French Toast Casserole and a Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. We sure did....it was jam-packed with lots of fun and food! Friday night, I picked us up some filets from the store on my way home. We needed a quick and easy grilled meal before we hit up Whole World.  I sauteed some mushrooms in a little butter, roasted some brussel sprouts (again), and Jeff grilled the steaks.

The perfect, quick meal for a Friday night. Once we finished, we headed down to the theater! We sat outside in the "waiting room" and caught up with friends.

Over a bucket of Miller Lites :)

The show was hilarious. No cameras were allowed inside of course- sorry. I love Improv so much, you just never know what you're gonna get! If you live in Atlanta, you've got to check it out.

Saturday morning, I was up bright and early to finish making breakfast before the ladies came over at 8:30! I had done most of the prep work the night before, but still had a few things to finish. We had to eat and run so that we could go wedding dress shopping for Amanda! Here are all the ladies at the table (the bride has her eyes closed- haha).

The day was a success! She actually ended up buying the first dress that she tried on....why does that always happen? After shopping, I was pooped (might  have been the mimosas), so I came home and took a long nap before heading to the gym and date night!

We were excited to try out Rose and Crown Tavern (on Powers Ferry Rd in Marietta, check it out here), because it's about 5 mins from our house and just opened last Wednesday! We decided to sit at the bar for dinner, instead of waiting for a table for 30 minutes. It is an English-style pub, and inside they really captured that!

A little vodka and club soda before dinner :)

The place is still working out it's kinks with service, but we will definitely go back.  And the food was outstanding!  Jeff ordered the prime rib sandwich, and the meat was so juicy and tender.

I was a little more boring, because I was so overwhelmed by the menu! I got the roasted veggie sandwich with goat cheese on ciabatta. Eggplant, zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, roasted red peppers....mmm. With sweet potato fries of course :)

It was a great night. Jeff and I try to do 'date night' every other week, depending on our schedules. Usually that includes dinner and drinks at a restaurant that's new to us, and a movie at home afterwards.  We're such foodies, so we love trying out new places. And there are over 8,000 restaurants in Atlanta!

Sunday morning the dogs woke me up early (standard), so I decided to get a jump start on the week and make some homemade tomato sauce from these guys that I bought at a local Farmer's stand...

Sunday night we went to visit Jeff's new nephew and had an awesome dinner that Erik made. I'll post all about our meal and our day tomorrow- since I might be losing some of you due to the length of this post :) Stay tuned for some amazing Asian pork sandwiches and my favorite salad, Johnson-style!

Here's a little sneak peak of the cuteness yesterday...

I mean, really???

Ok, now onto the casserole I made for the ladies breakfast on Saturday morning. This is a really easy recipe, and has to be made the night before- so it's perfect and low maintenance for a crowd! Warning: this is a Paula Deen recipe, so please ignore all fat and calorie content. What can I say? The woman loves her sugar and butter!

First, I cut up my loaf of french bread into cubes.

Next, I made my custard. I used a more milk that half and half, just to make it a little less rich.  I also grated my own nutmeg- it makes all the difference!

Once the custard was combined, I dunked my cubes into the custard in batches, and then placed them into my casserole dish.

Once all the cubes were in my dish, I poured the remaining liquid on top, and pressed them down to coat ever piece evenly.

Meanwhile, I made my praline topping. Oh my, the praline topping!

This was simply 2 sticks (!!) of softened butter, brown sugar, chopped pecans, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Both of these concoctions chilled in the fridge overnight, so all I needed to do was cover the bread with the topping in the morning. Then I baked the casserole for 40 minutes, until the edges were bubbly.

The top was really crunchy from the pecans, and the middle was nice and creamy and custard-like. Paula Deen knows what she's doin' boy! Which of her recipes are your favorite?

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
Adapted from Paula Deen

• 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
• 8 large eggs (I used only 6)
• 2 cups half-and-half (I used 1.5 of milk and 1/5 of half and half)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Dash salt
• Praline Topping, recipe follows
• Maple syrup

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices (or into cubes like me), 1-inch each.  Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows. 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 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

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

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.

**See instructions above, where I just dunked the cubes into the custard, instead of pouring it on top