onions.) Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
3. Add the onions, cayenne, salt, pepper and saute for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized.
5. Allow the onions to cool.
6. Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth.
7. Add the onions and mix well.
8. Taste for seasoning.
9. Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook