one family. four kitchens.: Strawberry French Toast

This is going to be my new go-to breakfast item when cooking for a group. A few great things about this recipe: 1. you can use the fruit of your choice, 2. you can use either fresh OR frozen fruit, and 3. you can (and should) make this ahead of time--the day before is best!

This recipe is meant for a 9 x 13 dish, but it can easily be cut in half or quarters when baking for a smaller group. Because it's more of an assembly/layering of the ingredients, everything can be altered to your liking (the amount of fruit, cream cheese, bread, etc.)

Ingredients:

12 slices DRY white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 8 cups)*

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups of frozen (or fresh) strawberries**

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup your favorite syrup (i.e., maple or flavored)

*The easiest way to DRY bread for this recipe is to cut them into 1/2 inch cubes (as called for) and place them on a baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes (or until dry) stirring twice. The reason for doing this is to make sure that the bread absorbs as much of the egg mixture as possible (so it truly tastes like french toast.)

**Originally, I used 1 cup, but I found that the more fruit, the better! Also, instead of a bag of frozen strawberries, I grabbed strawberries in a syrup (the ones in those containers so it was literally a block of strawberries. I defrosted just enough to break apart, but still frozen.)

Recipe:

1. Place half of the bread cubes in the bottom of a well-buttered 3-quart baking dish.

2. Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and strawberries on top.