Overnight French Toast Casserole

Overnight French Toast Casserole
originally from food.com

12 pieces of bread
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 sprinkle of nutmeg
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 

1. Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with Pam:

 2. Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg:

3. Put 6 pieces of bread in the casserole dish:

4. Sprinkle them with the sugar mixture and spread evenly with the spoon:

5. Add another bread layer:

6. Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the bread:

7. Crack 4 eggs in a bowl:

8. Scramble them and add a dash of vanilla:

9. Add the milk:

10. Mix in the milk:

11. Pour the eggy-vanilla-milk over the bread and evenly distribute using the spoon:

12. All ready for the fridge!:

13. After a night in the fridge:

14. After baking for 25 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered:

 
This is a fun recipe to modify.  If you have leftover cinnamon or pumpkin bread you can make it using that bread instead.  You can also insert fruit into the bottom and middle layers (it will dry out on the top layer).  I like to serve it with Crockpot Apple Pie Filling instead of using maple syrup or honey.

Fancy Boxed Mac and Cheese

We have a bunch of Annie's white cheddar mac and cheese that I bought at Target when it was on sale for $1a box.  My boyfriend isn't a big fan of mac and cheese so I wanted to make it a bit fancier and yummier.  This is what I came up with!

Fancy Boxed Mac and Cheese
1 box mac and cheese
1 cup broccoli
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
little bits of butter

1. Make a box of mac and cheese according to directions.

2. If you're making Annie's mac and cheese you'll mix the powder with 1/4 cup milk (actually this seemed a bit watery and I'll use less next time):

3. While the water is boiling steam broccoli:

4. Chop up the broccoli into bitesize pieces.
5. Drain the macaroni.  Put it back in the pot.

6. Add the chopped up broccoli, some sundried tomatoes, and some shredded cheese (I used 1/4 cup havarti and some parmesan but next time I'll use a bunch more) to the noodles. Mix until the cheese is melted.

*7. Mix together the topping. I used Panko bread crumbs because I have seen 2 mac and cheese recipes using it as a topping recently and because I first heard about it in Cooking Light magazine and am therefore convinced it is healthier even though I haven't compared nutrition facts. I'm glad that I used it because it added a really nice crunch to the soft mac and cheese.

8. Sprinkle the topping over the mac and cheese.  Add a few bits of butter.

9. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. 

 10. Enjoy while feeling fancy!

*I don't know why step 7 and the picture below turned white and I can't figure out how to fix it.  Sorry!

Broccoli Cheese Wild Rice Casserole

 
I invented this recipe myself when I lived in my first apartment in college.  I have always enjoyed cooking and cooked a fair bit in high school, but I really got into it once I was responsible for all of my own food.  This is a good recipe to modify based on your own likings, leftovers, and current pantry holdings.


I served this with the rest of the buttery biscuits that I made to serve with the Tuscan White Bean Soup.


Broccoli Cheese Wild Rice Casserole
1 box Uncle Ben's wild rice
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cannelini/white bean/navy beans, DRAINED & rinsed

1 broccoli tree, diced up to be bite-size, about 2 cups (use as much of the stem as you like, in a casserole it's easy to sneak in lots of stem along with the florets)

some frozen spinach, drained & chopped - I include this whenever I happen to have some in the freezer

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I always use white cheddar)

1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan

1/8 stick of butter
1/3 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
cheese to sprinkle on top

Here is everything you need all together!

1. Make wild rice according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 350.

I like Uncle Ben's wild rice because it comes with a seasoning packet which is very delicious.

Easy Yummy Dinner

*I forgot to take a picture of my casserole, so here is one off of food.com


I thought I'd share what I made for dinner tonight because it was easy, yummy, healthy, and I got 4 dinner servings & 2 lunch servings out of it.  Also, it is made of cheap ingredients, which is always a plus.  I modified this food.com recipe.

Mexican Vegetarian Casserole

2 cups cooked rice
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
1 (8 oz) carton light sour cream - I mixed it in, but I'm considering leaving it out next time and using it as a topping
1 cup salsa
1 1/2 cups reduced fat shredded cheese - I used a pre-shredded mexican blend
1/3 cup chopped onion
sprinkle of cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you want it
sprinkle of taco seasoning, depending on how spicy you want it
1/2 cups reduced fat shredded cheese to sprinkle on top
1 can black olives for topping
tortilla chips for a crunch while you eat : )

1. Preheat oven to 350.  


2. Mix the first 9 ingredients together in a large bowl.  


3. Spray the casserole dish/es with Pam.  


4. Spread the mixture into the dish and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.  (I used a 5x9 casserole dish and an 8x8 casserole dish. I cooked one and put the other in a freezer for another night. I covered it with foil, pressing it down so that the foil actually touched the food and then put it in a freezer bag or put the dish's lid on it).  

5. Bake for at least 25 minutes, or until the liquid is cooked off or you will end up with a very soupy dish (your liquidiness will vary based on your salsa, sour cream, etc).  Serve with olives, (sour cream if you didn't mix it in), and tortilla chips.  The chips add a nice crunchy texture to the smoothness of the casserole.

6. When you cook the frozen one it will take longer than 25 minutes.  (I haven't done this yet so I'm not sure, just keep checking for the top to be a bit brown and the liquid to have bubbled away).


My boyfriend and I each ate dinner and there is enough leftover for one lunch.  And this was only half the recipe!  The other half is in the freezer for next week.