Well, today I am off to Philadelphia. I will be there today and tomorrow, so if I don’t get to your emails you know why. I will try to update you with details of my trip throughout the two days on my twitter and facebook page.
Today’s breakfast dish really could be considered a dinner dish too. It is a casserole version of a monte cristo sandwich. I found the original recipe from a fellow member of I website I am a member of, pinchingyourpennies.com. The recipe said it comes from pampered chef. Below is my adaptation of the original recipe.
The thing that I loved about this recipe is that you used frozen French toast to make it. I loved how it turned out. Because you use the French toast, the individual pieces remain intact but are glued together by the egg mixture. This casserole is also very firm which is different from other similar recipes that use regular bread to make a baked French toast casserole. We loved this one! It is a delicious twist on the sweet and savory flavors found in a monte cristo sandwich.
Monte Cristo Casserole
- 2 packages (12.5 ounces each) frozen French toast slices, thawed
- 1 cup milk
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup of thick sliced deli baked ham, diced
- 1 cup thick sliced deli roast turkey, diced
- 8 ounces or 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- powdered sugar
- 24 oz container of frozen strawberries slices, thawed and drained (see note below)
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam or ice cream topping (I used my homemade freezer jam)
- Preheat oven to 375. Cut the slices of thawed French toast into 3/4 inch cubes.
- In a bowl, whisk together milk and eggs.
- In a large bowl, place half of the French toast cubes. Pour half of the egg mixture over the cubes and toss gently with a spoon or spatula. Toss until cubes are well coated.
- Place the coated French toast cubes in a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Next layer half of the ham, turkey, parsley and cheese on the coated French toast cubes.
- Using your same large bowl, toss together the remaining French toast cube and egg mixture to coat. Place the coated French toast cubes in an even layer in the baking dish followed by layers of the remaining ham, turkey, parsley, and cheese.
- While the casserole bakes, combine the sliced strawberries with the jam or ice cream topping.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and set in center. Remove to cooling rack; cool 10 minutes.
- Cut into 8-12 squares. Sprinkle the top of each square with a dusting of powdered sugar followed by a spoonful of the strawberry mixture.
Note: 2 cups of fresh sliced strawberries can be used in place of the frozen strawberries
I made this and wrote about it
here. It was a huge hit with the family and a great way to use up leftover ham. I’ll be making it again for sure!
about how many slices are in a package of french toast? I’m thinking it would probably be cheaper just to make a huge batch of french toast and freeze it for later when I want to make this dish.
This looks delicious! I’m going to make this for my daughter’s school breakfast next week, the teachers were hoping someone would make a casserole since most people are bringing donuts or bagels. I knew you would have something yummy! Can’t wait to try it!
So I made this for my daughter’s school breakfast and it was a huge hit! My daughter and everyone else loved it! I replaced the milk with Egg Nog and it was delicious, gave it a nice sweetness!
This was really VERY tasty! I fixed it for dinner a few nights ago and it was a huge hit; with everyone but my 6 year old. Go figure. Must be a phase
Am I missing something? I don’t see the soup recipe on here. Just wondering if I am going crazy.
Have you tried this using Eggbeaters, non-fat milk, and Splenda so you don’t completely die after eating it?
This really looks great!
Those look delicious. Google reader ate my blog list so I just found out how to recover my followers.
This looks delicious!
This sounds so good!!