Blueberry Breakfast Casserole

By SallyCan • December 10, 2010 • 1 Comments

⎙

Author Notes: For holidays, my mother-in-law makes a casserole with eggs, bread, sausage and cheese. There’s no messing with that recipe because, well, there’s no messing with that recipe!
Many years ago I started making a sweet version, pulled from Gourmet, , May 1993, from the “You Asked For It” column: Blueberry- Stuffed French Toast from the Maples Inn. Over the years I’ve fiddled with it: I keep the crusts, add cream to the cream cheese so that it doesn’t get dry and caky, I don’t add maple syrup to the casserole, and I do add vanilla. My sauce is different, too; theirs uses a sauce made with corn syrup, mine is cooked down maple syrup with blueberries. (If I’m lucky, though, I have a jar of my sister’s ~Antonia James~ barely sweetened blueberries to think of her and open on Christmas morning. If you’re lucky, she’ll post her recipe for those delicious blueberries)
- SallyCan

Makes 13 x 9" pan

12 slices white or wheat bread, with crusts, toor cutrn into 1 - 2 " pieces
2 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/3 c cream or milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
12 eggs
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed
2 cups milk, or 1 1/2 c milk mixed with 1/2 c cream
3T butter
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cup maple syrup

Place bread in buttered glass casserole dish.
Beat cream cheese and cream together. Add 1/2 tsp of the vanilla. Drop in blobs around casserole.
Sprinkle 1 c blueberries over casserole
Beat eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, and milk (or milk and cream mixture) with a pinch of salt and pour evenly over bread and blueberries in the casserole.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 min, until bread is puffed.
To make the sauce, put maple syrup and remaining 1 c blueberries in saucepan and heat for a minute or two. Turn off heat and gently stir in butter and 1 tsp lemon juice. Serve sauce on the side.