CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST BAKE

I honestly cannot believe it has taken be this long to share this recipe. Probably because I try and focus more on heathy recipes and this isn't exactly health food. It may not be overly healthy, but it is dang good - like the absolute best french toast bake you will ever have! I first had this recipe four years ago when I went to my friend's house to visit her after her baby was born. It was amazing and I had to have the recipe. I have made it for every Mother's Day brunch, bridal shower and baby shower I have thrown ever since. Every time I make it, at least a half dozen women ask me for the recipe. THAT is how you know you have a good recipe worthy of making for every special occasion! What I love about it (besides the fact that I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner) is that it is cheap and super easy. I whip it up the night before so all I have to do in the morning is sprinkle on the topping and bake it for an hour.

Ingredients:

1 loaf french or sourdough bread (or leftover bread/buns of any kind)

8 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

Topping:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick cold butter - cut up into pieces

Grease a 9x13 pan with butter. Tear apart bread into chunks and distribute in pan. Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, & vanilla. Pour over bread, cover & store in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

In separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add butter pieces and cut into dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a ziplock bag in refrigerator.

The next morning (or after it has sat for several hours) preheat the over to 350 degrees. Sprinkle on topping and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes for a soft, bread pudding like texture and bake for one hour for a firmer, less liquid texture.
(I bake mine for about 50 minutes)

Drizzle some pure maple syrup on top and serve.

ELLIS & FINN'S BIRTHDAY / EASTER

How can my little Easter baby be three??? It just doesn't seem possible!

Last weekend our family, along with Logan's sister's family, joined forces to throw a big birthday/Easter celebration. We celebrated Ellis' 3rd birthday and Finn's 6th birthday. I am a sucker for a good party theme, so we went with animals in party hats and all things Easter. We had tons of yummy food, a bounce house, an egg hunt, and a visit from the Easter Bunny himself! Let's just say Ellis slept like a log that night. A bounce house and all her cousins make for a very crazy day! :)

Between our two kids and all of Logan's sibling's kids, there are eight kids - all six years and under. One of our family traditions in to take 'couch pictures' where we line all the kids up on a couch, either stick bunny ears or Christmas jammies on them and snap hundreds (no joke) of pictures until we think we may have gotten one where every child is looking. There is usually at least one child who has expired and is completely losing it and at least one who WILL NOT sit no matter what. It is kind of hilarious. For the picture below we added in Logan's cousin's two kids. So here they are, five girl bunnies and five boy bunnies. ;)

CAKE DETAILS: safari animals, cupcake wrappers, and tiny tinsel poms for the party hats are all from Consumer Crafts. I made the table top out of two strawberry wafer cookies that I hot glued together, used a scrap piece of vintage fabric for the tablecloth and straws for the legs. The little cakes are life savers that I painted with watered down food coloring and topped with frosting and sprinkles. I designed the banner and it is held up with straws and the string is baker's twine, also from Consumer Crafts. Cake recipe is from Half Baked Harvest and the frosting is from Cooking Classy.

Animal crackers are my weakness - especially when dipped in frosting!!! For party favors, I filled plastic cups with animal crackers and then mini cups with frosting and sprinkles to dip them in! I put them in clear plastic treat bags, twisted them shut with silver twist ties (used a pen to curl the ends), and slapped on some cute custom stickers with Ellis and Finn's ages on them!

I used custom printed gift wrap from tinyprints for the table runner and it was perfect!!!
Everyone thought it was so cool that it said their names!

I found the most adorable stationary for Ellis' thank you notes that went perfectly with our theme!

We got Ellis a wubble bubble ball (say that 5 times fast) for her birthday and it was a hit! Unfortunately, it popped. :( so... if you are going to buy one, just make sure you keep your receipt. We took ours back and got our money back, but I am half tempted to try one again. The kids really did love it... while it lasted.

FREE PRINTABLE: MAGIC JELLY BEANS

I found this idea on pinterest a year or so ago and I am so excited that Ellis is finally old enough to get excited about it! I decided to design a cute little packet to put the 'magic' beans in and turn it into a free printable so you guys can do it with your kiddos as well! I have so many memories as a kid getting so excited about the magic of the holidays. This is just another tradition to make Easter even more magical than it already is.

DIRECTIONS:

- Buy a bag of jellybeans and a bag of lollipops or suckers

- Download the free printable and print on card stock or thicker paper (8.5x11")

- Cut out and score on the dotted lines (shown below)

- Secure the tabs with double stick tape

- Fill the packet with jellybeans

- Put the packet in a fun place for your kid(s) to find on the Saturday before Easter

   (under their pillow, in the mail box, in their shoe, etc.)

- Have them plant (or sprinkle) them either in a bowl of sugar or outside in the lawn

- After they have gone to bed, replace the beans with lollipops

- Watch them get so excited in the morning when they see that their magic jelly beans have turned into lollipops!!!

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRINTABLE HERE