Hi Joann,
The one I posted on yesterday's recipe thread is one that my aunt made regularly for Christmas and Sunday brunches.

It's from a Canadian cookbook that was a hugely popular series.

I think about it regularly and would dearly love to make it. DH doesn't like eggs, so I doubt this would go over. I should try making a small version just for me.

Wifesaver Breakfast Casserole (Best of Bridge)

16 slices bread crusts removed
16 slices Canadian back bacon or ham
16 slices sharp cheddar cheese (or shredded)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2-1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup minced green onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
crushed Corn Flakes or Special K

Set 8 pieces of bread into a 9" x 13" buttered, glass baking dish. Cover bread with slices of back bacon. Lay slices of cheddar cheese on top of bacon and then cover with remaining slices of bread to make it like a sandwich.

In a bowl, beat eggs and pepper. To the egg mixture add dry mustard, onion, red pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and milk.

Pour over the sandwiches, cover and let stand in fridge overnight. In morning, melt butter, pour over top. Cover with Special K or crushed Corn Flakes. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour at 350F. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

This is one we've been eating for years:

Brunch Casserole

8 slices bread, cubed
2 C. Cheddar cheese
2 1/2 C milk
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
4 eggs
2 lb. bulk sausage (breakfast sausage)

Brown and drain sausage. Put cubed bread in 9 x 12 buttered dish. Top with sausage. Mix milk, mustard and eggs. Pour over. Refrigerate over night. Bake 350 1 hour.

This is one I had at a friends house. I thought it was delicious. My son thought it was too sweet.

Apple Cinnamon FrenchToast

5 Tbl. butter
2-3 large granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 T. dark corn syrup
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 - 1" thick sliced large French bread 4" wide
3 large eggs
1 C. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Day before: In a heavy skillet, melt butter and add apple slices and cook until tender, stirring. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and cinnamon until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture into 9 x 13 baking pan and spread evenly. Arrange bread slices in 1 layer on top of apple mixture. Beat eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour over bread slices. Cover and wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Bake 375 30 - 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 min. Invert onto serving tray and carefully turn over and unmold.

The folks over on the Cooking forum have a thread going with many breakfast casseroles. I'm trying Glenda's shrimp and cheese grits for tomorrow's breakfast...

I started a thread at the Cooking forum.

Mine is so close to georgysmom. Serving it again with the wonderful grape jello and blueberry pie filling salad, etc.

Sausage egg casserole
1 pound bulk pork sausage
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
6 slices white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions
1.In a skillet, brown and crumble sausage; drain and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs; add milk, salt and mustard. Stir in bread cubes, cheese and sausage. Pour into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas brunch casseroles

Joann, on your Gathering Place, there are some really good recipes. ;-) I've made the Creme Brulee French Toast several times and it's delicious. I just buy one of those airline-sized bottles of Grand Marnier but if you don't want to bother with that you can use orange juice. I serve it with Jimmy Dean maple link sausages and a big fruit salad (I buy the jarred already sectioned oranges and grapefruit and then add bananas and whatever. I'm thinking along the same lines as you--brunch and then dinner around 4:00.

JoAnne, I did want to mention to you that it has been my experience no matter what recipe you use for the overnight French toast, it doesn't turn out crispy on the outside like regular French toast. It's usually on the soggy side.

I forgot to mention, I've had the creme brulee French toast and I think it's wonderful.

i have one sausage/potato based that is a crock pot and cooks overnight so no prep at all christmas day...i'll check back in the am to see if you'd like it..(i'm on the laptop in bed, lol)

Joann, just wanted to say I think it is a good idea to change up your Christmas tradition. I think it will help.

Joann, this is great french toast. I make it for dinner occasionally

Caswells on the Bay Orange Pecan French Toast

1/4 C melted butter (1/2 stick)
6 eggs
2/3 C orange juice
1/3 C milk
1/4 C sugar (granulated)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 T Grand Marnier (or sub more orange juice if you wish)
12 slices 1" thick French bread
1/2 C finely chopped pecans.

Divide butter between two 9x11" pans, spread to cover bottoms

Beat eggs w/fork. Beat in juice, milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, Grand Marnier (if using). Coat (dip) each slice bread with egg mix and place in buttered pan, single layer. Pour remaining egg mix over top. Sprinkle pecans. Bake 375 F for 20-25 min.

Notes - Both sides brown without turning (nice).

I use Francisco brand thick sliced French, and I've played with portions, halving the recipe for 3-4 and using 7x11" glass pan, or I've made it with 4 eggs and 8 slices bread or 3/4's recipe, just cut back on the juice and milk a little, no need to be precise, it's forgiving :)

Top with fresh berries, or powdered sugar, or maple syrup, whatever your choice. DH likes jam on it...

This is a Rachel Ray Recipe tho we modify it a bit. It's so good that one of my best friends served it in her restaurant.

Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients
Batter:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
1 1/2 cups cream cheese
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I skip them)
1/2 cup medium-diced banana
1/8 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 cinnamon sticks

Butter, as needed
4 (2-inch thick) pieces challah bread
Vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional
Fresh berries, for serving, optional

Batter:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well until incorporated. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Filling:

Fold all ingredients together in a bowl until well incorporated but not completely smooth.

Syrup:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and let reduce by 1/3.

French Toast:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a large saute pan and then add butter. Dredge the bread in the batter and place in the pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool. Divide filling between 2 pieces of the bread top with the remaining 2 pieces of bread. Transfer French toast to oven and bake for 8 minutes.

Cut each French toast in half and serve with the cinnamon syrup and, if desired, a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh berries.

These all sounds so good YUM I usually throw somethin from the frozen food section in the microwave.

Thanks everybody, I am still thinking on which one.

Joann, my thoughts are with you at this time of year. It's going to be hard. We're all here with you.

(((Joann)))

One year I made a Frittata with ham. It was delicious. sometimes I make swiss cheese quiche. Don't have the recipes off hand.

I just found this one and it looks like a winner.

Ultimate Breakfast Casserole:

12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 cups cubed bread
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups cheese, grated
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
additions, to taste

You can substitute 3/4 pound (or 1 1/2 cups) sausage or ham or ground beef or Whatever you have!

You can get away with 1/4 cup butter. Or even margerine. If you must. I would never!!

If you don't have any sour cream, you can use 2 cups milk instead.

Add 1 cup chopped sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables, if you like.

This is, as you can see, like so many of my recipes, a standard that you can rely on to then change to suit your own family. I love recipes like that. How do I come up with recipes like this? I take recipes from other places and start changing them to suit my family, and over the years, as our tastes and their ages change, I adjust them. I sometimes forget where recipes come from to start with. (And really, this is a very ordinary recipe what's special about it is how you can make it your own.) The important part is the standard, the quantities that work within the recipe. Once you deconstruct that part, the recipe is anything you want it to be. I hope you'll make it something that is perfect for your family. Try it! You'll like it. (Note: You can also easily cut this recipe in half, if that suits you, and bake it in an 8x8 pan. I've never done that, but there is no reason you can't (I would recommend watching the baking time as that would probably not take as long.)

Cook and crumble bacon; set aside. Cube bread. Grease a 9x13 pan.

As you can see, 4 cups of cubed bread to meis 4 overflowing cups. I cut big cubes, and that makes a difference in what fills up a cup. Also, I'm using thick-sliced Grandmother Bread. If you're using a different sort of bread, it might be different for you, so adjust accordingly. You want the bread to loosely cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

When I lay it out in a 9x13 pan, here is what the bread cubes look like.

Melt butter (or margerine) and pour over the bread cubes in the pan.

Toss with shredded cheese.

I'm using a Mexican Fiesta blend. Use whatever cheese you like.

Whisk eggs, milk, and sour cream.

If you're adding sauteed vegetables, add them to the eggs, milk, and sour cream after you've whisked them. Add salt and pepper if you like. I use peppered bacon. Bacon is pretty salty, and it's peppered, so I don't add anything at this point.

Pour mixture evenly over bread cubes and cheese.

Sprinkle bacon (or whatever) over the top of the casserole. I like to toss chives over it, too. Then the teenagers start crying. "What is that green stuff?????" CHIVES. I grew them, chopped them, and froze them. It makes me happy to use them. I love them.

The teenagers just barely let me get away with that. Or most likely, by the time I get done telling them all that, they want to smack me and just get on with the pigging out.

Cover with foil. You can cook this right away, or let it sit in the fridge overnight. Bake at 325-degrees, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes.

Here is a link that might be useful: ultimate breakfast cass

I made the Ultimate Breakfast Casserol, it was great! I also made some Cranberry-eggnog muffins which were very good and a Hashbrown casserole & homemade biscuts too.

Cranberry-Eggnog Muffins
Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

.Prep Time:30 minInactive Prep Time:-- Cook Time:30 min
Serves: 12 muffins

For the Muffins:

Cooking spray
1 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup rum or apple juice (I used apple juice an added 1 tsp. rum extract)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted (I used margarine and less salt)
1 1/2 cups eggnog
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Topping: (This might make too much, cut in half)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

Prepare the muffins: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mist a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Warm the cranberries and rum in a small saucepan over medium heat, then remove from the heat and let steep 5 minutes. Drain.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk the butter, eggnog, eggs and vanilla in another bowl. Gently fold into the flour mixture. (The batter will be lumpy; do not overmix.) Fold in the cranberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Make the topping: Mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt and brown sugar in a bowl with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle generously over the batter.

Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan, then carefully remove to a rack.