Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m glad you’re here!
Yesterday, I shared thoughts on finding joy in times of trial. When life feels unrelentingly difficult, it can be hard to find joy, or to even recognize kindnesses shared by others, until one is able to slow down, breathe deeply and listen. Listening is easier said than done. If you’re anything like me, your inner voice tends to be rather loquacious, making quieting your mind in order to focus on listening a challenge at times; for me, it can only happen when I have been able to get myself organized and clear the decks of life’s everyday distractions. Add in the rush and tumble of the holidays, and it may seem an impossible task.
This week, I’m trying to share time-saving recipes, or at least ones that you can prepare ahead of time, that are still festive enough for holiday celebrations. These are recipes that can cooked on demand for early or late arrivals; and more importantly, they are recipes that are easy to put together and that will either hold in the fridge for several days before being cooked up, or be great when re-heated, giving you flexibility and, more importantly, time!
Yesterday, I featured these absolutely delicious bran muffins that can be held in the fridge as batter and cooked up in about 25-30 minutes in the oven on-demand. I always have a batch of these on hand when I have out-of-town guests who have an early morning flight because I can get up early, pop some muffins in the oven, and pack them “to-go” still hot for breakfast either on the way to the airport, or when waiting at the gate to board. It’s a lovely way to show your guests some love and to save them having to eat nasty airport food!
And today, I’m continuing my quest-to-find-time-to-find-joy initiative with this wonderful recipe for overnight French toast casserole.
This is a recipe that I have been making for decades. It is a great recipe for using up ends of leftover, slightly stale bread and it smells amazing when it’s baking in the oven! You make it the night before you want to serve it for breakfast and pop it into the oven in the morning with no fuss or muss, thereby giving yourself an opportunity to take a walk, meditate or otherwise just have a few quiet moments to yourself.
And, trust me, it’s so easy to put together that I’ve even made it on the road. Several years ago, Mr. Stone Soup and I were guests at my brother-in-law’s and sister-in-law’s house. We’d had a lovely evening and as we were cleaning up, my sister-in-law looked at the leftover bread and said–“ugh–I have no room in my freezer for this bread.” I suggested that I could put together my overnight French toast casserole for breakfast the next morning, and she eagerly agreed. The next morning, I got up early and put the casserole in the oven. The heady aroma of cinnamon filled the house and one-by-one, sleepy faces appeared in the kitchen. The casserole finished cooking while we made coffee, heated up some sausage, cut up fruit and chatted amiably about the day’s plan. The next time we stayed with them, my sister-in-law sheepishly asked me if I’d make the divine French toast casserole again and I was only too happy to oblige. It’s always a lovely feeling to be able to repay hospitality on the spot–especially when the request is such an easy one to accomplish!
This casserole is great because, as I mentioned, you make it the night before, it uses up leftover bread and it is great with lots of different kinds of bread. The only bread I probably wouldn’t use would be rye bread–I think cinnamon with rye would be…a little weird. But–I’ve never tried it, so, heck–it might be a taste sensation I’m missing out on! If you try it, leave a comment letting me know how it came out! My only warning about this recipe is that it does take about an hour and a half to bake, so plan accordingly!
Tune tomorrow for another recipe that can help you find the time to find the joy.
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
