Banana Bread French Toast

My husband always asks me to buy bananas. Then he conveniently forgets to eat them. I am big on waste-not want-not, so I will almost always make some kind of Banana Cake or Banana Bread. After 5 years of this pattern, I have a sneaking suspicion that his forgetfulness is actually a well calculated plan to trick me into making treats.

Anyways... I had a bunch of bananas that was going brown (gee I wonder why) so I made Banana Nut Bread. Which is great. But this batch turned out a little overcooked and dense. Once again, I can't just throw it away. French Toast and Bread Puddings are made from stale bread all the time (the soaking in milk-egg batter softens the bread perfectly). Can you hear my wheels turning???

This morning I made Banana Bread French Toast! Or as I like to call it "My Husband is Spoiled."

2 Eggs
1/3 cup Milk (or Cream)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Cinnamon
Dash of Salt
Banana Bread, sliced fairly thick
Butter

Mix eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon & salt (if your Banana Bread was perfectly cooked, you should reduce the milk to 1/4 cup and send me your recipe for bread).

Heat a pan or griddle over med-high heat. Add a dollop of butter and let it melt.

Take your Banana Bread & dunk it in the egg/milk mixture. Let it take a nice bath for a few seconds on each side. First the front....

Then flip it and let it do the backstroke... (okay, there is no need for both pictures, but look how pretty that cinnamon milky bath looks!)

Gently place on the hot buttery griddle and let it sit for a few minutes. You will know it is ready to flip when the bread releases from the pan. If you get resistance, stop & wait a little longer. If you try to flip it before it's ready, the bread will tear and it will be bad news. Stop! Don't do it! I know, I know. It's hard. But it will be worth the wait. Okay, you can flip it now.

When the second side is cooked (you were more patient this time, right?), you can flip it right on your plate and get ready to eat it! Put some more butter on that bad boy and pour some syrup on top. Add some sliced bananas (because I still have more that need to be eaten) and devour.

I would have added some powdered sugar just to make it even prettier, but warm French Toast doesn't last long around my husband. He said it tasted great without it though. Spoiled, I tell ya!

Breakfast Casserole

Seriously tasty, can feed a small army on the cheap (under $10 for around 10 servings), AND can pass as dinner. You really can't go wrong with this casserole...


1/2 lb. bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
12 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for "sprinkling"
1 pkg. frozen diced hash browns (not shredded), thawed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried dill


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon in a pan over med-high heat & drain on paper towels. Crumble when cool. Reserve a few tablespoons of the drippings.

In the same pan, with the reserved bacon fat, sautee the onion & pepper until onion is translucent (about 3 minutes).

In large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Pour into 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle the top with additional cheese & broil until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.

Let sit for about 5 minutes & dig in!