BANANA NUT FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

Banana Nut French Toast Casserole image

This is a fantastic company breakfast. You can just add two slices of bread and a couple of eggs for each extra person; you can use any kind of fruit you want; you can substitute cream cheese for the pats of butter if you're using blueberries or strawberries (I would leave out all the spices if you're going to make this with...

Provided by G. Massey

Time 50m

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

8 slice whole grain bread
10 large eggs
1 c whole milk
1/2 c half-and-half or cream
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
1 c pecans, in pieces
1 stick butter
cloves, ground
cinnamon, ground
allspice, ground
brown sugar

Steps:

1. Grease and flour a baking dish, preferably a 9"x13". Be aware the deeper the dish, the longer this takes to bake. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. On a cutting board, make two stacks of bread, four slices to a stack. Make sure the edges are even and carefully trim off the crusts on all four edges with a serrated knife. Then cut the bread into cubes no smaller than 1 1/2". Put into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Crack the ten eggs into a smaller mixing bowl. Add 1 c. milk, 1/2 c. half and half, 2 t. vanilla extract, and a dash of cinnammon. Whisk until smooth.
3. Pour egg mixture over the bread cubes and toss gently, so as not to turn the bread into mush. When the bread has soaked up most or all of the egg mixture, spread 1/3 of the cubes in a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle on 1/3 cup of the pecan pieces, a handful of brown sugar, and the spices. Lay out banana slices, evenly spaced on the bread. Take pats of butter and lay those on as well, again evenly spaced. Put another 1/3 of the bread/egg/milk mixture, and repeat the steps with the nuts, spices, sugar, butter, and banana. Finish up with the last 1/3 of the bread/egg/milk mixture and top with the last 1/3 c. of pecans, another handful of brown sugar and spices, and a few more pats of butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes or until the center is moist but no longer runny. You may take the foil off for the last 5-10 minutes to toast the sugar on the top. Serve with sausage, eggs and coffee, and top with a little maple syrup and whipped cream.