Blueberry Almond Baked French Toast Casserole

This recipe was adapted from Ellie Krieger's Food Network version, but with a few significant changes.
It turned out wonderfully -- we devoured it for breakfast and finished off the little that remained after dinner, reheated with vanilla ice cream topped with more cinnamon sugar.
If you hate the consistency of bread pudding and super-moist casserole-like things, you might find this too soft for your taste (though you can always play with liquid amount and bake time too to let the top get a little more crispy).

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 whole-wheat baguette/french loaf (about 18 inches long, 12-16 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes or thick slices
2 large eggs
6 large egg whites
1/2 cups vanilla almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups fresh blueberries (or frozen, rinsed and drained)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, +2-3Tbsp for right before baking

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top and sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the baking pan, sprinkle with additional sugar and perhaps more almonds, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

Garlicky baked panko shrimp

This is another great recipe picked up from Gimme Some Oven, who got it from Real Simple.
I made a few changes like adding a little broccoli and onion to it, and I can imagine a number of other twists with this basic template too.

Ingredients:
1 lb. raw shrimp, deveined and peeled (I used frozen cooked, thawed in refrigerator)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. white wine
salt and pepper
1 cup finely chopped broccoli florets
1 cup chopped onion
garlic salt and red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) melted butter
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. fresh Italian-leaf parsley, chopped (I used dried)
half of a lemon (optional)


Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the shrimp, garlic, and white wine. Stir to combine, then pour into a baking dish. Spread out evenly, and then season with salt and pepper.
Over medium heat, saute onion and broccoli until both are tender. Stir garlic salt and red pepper flakes into pan, then transfer mixture into baking dish with shrimp.
In another bowl, use a fork to mix melted butter, Panko, and parsley until well combined. With your fingers, sprinkle the mixture evenly in the baking dish over the shrimp.
Transfer dish to oven and bake until the shrimp are pink and opaque, about 15-18 minutes.

Baked Quinoa with Spinach and Cheese

This is an adaptation of recipe from one of my latest favorite blog finds, Culinary in the Desert.
I changed some things up based on what I had in the house and also just some taste preferences.
I was really happy with how it turned out -- light but satisfying. Makes a good side dish or even a light main dish.

3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
6 ounces baby spinach (I used fresh that had been frozen)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (somewhat optional, I think)
2 garlic cloves, minced
garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper

4 cups cooked quinoa (I used Inca Red variety)
2 large eggs (egg whites work just as well I think)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (for my lactose free version I used American-style SmartBeat and it was still good)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon oil. Add onion and mushrooms - cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spinach, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper - toss together, then remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs and season with garlic salt. Stir in cooked quinoa, spinach mixture, and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Season with fresh ground black pepper and scoop mixture into a 2 quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Scatter remaining cheese over the top and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil if desired. Place dish into the and bake until golden on top, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.Makes about 4 to 6 servings.

Streusel French Toast Casserole

This recipe is adapted from Baking Bites, but I made some changes to the type of bread and amount of streusel. This casserole is so good as it is that you really don't even need syrup!

12 1-inch slices day-old french bread (approx)
2 cups milk (can use soy milk -- I like using vanilla almond milk)
4 large eggs (can use egg whites)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Streusel
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, melted

Arrange 1/2 the bread bread in a lightly greased large oval casserole dish.
In a small bowl, make the streusel. Stir together brown sugar, flour and salt. Pour in butter and stir with a form until mixture has the consistency of wet sand. Pour ~1/4-1/3 of the streusel over the bread. Place remaining bread evenly over first layer.
In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, brown sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth. Pour over bread. Press down to ensure all pieces are thoroughly soaked. Custard should just come near the top of the bread layer (although the last time I made it it was only about halfway up and it still tasted good). It if covers it more deeply, add additional bread.
Sprinkle remaining streusel evenly over bread and custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350F and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until french toast is a golden brown on top. Let the dish stand for a few minutes. The dish will be very soft and souffle-like, but should not be too runny. The french toast will continue to set and soak up the custard as it cools. Slice and serve warm, with maple syrup if desired.

Not that this recipe is all that "healthy", but for a totally decadent version of this, check out Paula Deen's take on a similar french toast casserole.