Breakfast Believer

A few weeks ago, my little family of four spent a week with Mr. Spouse’s brother & his family up in Michigan.  It’s one of my favorite times of the year…we’re usually there every 4th of July, but this year we extended our stay for a few extra days.  Anywho, my in-laws are nice enough to host A LOT of us at once…the 4 of us, Mr. Spouse’s parents, and Mr. Spouse’s other brother & his family.  Lots of good ol’ family fun.  One of our favorite things to do as a family is EAT!  Who doesn’t love to do that!?!  This year we decided to throw a couple of savory casseroles into the breakfast rotation for the week and they did NOT disappoint!  My mother-in-law made a delicious egg casserole and I contributed this amazing french toast casserole I found on Pinterest.  I’m not typically a breakfast kind of gal, but I could eat this thing every.single.day…y’know, if I wanted to put on about 20 +lbs :)  It’s made a breakfast believer out of me for sure!

OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

recipe via Rach’s Blog

1 stick {1/2 cup} butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

2 loaves Texas Toast

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. powdered sugar plus more for sprinkling

White sugar, to taste

Cinnamon, to taste

 

Let’s get this breakfast party started, shall we?!

First up, melt the butter and add in the brown sugar.  Mix until well combined.

 

Now pour this gooey brown sugar/butter mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan/dish.  After all, every good breakfast should contain a copious amount of butter & sugar ;)

In a large bowl, beat eggs on low…or whisk.  I don’t like cleaning extra utensils, so I whisked until I couldn’t whisk anymore.  Add milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar to the eggs and mix well.

Set the egg mix aside and get started with the Texas Toast.  Although I think the crust is the best part of ANY bread, I went ahead and cut it all off for this recipe because 1.) it looks better, and 2.) that’s how I roll. 

The original recipe called for one loaf of Texas Toast, but I realized I was about 4-5 slices short, so I would suggest getting an extra loaf just to err on the side of caution.  Of course, my shortage could’ve been due to chef’s error, but being on the safe side just makes my cooking heart happy. 

Now add a layer of that delicious, crustless {or not} Texas Toast on top of the melted butter/ brown sugar layer.

Now spread/pour half of the egg mix on the top of the layer of bread.  And then sprinkle sprinkle on some brown sugar & cinnamon, to taste.

Now add a 2nd layer of Texas Toast.  Pour/spread the remaining egg mix evenly on top of the bread.  Sprinkle white sugar and cinnamon {to taste} on top of that.  Mmmmmmm….

 

This little casserole will need to sit in the fridge overnight, so make sure you plan ahead!!!  When it’s time to cook, pop it in the oven and heat to 350.  Bake for 45 minutes, remove, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

You can serve it up with some warm maple syrup if you so desire, but I didn’t.  Infact, none of us did!  It was PERFECT just the way it was!!  Just make sure to sprinkle some powdered sugar on top before digging in!

I can’t even describe the deliciousness of this dish…my mouth waters too much just thinking about it.  Heavenly.  Rich.  Savory.  Sweet.  Insert your adjective here.  There wasn’t a crumb left in the pan…or on our plates…when it was all said and done.  It was a winner for sure!

If you aren’t a breakfast believer yet, you will be after eating this.  Trust me.  I’m proud to say that I’m a breakfast believer…and a homecoming queen {Monkees, anyone?!?!?!}  HA!!