2010 June — Cooking During Stolen Moments

Berry Baked French Toast

It hit me the other day that it had been awhile since we’d had a big breakfast-for-dinner meal. Since it’s always a big hit, I’m not sure why it slipped from my radar. But since doing breakfast for dinner is deliciously quick and easy, and since I’m all about quick and easy right now, I decided to remedy that problem immediately.

I pondered some of our usual breakfast-for-dinner fare (bacon waffles, breakfast casseroles, scrambled egg skillets) until I noticed a big bunch of berries leftover from Memorial Day weekend. Now, berries would never have an opportunity to go bad in this house, but I wanted to use them up quickly so that we could get back to eating some of the other fruit that is filling my fridge.

So I decided to experiment a bit with the berries and my favorite baked french toast recipe. The result was pure decadence! I will definitely be making this on purpose again. The berries bake into a wonderful pie-like consistency and they lend a great summertime flavor to the whole dish. Definitely a winner!

Berry Baked French Toast

1 loaf day old French or Italian bread (bakery markdowns are perfect!)
4 c. fresh berries (I used a combination of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and sliced strawberries.)
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract, optional
3 oz. cream cheese, cut into small chunks
4 T. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

1. Cut bread into slightly bigger than bite-sized cubes.

2. Place a layer of bread cubes into a greased 13×9 casserole dish. Top with 3 cups of the berries.

3. Add remaining bread cubes to the casserole dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and extract(s). Evenly pour over all the bread cubes. Top with remaining berries and dot with the cream cheese cubes. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours.

4. Remove casserole dish from the refrigerator while preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Also while preheating, melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir until melted and smooth, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in cinnamon. Drizzle over the entire top of the casserole.

5. Cover dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 35-45, until golden brown and eggs are set. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

This made an awesome dinner, but it would definitely be a welcome and impressive addition to any breakfast or brunch.

Stop by Designs by Gollum for more Foodie Friday.

Foodie Fave Five with Amy’s Finer Things

I love sharing good recipes (to state the obvious) and I love sharing great blogs. So sharing good recipes from great blogs seems like an obvious choice. But unless I suddenly found an extra 20 hours or so in my days, there just would never be enough time to make them all.

And that’s why I’m introducing “Foodie Fave Five.” On a regular basis, I’ll be opening the blog to guest posts from any one who would like to share their family’s favorite five recipes. The recipes can be anything – an eclectic mix or a themed resource, like below. All I ask is that they be tried and true winners with your family!

For the first installment of Foodie Fave Five, I asked my good friend Amy to share her favorite recipes from her blog. And since it’s summer, she’s providing us with some seasonally appropriate winners. I speak from experience when I say they’re winners. I’ve made lots of Amy’s recipes and they are all great!

By the looks of my burned knees from sitting out at the pool for two hours today, I’d say summer has arrived! Time to shelf the casseroles, stews, and soups for a few months in favor of the grill, fresh salads, and light desserts. Here are a few of our favorite summertime meals.

Chicken Marinade – It truly doesn’t get any easier to prepare delicious chicken for the grill!

Baked Beans with a Kick – No summer cook-out is complete without our special baked beans.

Fresh Strawberry Limeade Slush – Who needs Sonic when you can whip these up in your blender?

Favorite Fruit Salad – A super easy mix of fresh fruit combined with one yummy secret ingredient to bring it all together.

Buster Bar Dessert – As long as we’re ditching Sonic, we may as well make our own Dairy Queen favorite, too!

Amy is a tiny town football coach’s wife and mom to three with one on the way. She strives to embrace the extraordinary in every day over at The Finer Things in Life.

If you’d like to participate in Foodie Fave Five, send me an email so I can send you the super-easy details to have your favorite five recipes featured here.

Berry Baked French Toast

Foodie Fave Five with Amy’s Finer Things

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