French Toast for a crowd

I asked John if he had any special requests for his Father's Day breakfast, and he replied that he'd love some french toast. Since my resolve to get up early and fix breakfast always wanes around 6 am, I looked online to find a French toast recipe that could be assembled the night before and baked later. I found Blueberry French Toast, Orange French Toast, Bananas Foster French Toast, and many other variations--I ran each of these ideas by John, and he nixed them all, "I think I just want regular french toast."

So after wading through many other recipes deemed too frou-frou by the father in our house, I found a yummy recipe by Paula Deen. If you want the original recipe in all of its buttery, creamy, and praline-topped glory, go HERE. The below recipe is my slightly less fattening and pecan-free (at John's request) adaptation. I used a soft French bread loaf from Super-Tarzhay, but I think challah might make it even better--steer clear of any really crusty and airy baguettes. It would be a good recipe to use if you need to make a brunch dish for company, but the leftovers were also good for 1-2 days later so don't hesitate to try it if you have a small family like ours!

Baked French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread, 13-16 ounces
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups fat-free half-and-half
1/2 cup skim milk
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash salt

For topping:
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Slice French bread into 1.5 inch slices. Arrange slices into greased 9x13 dish in 2 rows, slightly overlapping each slice. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour mixture over bread slices, covering evenly and spooning some of the mixture between the slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat the oven to 350. Flip each bread slice over (so the drier top parts are against the bottom of the pan). Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together, then cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the bread slices, then place in the oven uncovered. Bake for about 40 minutes, until golden.

I sprinkled powdered sugar over each serving, drizzled with maple syrup (side note: splurge on real maple syrup--it's a different creature from the imitation stuff and is sooooo goood you'll never go back to Aunt J) and topped with some blueberries. We rounded off the meal with bacon and mimosas--delish!