Brunch with friends

A few days ago I had a couple girlfriends over for brunch. What a fun, fun time! I just love cooking for people and trying new recipes. I suppose entertaining can be stressful at times but this was easy, easy, easy and gave me a good excuse to clean up the house too! Maybe this will become a monthly thing???

Along with a fresh fruit salad, here is what I served:
Turkey Sausage w/ Potatoes and Veggies. This is a super easy overnight recipe I stole from one of my favorite blogs - a year of slow cooking. The link to this blog is on my list. Here is the link to the original recipe:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/overnight-breakfast-potatoes-with.html

I followed it almost exactly but used turkey instead of chicken sausages and added one package of sliced mushrooms. I don't really measure anything but I cant see how anyone could screw up something this simple! It smelled great and was very tasty!

The other thing I tried was a baked French toast dish. There are a ton of baked French toast recipes on-line. I just read a bunch and then tried to come up with something that looked good to me. These look like alot of work but you do everything the night before let it sit in the fridge over night and then just pop it in the oven - so EASY!! This was so yummy I think I may do it again for Christmas morning!!

Dorinda's Apple-Craisin Baked French Toast Casserole:
1 loaf fresh multi-grain bread cubed
2-3 small apples washed, cored and chopped (I left the peels on but do what suits you)
1/2 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
1/4 cup butter melted
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar (divided 3/4c plus 1/4c)
1/4 cup butter (cold for dotting the top)
6 eggs
1 cup milk or fat free half & half

Toss cubed bread in a large bowl with apples, craisins, cinnamon, 3/4c brown sugar and melted butter. In a smaller separate bowl beat together the eggs and milk with a fork. Pour over the bread mixture. Mix well to coat the bread. Place into a lightly greased 9x13 pan - you may have to pack it down a bit. Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator over night.

The next morning lift the foil and dot the top with butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar (and a sprinkle of cinnamon if you like). Bake at 350 for 30-40mins or until 'set'.

The online recipes suggested serving your baked french toast with maple syrup but the girls and I all agreed this is plenty sweet on it's own. I bet my kids would have put syrup on thiers though!