From the Kitchen of Mama Harris: Strawberry-Apple French Toast Casserole

I've made no secret of the fact that breakfast has always been a favorite for me. Whether it be sweet or savory, quick or laborous, a tiny meal or a huge spread - breakfast is rarely a thing that I skip on each day.

With a family my size, however, I often have to find alternative ways to enjoy the traditional breakfast without standing over the stove for hours flipping pancakes, omelets, or French Toast. Previously, I've shared my delicious Savory Breakfast Casserole, which is basically an omelette in casserole form. Easy to prepare ahead of time, and just pop in the oven first thing in the morning. It's perfect for guests or even on busy holiday mornings.

Now I've created the perfect alternative to that savory casserole - a delicious, sweet and fruit-laden French Toast... in casserole form. Complete with streusel topping! There's layers of French bread, and between each layer sweet cinnamon apples can be found. All topped with strawberries and streusel. The taste is similar to an apple pie with a strawberry twist, something your whole family will be sure to love.

This would be delicious served with a dusting of powdered sugar, maple syrup, strawberry or other fruit flavored syrups or even whipped cream! If you serve it soon after pulling it out of the oven the streusel topping will have a toasted feel, which is super delicious. It's almost better the next day as well, the bread stiffens a bit and the topping softens a little into sweet buttery goodness. Either way you serve it, it's sure to be a hit!

French Toast Casserole Ingredients:

2 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced
cinnamon sugar (2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar)
6 large eggs
1 cup half and half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 load French bread, sliced

Strawberry Streusel Topping Ingredients:

2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

Directions:

Spray large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray

Peel and slice apples, laying half of them down on the bottom of the casserole dish

Sprinkle tops of apple slices with cinnamon sugar

Mix together eggs, half and half, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture, then lay on top of apples, slightly stacking the sliced bread. Once half of the bread is dipped, layer the remaining apple slices, then sprinkle tops of apples again with cinnamon sugar.

Dip remaining bread in egg mixture, layering and stacking over the second set of apple layers. Once complete, pour any remaining egg mixture over the top of the stacks and then sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

Cover and refrigerate overnight (or about 8 hours).

Once ready to prepare the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice strawberries and layer them over the top of the casserole

Combine flour, brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slice cold butter and add to mixture. Using a pastry cutter, cut into the butter until it's broken into tiny pieces and mixed with the other ingredients.

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the strawberries.

Bake in the preheated oven between 40-55 minutes. My oven tends to run slightly hot and I cooked it 50 minutes. The bread texture was soft, but the topping was perfect and so was the fruit.

If you want it a little denser, cook a bit longer.