French Toast Casserole

French Toast Casserole

Cinnamon and sugar top this fuss-free fare that tastes like French toast. Since you assemble it the previous night, you save time in the morning. —Sharyn Adams, Crawfordsville, Indiana

12 ServingsPrep: 15 min. + chilling Bake: 45 min. + standing

Ingredients

• 1 loaf (1 pound) French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups 2% milk (other readers recommend 1/4 to 1/2 cup less of milk)
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• TOPPING:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Maple syrup, optional

Directions

• Place bread cubes in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. In a large
• bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over
• bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
• 
  
• Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Dot with butter.
• Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.
• 
  
• Cover and bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife
• inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Serve with maple syrup if desired. Yield: 12 servings.
• 
  

Nutritional Facts: 1 serving equals 223 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 151 mg cholesterol, 484 mg sodium,

© Taste of Home 2014

2 of 2

French Toast Casserole (continued)

Nutritional Facts: 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 11 g protein.

Tips from other readers:

• I followed others' suggestions and used less liquid , left it overnight in a plastic bag and removed the foil for about ten minutes to crisp the top.
• Top with powdered sugar.

Christmas Bark Cookie Crunch

Christmas Bark Cookie Crunch
1 lb. white chocolate chips
14 Oreos, broken into pieces
1 and 1/2 cups pretzels, broken
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup miniature Reese’s cups
1/2 cup Peanut M&Ms (Christmas Colors)
Christmas sprinkles

Directions:
Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil. Spread the broken pretzels, broken cookies & peanuts on the prepared cookie sheet. Melt the white chocolate in microwave until smooth (1 minute to 1 ½ minutes, make sure to add a little canola oil).
Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the pretzel mixture, spreading with a spatula if needed. Before it sets, sprinkle on M&Ms, Miniature Reese’s, Peanut Butter Chips and sprinkles. Place the tray into the refrigerator until set. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Garlic Rubbed Roasted Cabbage Steaks

Garlic Rubbed Roasted Cabbage Steaks
If you love cabbage, you are going to freak out about how good this is. Now, if you are on the fence about cabbage, you need to try this because this might be the recipe that converts you to a cabbage lover.
This is a simple side dish worthy of a dinner party and couldn’t be easier to make. Four ingredients, a couple of minutes to prepare and toss in the oven for an hour.
Ingredients
1 (approx 2lb) head of organic green cabbage, cut into 1″ thick slices
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 large garlic cloves, smashed
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
spray olive oil OR non-stick cooking spray
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Pull outer leaf off cabbage (it’s usually dirty and nasty looking), cut cabbage from top to bottom (bottom being root) into 1″ thick slices.
2. Rub both sides of cabbage with smashed garlic.
3. Use a pastry brush to evenly spread the olive oil over both sides of the cabbage slices.
4. Finally, sprinkle each side with a bit of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
5. Roast on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the cabbage steaks and roast for an additional 30 minutes until edges are brown and crispy.
Serve hot and Enjoy!

One Bowl Apple Cake

One Bowl Apple Cake - This cake is so moist and rich and just perfect for this time of year. (and easy to make!)

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
6 medium Gala or Fuji or Honey Crisp apples
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, cinnamon and oil. Peel and slice the apples and add to mixture in bowl (coating as you go to keep apples from turning brown.) Mix together the baking soda and flour and add to the ingredients in the bowl. Mix well (best with a fork) until all of the flour is absorbed by the wet ingredients. Pour mixture into a greased one 9x13 or two 9″ round pans. Bake for approximately 55 minutes.

Dinner Recipe: Maryland Crab Cakes

You don’t need to be from the Chesapeake to appreciate a Maryland-style crab cake. With a hint of Old Bay seasoning – which you can omit or substitute with seasoned salt or a pinch of cayenne for added kick – and fresh crab, you can’t go wrong serving these crab cakes for dinner.
If you’re a crab cake aficionado, then you know everyone’s got a preference – things like breadcrumbs vs. crackers in the filling, or sautéing vs. baking vs. frying when you’re cooking. We wouldn’t turn down a crab cake made any of these ways, but this recipe gives instructions on the skillet and in the oven, depending on what you’d like.
To keep the crab cakes from falling apart while you’re cooking them, you’ll want to refrigerate them for a bit before cooking. Keep that prep time in mind when making these crab cakes, and you’ll be good to go.
 

