Overnight French Toast

I am not a morning person.  At all.  I like to send my daughter off with a nice hearty breakfast, but have ZERO desire to cook in the morning.  I want to sit with my coffee, not stand over the stove.  Enter overnight French toast.  Mix it up, put it in the fridge overnight, then just pull out & bake in the morning.  That's my kind of cooking!  We usually have grapes, bananas, or apples on the side with this.

Overnight French Toast
Serves 2

4 slices cinnamon bread
4 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Spray an 8x8 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Lay bread slices in a single layer in prepared dish.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and cinnamon.  Pour over bread.  Cover dish, and refrigerate over night.

In the morning, pull the dish out of the fridge, and sit it on the counter.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake French Toast for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

*Sometimes I sprinkle some berries, chopped bananas, finely chopped apples, or nuts over the bread, before pouring the egg on top.

*This recipe can easily be doubled, but when I do so I use a 9x13 dish instead.

Apple Oatmeal

Thanks to Once a Month Mom! She's created another hit! :)

1 c old-fashioned oats
1 red apple, cored and diced
2 c milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours (mine was done in one hour.)

Mexican breakfast pie

adapted from $5 dinners

4 large flour tortillas, torn into pieces
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
Cilantro to taste
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar

Place tortilla pieces in a Pam-sprayed pie plate. Whisk together egg, milk, onion, tomato, garlic, cilantro, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Pour over tortilla pieces. Sprinkle with a handful of cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes.

*Next time I make this I'll add green onions as well, and maybe some bell pepper.

Waffle Casserole

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Fast Fix Family Food cookbook

This is like a McGriddle, but a little healthier and in a baking dish.

6 frozen low-fat waffles, toasted, then cut into cubes
1 lb. reduced-fat pork sausage, browned and drained
2 c skim milk
6 eggs (use egg substitute to make it even lower fat)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dry ground mustard
1 c reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Pure maple syrup

Layer half of the waffle squares on the bottom of a greased 8x8 baking dish. Top with half of the sausage, then 1/2 c cheese. Repeat layers. Whisk together milk, eggs, pepper and dry mustard. Pour over sausage layers. Cover and refrigerate 4-24 hours.

Remove dish from refrigerator, and let sit 30 minutes. Then bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until egg is set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the casserole comes out clean. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Top individual servings with maple syrup.

Quick Caramel Sticky Buns

Inexpensive, and very good! Serves ten for a brunch, but my husband, daughter and I almost finish it when we eat it on it's own. My husband usually eats half! :)

1/2 c butter
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp water
2 10-oz. cans biscuits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Coat bottom and sides of an ungreased Bundt pan with two tablespoons of the melted butter. Sprinkle three tablespoons of the nuts over the bottom of the prepared pan. To remaining butter, add nuts, brown sugar and water; heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Separate biscuits into twenty biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half, and roll into a ball. Place 20 balls into prepared Bundt pan. Drizzle half of the caramel sauce over the balls. Repeat layers.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Invert immediately onto a plate, and remove from pan.

Serves 10.

Two new recipes

Quick Tuna Noodle Salad

7 oz penne pasta
6 oz can tuna in water, drained
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
3 oz mozzarella cheese, diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse under cold water. Pour into a medium bowl. Add tomatoes and cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

Add tuna to pasta mixture. With a whisk, mix lemon juice and olive oil. Pour over tuna mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Bacon Breakfast Casserole

8 slices bacon
5 slices wheat bread, torn into pieces
2 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
6 eggs
2 c milk
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry bacon, drain, and crumble. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, layer bread, 1 c cheese, and bacon pieces. Beat eggs, milk, salt & pepper together. Pour egg mixture over layers. Top with remaining 1c cheese. Bake 30 minutes, until lightly browned, edges are bubbly, and center is set.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

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1/4 c butter, softened
4 oz fat free cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add 1 c sugar, beating well. Add egg; beat well.

Combine flour, baking powder & salt. Stir into butter mixture. Stir in vanilla. Fold in berries. Pour into a sprayed 9" round cake pan. Combine 2 tbsp sugar with 1.5 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake 1 hour. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 8 servings

We made this on Tuesday night after dinner, baked and cooled it while we watched a movie, then refrigerated it overnight. In the morning we just cut it and microwaved the slices for 20 seconds before serving. It was SO good! We may be eating again on Easter even though we just had it yesterday!