Prepare Yourselves

Thanksgiving is coming. Don't forget about breakfast.

A week from now, you’re going to be scrambling for Thanksgiving. Instead of politics this morning, let’s talk recipes. Below are the two recipes I send out every year around this time. They are to feed breakfast to a large group. They bake at the same temperature for roughly the same time. You make them the night before and put them in the fridge till morning. One is sweet and one is savory.

As you start planning your shopping list for Thanksgiving, you’ll want to consider these.

French Toast Casserole

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread; cut

• diagonally in 1 inch slices

• 8 eggs

• 2 c half-and-half cream

• 1 1/2 c 2% or whole milk

• 2 ts vanilla extract

• 1/4 ts ground cinnamon

• 3/4 c butter

• 1 1/2 c brown sugar

• 3 tb light corn syrup

DIRECTIONS

1. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange the slices of bread in the bottom. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread slices, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

2. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Cover with a lid. DO NOT COOK.

3. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heat the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup until bubbling. Pour over bread and egg mixture.

3. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until brown.

---

Sausage and Egg Bake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound breakfast sausage

• 1/2 onion finely chopped (optional)

• 6 slices white bread without crust

• softened salted butter

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 5 eggs

• 2 cups half and half

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp dry mustard

DIRECTIONS

Grease 9x13 casserole dish.

Butter tops of slices of bread. Place butter side up in the casserole dish.

Brown sausage (and onion if using). Drain.

Whisk eggs, half and half, salt, and mustard together.

Sprinkles sausage over the bread. Sprinkle the cheese over the sausage. Pour egg mixture over everything. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.