Sometimes things get a bit hectic with the holidays. With this recipe, you can’t go wrong. It works if you make it the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning. It even works if you cook it the night before and reheat it. It’s easy to double or triple. It would work on a buffet table or for breakfast in bed. And it’s so much less time consuming than flipping pieces of bread a couple at a time. Oh, and did I mention that it’s delicious? So, make up a batch and serve it to Mom. She’ll thank you for it.

French Toast Casserole

7 cups bread cubes (toast bread first or use stale bread)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter an 8×8 inch baking pan.

Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and vanilla, 1/2 t. cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over bread. Let stand for 10 minutes (or overnight).

Pour melted butter over the top. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden. Serve with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

To reheat this, make sure that you cover it with foil or a lid to a casserole dish, so it doesn’t dry out. Also, ideally you would decrease the cooking time by about 15 minutes, then reheat at 350 for 15 or 20 minutes.