Cooking Thursday

Do you ever make breakfast for supper? It can make a pretty easy meal and a nice change.  I tried a new recipe for a French toast casserole recently and had it for supper.  It turned out good and was easy to make. It had cream cheese in it, which is always yummy I think!  One tip - cut the cream cheese into small cubes.  I think mine were too big and I wished they had been more spread out in the dish. Also the maple syrup and cinnamon in it made it all look brown, but it added wonderful flavor!

French Toast Casserole
10 cups cubed French bread
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp, cut into small cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt.
Add in melted butter and whisk another 2 minutes.
Stir in bread cubes, pressing them down so they're completely coated and absorb the liquid.
Spread half the bread chunks in an even layer in the prepared pan, then sprinkle half of the cubed cream cheese over top.
Top with remaining bread chunks and cubed cream cheese.
Cover pan with roil and place in oven.  Bake for 35-45 minutes until cooked through and golden.  (I removed the foil for the last 5-7 minutes of baking.
Remove from oven, may serve with additional maple syrup.  Serve immediately.
This reheats well.