Food for Thought – September 8, 2015

By NANCY ZAMBELL

For The Vista

Sometimes, you just want more than a bowl of cereal and a banana for breakfast, don’t you?

After walking my dog, I almost always have a very quick—but usually nutritious—morning meal, before starting my day of writing and seeing real estate clients.

But on weekends, I like to take a more leisurely—and filling—approach to breakfast.

That’s when we go full steam ahead—and I have tons of great recipes for breakfast casseroles, burritos and quiches that I’ll be sharing with you in the days ahead.

But this is one of my favorites, which works especially well when you have out-of-town guests. You assemble it the night before and then just put it in the oven first thing in the morning.

Add a dish of fruit, a few slices of bacon or sausage, and you will have a full breakfast that your guests will rave about!

Overnight Caramel French Toast

1 c. packed brown sugar

1⁄2 c. butter

2 T light corn syrup       12 slices French bread

1⁄4 c. sugar     1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

6 eggs

1 1⁄2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter & corn syrup to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.

Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.

Top with six slices of bread.

Combine sugar & 1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon; sprinkle half over the bread.

Place remaining bread on top. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla & remaining cinnamon. Pour over bread.

Cover & refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings.