French Toast Casserole

So, my camera broke right after our camping trip at the beginning of the month and I have been lost without it. I have been eyeing one of these for a while now, but I just don't know if I can fork over that kind of money at this time. Plus, Ashley's dad and his wife, Sue, just gave us a new Flip video recorder, so maybe that will do in the meantime...we will see. Anyhow, for Father's Day, I made a French Toast Casserole, courtesy of Ms. Paula Dean and wanted to share it with you. It was pretty easy and quick to make and was delicious! Not only did Ash and I devour it, but my kids loved it too. Enjoy!

Baked French Toast Casserole
Ingredients:
dash salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup milk
8 large eggs
2 cup half-and-half
Butter, for pan
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Raspberry Syrup, recipe follows

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2-teaspoon ground nutmeg

Raspberry Syrup:
1 cup raspberry preserves
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (recommended: Framboise)

Directions:
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9X13 casserole dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with Raspberry Syrup.

Praline Topping:
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.

Raspberry Syrup:
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until warm and thinned out like syrup.

Servings: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours 45 minutes

{I made the casserole exactly as it is written, the only modification I made was to skip the raspberry liquor in the sauce, and that is only because I was too lazy to make an extra trip to the liquor store! :) However, I'm sure it is worth it!}

Where My Motherfathers At!?

I am probably behind the ball on this one and everyone has already seen this, but just in case you haven't, hear you go. I saw this video a week ago on my friend Jordan's blog. With a third baby on the way, I have waited as long as I can to accept the fact that a 'swagger wagon' is in my very near future. And no matter how much I protest and pitch my own little fit, I do believe it is inevitable. But after seeing this video...maybe it won't be so bad after all! :) Where my mother fathers at!!!???

On Top of Old Smoky

Summer is in full force and I have been the biggest blog slacker. We have been out of town since school let out and I am just now getting a second to post about our trips. I am hoping it hasn't been to long and I can still remember some details....so here is my best attempt. Over Memorial Day weekend we made our annual camping trip to the Smoky Mountains. And yes, we really camp in tents, with sleeping bags, and a campfire. This is real deal camping or as real as it will ever get for me. Granted we are in a campground and there are bathroom facilities...but no showers mind you! :) And yes, I willingly went this year, pregnant and all. We made the long trip up Friday morning and arrived at our site around 4:30 that afternoon and spent most of the afternoon and evening setting up camp.

You may notice, that there are more coolers than tents and that is because we eat better camping than any other time all year....seriously! I don't know what it is (maybe the sticks of butter, cream and salt) but campfire food cannot be beat. And the other great thing about it was that Sue and Ash usually did the cooking. I tended to be the sous chef or clean up crew.
















Landon and his cousin, Jackson aka 'the boys' decided they wanted to camp by themselves this year, or sleep in their own tent. We all abided and helped them pitch their tent. But we all thought they would give in and be in ours our grandaddy's tent by morning. They were so excited!








I had a fit that night, when I heard an unfamiliar sound. I woke Ashley up to ask him what animal it was and he replied an owl and I believed him. But then it kept on and on and I could hear it moving all around the campground and proceeded to pitch a fit knowing that Ash was lying and then I went on to crying. I could not calm down and Ash got somewhat irritated with me. But I quickly reminded him that I was a pregnant woman camping in a tent! To top it all off, I needed to use the bathroom and was scared to death to leave the tent. But when nature calls (no pun intended) you have to buck up and do what you got to do. In my case, I grabbed both flashlights and a lantern and had Ash walk me over to the bathrooms! :) When we finally made it back to the tent, I was so worked up, I felt sick and spent the remainder of the night trying not to throw up. It was only 3:30 am.




I was awakened at the crack of dawn not only by birds, but by the boys too. We were all wrong...they made it through both nights, sleeping in their own tent. And they were oblivious to the drama from that night. (Mom, I know your having a fit, but our tent was mere inches from theres...they were safe) And that was that. The coyote did not return for the rest of the weekend.

The boys had a blast doing what boys do...exporing,






looking for water creatures,






finding crawfish,






climbing trees,






and finding snakes, (I was too chicken to go over and take a pic)


We drove over to Cades Cove and saw a coyote (they are rather small and not at all what I thought they would look like, in fact had we not been in Cades Cove and had someone not told me it was a coyote, I may have thought it was a stray dog) We got stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of Cades Cove...







...and Landon proceede to tell us they "needed to add some more animals" But in all honesty, they had more fun riding on the back of a pick up than seeing any animal.






Two days/nights of camping, sleeping in tents, smelling like campfire and no shower is my limit. I am ALWAYS ready to go the minute we wake up on that third day and this trip was no exception. Since it was a long weekend, we left the campground and went into Townsend, a small town at the entrance of the park and got a hotel for another night. I have no pictures from our hotel stay but it was just as much fun. The boys swam, adults showered and rested, and we all got a good nights sleep in a bed! This was our 4th year of camping and just as fun as the rest of the trip.s I couldn't help but look back over the past 4 years to see how much Landon and the other kids have grown up. I love this tradition and know Landon will look back and treasure his annual camping trip with the Neese clan.