Night Before French Toast Casserole

When I had my second son, I don't think I cooked dinner for about two weeks.

Everyday another neighbor was showing up with dinner. They were (and still are) so wonderful!

Veronica is a neighbor and great friend who not only made dinner, but also brought this Night Before French Toast Casserole for breakfast the next day.

I ate it like, um, I had just given birth, and I loved loved loved it.

It's been two years! and I only just asked her for the recipe this past weekend.

I thought I would share it, ala Pioneer Woman style.

Here's the thing, though.

I can't cook.

Okay, I can, but I just don't. I can follow a recipe well enough, but I can't improvise very well, I don't get much pleasure out of it, and my boys (to include my husband) generally don't eat anything I cook, so I rarely see the point of cooking anything that doesn't shake itself frozen out of a bag and onto a cookie sheet.

But this! This little piece of delicious breakfast heaven is so easy.

Here goes:

Here is the original recipe from Veronica:

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread, cut into half slices
8 eggs
3 cups milk
4 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 T vanilla
Cinnamon & Nutmeg

Beat up all the ingredients. With a mixer.

Well crap. The pictures are all out of order. But here is me cutting the bread. Just imagine it was in the beginning.

Here are all the pieces of bread, laid out in the greased up pan and soaking in the beat up stuff.

Here it is again in case you missed it.

Here is a picture of the little dots of butter on the bread. I was maybe more generous with the term "dot". But I'm a butter lover...

Okay, no pictures, but then I just sprinkled these with cinnamon and nutmeg, covered with saran wrap and stuck them in the fridge.

The next morning, I peeled off the wrap and stuck them in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes. (That part was on the back of the recipe card that I didn't take a picture of. So just trust me. That's what it said.)

Here is the French Toast casserole cooking:

Excitement in the casserole dish! "Down Boy!"

Ummmmm.....

Done. This little red pan had less mixture stuff than the other pan, and it was a little drier. Which I think I prefer.

This bigger pan had more of a bread pudding texture, which the boys liked. A little experimentation and you could probably figure out how you like it best.

I like to sprinkle powered sugar on my French Toast. Plus is looks pretty.

The real test? A thumbs up from my 12 year old stepson: He-Who-No-Longer-Eats-Breakfast (and who apparently drinks coffee WTF?) (that's another story for another time. Or a Jerry Springer episode.)

"Grant. How do you like the French Toast?" she asks from behind the camera.

(I'm pretty sure if he knew he was sort of giving me the eff you finger, he would be giving me the eff you finger. But I love this picture because of the way the sun in catching his fork.)

"Seriously, Grant. What do you think?"

"OH! Thumbs up? Great."

But you can't see that shot because 12 year old boys can't help but muck up whatever it was you were trying to do by sticking their heads in the shot. sigh. He's lucky it's a cute head.

Let's try Cannon.

"Cannon. What do you think of mom's cookin'?"

Fine. I'll take it.

Try again for Grant.

"Grant. I need a thumbs up picture for my effing blog. Because I just do. Because that's what the Pioneer Woman would have. And I aspire to be cool. So just show me how much you like it..."

"No Grant. That's not an 'I like it face'. Try again, son."

I'll take a pinky's up I guess. Even though I know that in your head you were just squishing me and my camera with your little pinky finger.

Brat.