Maryland Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound jumbo lump or backfin lump crabmeat, fresh or pasteurized
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (or sour cream)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cups breadcrumbs, ideally fresh from white or sourdough bread
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Lemon wedges for serving

Directions:

1. Decide whether you’d like to sauté or bake the crab cakes. If you want to bake them, preheat the oven for 400 degrees F.
2. If necessary, drain the crabmeat and pick through it for shells (shells won’t be in jumbo lump crabmeat). Put the crab in a medium-size bowl and set aside.
3. Get a small bowl and whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning (or substitute), lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Pour the mixture on top of the crab and gently mix until well-combined – be careful to gently break up lumps with your fingers and not to over-mix.
4. Add the breadcrumbs and parsley to the mixture, and gently mix them until well combined. You want the mixture to still have a loose, meaty texture – not mashed together too much.
5. Cover the crab cakes with plastic wrap and let them refrigerate for one to three hours.
6. Mold the crab mixture into eight crab cakes – each should be about an inch thick.
7. If you want to sauté the crab cakes, heat the butter and olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is frothy, add the cakes to the pan and cook on one side for four minutes – about when the underside will be golden-brown. Then, flip the crab cakes and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the cakes for another four minutes, or until the other side is golden-brown.
8. If you want to bake the crab cakes, then melt extra butter and brush a baking sheet with it. Put the crab cakes on the sheet. Then, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter  and brush the tops of the crab cakes with it. Bake them for 20 minutes.
9. Serve with lemon wedges and your choice of side dishes.
10. Enjoy!

Breaded Pork Cutlet

Weight Watchers Recipe

Ratings (1131) 

7PointsPlus Value

Track

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 15 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 4

Panko, coarse Japanese bread crumbs, give these baked pork chops wonderful crispness. Serve them immediately for the best texture.

Ingredients 4 spray(s) cooking spray      1 pound(s) uncooked lean boneless pork chop(s), four 4 oz chops    1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour    3/4 tsp table salt, or to taste    1/2 tsp black pepper, or to taste      1 large egg(s)      3 Tbsp fat free skim milk    1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, or to taste    1/2 cup(s) dried plain breadcrumbs, panko-variety (see note)      1/2 medium lemon(s), cut into 4 wedges    Instructions Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray. Place pork chops between 2 sheets of waxed paper; pound to 1/4-inch thickness with a rolling pin. On a plate, combine flour, salt and pepper. Beat egg in a shallow bowl; stir in milk and mustard. Place panko on a plate. Dip chops, one at a time, in flour mixture to lightly dust both sides; shake off excess. Dip each chop in egg batter and then lightly coat both sides with panko. Place on prepared baking sheet; lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake for 8 minutes; flip and bake until cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes more. (Coat with cooking spray and broil for a minute or two if you like the coating extra crisp.) Serve with lemon wedges. Yields 1 chop per serving. Notes Panko is available in the Asian sections of supermarkets; substitute coarse bread crumbs if desired. Add some cayenne pepper to the bread crumb mixture, if desired. You can also cook these in batches in a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray.

Grilled Ham and Cheese with Rosemary-Dijon Spread

Weight Watchers Recipe

Ratings (51) 

7PointsPlus Value

Track

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Other time: 0 min

Serves: 2

Ham and cheese gets sophisticated with the addition of rosemary and Gruyere. It’s part French, part Swiss and totally delicious.

Ingredients 2 tsp low fat cream cheese    2 tsp Dijon mustard    1 tsp rosemary, fresh, minced    1/4 cup(s) (shredded) Swiss cheese, or Gruyere cheese    1/4 cup(s) (shredded) part-skim mozzarella cheese    3 oz extra lean 4% fat deli-sliced ham      4 slice(s) reduced-calorie whole wheat bread    2 spray(s) cooking spray    Instructions In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, mustard and rosemary. In another bowl, combine both types of cheese. Place bread on a flat surface and evenly divide cream cheese mixture across all four bread slices. Top each of two bread slices with 2 tablespoons Gruyere mixture and 1 1/2 ounces ham; sprinkle each with another 2 tablespoons Gruyere mixture. Cover sandwiches with remaining bread slices, spread-side down. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. When hot, cook sandwiches until cheese is melted, pressing down a few times, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Yields 1 sandwich per serving.