baked cinnamon apple french toast

i'm hoping you're as behind as i am and have yet to plan your menu for christmas morning brunch?
this recipe looks beautiful and presents as a whole lotta work. you'll be thankful to know that the most time consuming part is peeling the apples. it's a breeze to whip together and guarantees a sweet treat everyone will love.

baked cinnamon apple french toast
18 pieces of french bread, sliced in 1 in. slices
1 c milk
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbl sugar

cinnamon apple topping
5 apples, cored, thinly sliced and peeled
1 c lite karo syrup
1 c brown sugar
1 tbl cinnamon

1. arrange bread slices in a 9 x 13 baking dish overlapping slices.
2. whisk together milk, eggs, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbl sugar. pour over french bread. cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
3. prepare cinnamon apple topping by combining all ingredients in a saucepan. bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes allowing liquid to thicken. cool and refrigerate overnight.
4. preheat oven to 350 degrees. pour cinnamon apple topping over french bread and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

ham & cheddar brunch eggs

if you don't think that brunch is hands down the best meal of the day then i'm sorry but we can't be friends. coffee AND eggs AND bloody marys? it's definitely exceptable to slurp down vodka and a beer chaser at 11 a.m. or even 10:30 a.m., but not 7 a.m.? hmmmmmm... i never thought about that but kinda weird. i digress. easter is a couple weeks away. i thought i'd share a staple at all of my family easter gatherings.

ham & cheddar brunch eggs
1 box of seasoned croutons (6 oz)
1 1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
9 eggs
2 1/2 c milk
1 tsp worcestershire sauce (betcha you didn't know how to spell that until now)
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb ham steak, cubed

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. whisk eggs, worcestershire, mustard, salt, pepper & milk together until well combined.
3. pour croutons in a 9 x 11 casserole dish. top with cheese & ham.
4. pour egg mixture over the top and bake for 60 minutes or until eggs aren't wiggly in the middle.

quiche lorraine

best quiche in town is at la reve cafe in wauwatosa. this would be a close second.
do not, i repeat, do not waste your time making your own pie crust. well, maybe that is the non-baker in me. in case you didn't know, i do not bake. you will RARELY find a post related to baking on here. for some reason i am just not good at it. yes, i screwed up chocolate chip cookies once. i think it has to do with the preciseness involved. i'm just not a precise kinda person. my husband always yells at me because it is few and far between where i actually follow a recipe verbatim. that's what's great about cooking. most of the time you can manipulate a recipe to what you want it to be. baking? not so much. if you add too much baking powder... it could be disastrous. that would be why i buy my pie crust!

quiche lorraine

store bought pie crust dough
6 oz thick cut bacon, cut into narrow strips
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/4 c half-and-half
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 c grated gruyere or swiss

1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. bake pie crust in pie dish for 12 min.
3. in a medium skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. drain fat. arrange the bacon evenly over the bottom of the baked crust.
4. beat eggs, yolks, and half and half. add the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. pour into the prepared crust and bake until the custard is golden, puffed, and set yet still slightly wiggly in the center, 30 to 40 minutes.
5. let cool at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

adapted from emeril lagasse