French Toast Casserole

Generously butter sides and bottom of crockpot - abt 1 Tbsp butter

Add slices of dry bread with cream cheese spread onto the bread, placing the cream cheese side down:

I had made a loaf of bread in my breadmaker and left it in the machine for a few days. I used the whole loaf except for the heels. It's a round pan, 5" wide and 6" tall.

Sprinkle over the bread: 1 1/2 cups blueberries (optional) I didn't have any, bummer!

In mixing bowl, combine:

8 eggs, beaten
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Pour over the bread/berries in the crockpot. Gently press the bread down into the egg mixture, let it sit for ten minutes, pressing down occasionally into the egg mixture. Sprinkle with a little bit more cinnamon and cover.

Cook on LOW for 3 hours. It will be slightly browned on the edges when it's done.

Scoop out and drizzle with maple syrup, your favorite fruit sauce and/or powdered sugar.

*WOW! My 7 year old (the pickiest of us all) gobbled this one up! I'm pretty excited about that. In Michael's words, "This is GOOD french toast!" I'm thinking that it will make the perfect brunch or breakfast for dinner. It was great for lunch today. YUM!

Granola

Mix all the dry ingredients into a LARGE crockpot:

10 cups oats
1 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp cinnamon
1-2 TBSP of wheat germ, rolled wheat or flax seeds (optional - I didn't)

1/2 to 1 cup each of your favorite granola ingredients to equal abt 3 cups:

--unsweetened coconut
--nuts (slivered almonds, chopped peanuts, cashews or pecans, etc.)
--seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, etc.)
--dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, apples, etc.)

In microwave bowl:

2 tsp vanilla
1 cup olive oil OR melted butter
1 cup pure maple syrup OR honey

Warm in the microwave, stir well, then pour over the dry mixture in the crockpot. Stir together, all of the dry ingredients should be wet. Prop a wooden spoon or chopstick in between the lid and the crockpot to create a vent OR just cook this with the lid off.

Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours. Stir every 30 minutes, perhaps more often during the last hour to keep it from burning and getting bitter. When it's done, you can cool it out on parchment paper or you can be lazy like me and lift the ceramic pot out of the cooker and cool it in that, stirring a few more times while cooling. When cool, store in airtight containers or ziploc bags. Serve as cereal or on your favorite yogurt...or plain! Granola freezes well.

*So cool to get a large batch of granola without much effort! You will obviously want to make this when you will be home for three hours and can stir occasionally. My guess is that it's not as crunchy or clumpy as cooking in the oven, but we're OK with that in my house. It's yummy. For lots of tips, you can click here.

Breakfast Casserole

In mixing bowl combine:

8 bread slices, torn into pieces
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
diced ham or cooked and crumbled bacon

Put into buttered crockpot.

Again, in mixing bowl:

6 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard

Stir, then pour over bread mixture in the crockpot. DO NOT STIR
Sprinkle some cheese over the top then cook on LOW 4 hours OR
Cook on HIGH 1-2 hours then low for 1 hour.

*This was yummy. I cooked it on LOW for 4 hours and the sides burned a little. (I think I forgot to butter the crockpot.) A liner would have been a good idea. It made a great "breakfast for dinner" and the leftovers were perfect for breakfast the next day.

Apple Oatmeal

Peel and slice 4 large granny smith apples.

Mix the apples with:

2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar

Generously butter the bottom and sides of your crockpot or use a slow cooker liner.

Dump in the apple mixture.

Top apples with:

4 cups rolled oats (old fashioned)
dash of salt
8-9 cups of water DO NOT STIR

Cook on LOW overnight (about 7-8 hours)

*This is done after about 5-6 hours, but doesn't seem to overcook when done overnight, as long as you do the batch this big. My 12 year old son cannot get enough of this, he loves it! It makes a great afternoon snack when started in the morning too.