Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast

(adapted from Allrecipes)

Serves: about 10

It's Mother's Day and I have been itching to try this recipe!  You make it the night before, refrigerate overnight, and bake for about an hour the following morning!  I made my sauce while the casserole was baking, but you could just as easily make it the night before too.  Being a strawberry lover, I used more strawberries than the original recipe I found on Allrecipes required.  I also substituted Pepperidge Farm strawberry bread for the white bread, but I'm sure it would be just as tasty with a good white bread.  And last, but not least, to make it more healthy, I used Eggbeaters and low fat cream cheese.  The result?  Excellent!  You can make this with blueberries or peaches..... which I will be trying when fresh local fruits are available.   (the recipe is easily halved if you don't want to serve 10).

 With Sauce and Below Before Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

12 slices home-style white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes, divided in half

 (I used the seasonal Pepperidge Farm strawberry bread)

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 cups half-and-half

12 large eggs(or substitute 3 cups Eggbeaters)

1/3 cup maple syrup

Sauce:

1 cup white sugar

1 cup water

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 Tablespoon butter

Note: (I doubled the sauce to have more to serve on individual servings or over ice cream or cake! 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

·       Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

·       Arrange half of the bread cubes in the dish.  Evenly place cream cheese cubes over the bread cube layer.  Sprinkle 2 cups strawberries on top of the cream cheese layer. Layer the reaming bread cubes over the strawberry layer.

·       Beat the eggs and whisk together the half-and-half and eggs until fully blended.  Add maple syrup and whisk until smooth.

·       Pour this mixture evenly over the bread mixture, pressing down to make sure that all bread pieces are coated.

·       Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

·       When you’re ready to bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

·       Bake the covered casserole in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. 

·       Uncover and continue baking for about 30 minutes more, until French toast is puffed and lightly browned.

For the Sauce:

·       In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water.  Bring to a boil.

·       Stirring constantly, cook for 3 to 4 minutes and mix in the remaining 2 cups of strawberries.

·       Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until the strawberries are softened.

·       Add butter and stir until butter is melted.

·       Pour over the baked French toast.
Serve and Smile!