French Toast Breakfast Bake

            Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, however its usually made for dinner because I do not like getting up and going straight into the kitchen to cook. I may love to cook and we may live our life a little old fashion but because that’s something I do constantly, I do not like it first thing in the morning! I really don’t like doing anything first thing in the morning except staying warm in bed. When I do cook in the morning I like to have something I can throw in the oven and cook, honestly, canned biscuits, cinnamon rolls, or even sometimes make some waffle mix and pour into the waffle maker, something quick and easy! I have recently found some recipes that I can start in the crock pot the night before or do all the prep work the night before and have an amazing breakfast!

            My mother came home from being on vacation for 2 ½ weeks to Las Vegas and we needed to get together to plan Thanksgiving, Christmas, and do some planning on our Disney Trip in Feb. so we decided to get together for home cooked breakfast Saturday morning, which was fine however Friday night is date night for me and the husband… so I saw this French toast bake earlier in the week and remembered it could be prepped the night before and just baked in the morning (so thankful my oven does the cooking in the mornings with no help from me- I just gotta put it in and get it out.. couldn’t ask for easier) If mornings started later in this house then I could probably cook a full feast of a breakfast like dinners usually are.. but they don’t they start anywhere from 5-7 usually, if were lucky sometimes 8, and I am not in the mood for cooking or doing anything! The easier the better especially if you wanna eat something other then cereal or pop tarts. The French Toast Bake turned out to be the best French Toast I have ever had… I could probably eat the whole casserole dish! I also made the favorite Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins! (previously blogged, but I will include the recipe under the French Toast Bake!) Hope your family enjoys!

French Toast Bake

-12 slices of Bread (white/wheat/oat – whatever your preference)

-1 cup of Brown Sugar

-2 teaspoons of Cinnamon ( we like cinnamon so I used 3)

-1 cup of Pecans or Walnuts

-8 Eggs

-1 cup of Milk

-2 teaspoons of Vanilla

-Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and line a 9x13 casserole dish with one layer of the bread cubes.

- Mix Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Pecans or Walnuts together in a bowl, sprinkle half of mixture over the first layer of bread.

-Add remaining Bread cubes to make a second layer, sprinkle remaining Brown Sugar/ Cinnamon mixture over the second layer of bread cubes.

-Mix Eggs, Milk, and Vanilla together. Beat until well mixed

- Pour over Bread and Brown Sugar Mixture. Press down slightly over the bread to make sure all is coated in Egg Mixture.

-Cover and place in the refrigerator over night or go ahead and bake.

-When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees, bake for 20 mins covered and then uncover and bake for additional 20- 25 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Remove from oven, allow to cool!

--You can sprinkle powder sugar over the top to give it a snowy look and serve with syrup. Hope everyone enjoys!