Lifestyle Feature

By: Nicole Brudner// Almost nothing will get me out of bed on a rainy Saturday morning. I said almost nothing but the smell of French toast. Ah, cinnamon and sugar and a vanilla aroma wafting through the air, warming the damp house and making its way up to my room. That is a sure way to get me to put on my slippers and even a smile as I make my way to the kitchen table.

What is it about French toast? It is warm, and sweet, and melts in your mouth when you bite into it. It is crisp on the outside and moist in the middle. You can garnish it with almost anything: ice cream, Nutella or even bacon. French toast can be had for breakfast or dinner. Just ask Kristen Adamson Hills, from sixsistersstuff.com, a popular recipe and craft blog. Hills, 26, said, “French Toast is actually my go-to meal when I have nothing else to eat. We have it every other week or so and we eat it for dinner.”

Hills, a stay-at-home-mom runs the blog along with her five other sisters. She said she enjoys baking. “I love experimenting. I especially love it when the experiment turns out delicious. I also love to see the look on someone's face when they eat your food and you can tell that they love it,” Hills said.

“I really do love French toast,” Hills said. She said she usually makes the kind with just eggs, milk and cinnamon. But her favorite kind to make is blueberry French toast. The best kind of bread to use is a thick bread like a Texas toast but she also said homemade wheat bread is what she likes the most.

Hills’ has some tricks she uses when she makes French toast in order to make it amazing every time. She said, “I use a round cake pan to mix everything in so the cinnamon distributes to many pieces of French toast instead of just one.” Hills said she uses all kinds of toppings for her French toast like Cool-Whip, strawberries, bananas and yogurt.

My favorite is Crème Brule French toast. It is easy to make and you let it sit over night then bake it. Just follow these directions and you will have your family out of bed in the morning and straight to the table with a smile.

Ingredients
½ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 loaf Texas Toast (cut into thick slices) or other thick sliced bread
5 eggs
1 and ½ cups half-and- half cream
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of cinnamon

Recipe

1) In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally.
2) Pour mixture onto large, greased jelly roll pan (18x13x1"). Spread around to cover surface.
3) Place 12 slices of bread in a single layer to cover pan.
4) Mix together eggs, cream, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon.
5) Spoon the mixture over each piece of bread.
6) Cover and refrigerate overnight.

7) Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.
8) Remove from pan and serve.

*If not serving immediately, turn each slice of bread over (this will prevent bread from sticking to the bottom of the pan).

Serve with syrup or berries and whipped cream or ice cream.