French Toast Casserole

As I've mentioned before, because Joe's schedule is so crazy, we've developed ways of really cherishing the time that we get to spend together. And when we both have the day off, I let him sleep in, and then we have a nice breakfast. For a long time, this meant breakfast tacos, but I'm trying to branch out a little.

I was flipping through the cookbooks I have, but nothing was catching my eye until I saw this. Not to mention that I had all of the ingredients on hand: I just had to make some bread the day before. You can prep it the night before, then all you have to do is stick it in the oven. I prepped it that morning, and after I put it in the oven, I hopped right back in our warm bed with the cats! We knew it was time to get up when the cinnamon came wafting into our bedroom from the kitchen. What a low-stress breakfast!

Those was just enough for the two of us, and I found myself wishing I had a little bacon or sausage alongside it.

French Toast Casserole
source: The Little Big Book of Comfort Food

Ingredients
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tbsp raisins
1/3 of a 1 lb loaf of French bread, sliced
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts.)

Directions

1. Mix together the brown sugar, the melted butter, and 1/4 tsp of the cinnamon. Add the apple slices and raisins; stir to coat. Pour into a greased baking dish. Arrange the bread slices in an even layer over the apple-raisin mixture.
2. Whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and remaining cinnamon. Pour over the bread, covering it evenly so that all slices are soaking in the liquid. Top with chopped pecans. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the dish from the refrigerator while the oven heats. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.