French Toast Casserole

Oh my gosh - it has been way too long since I posted last!  It is almost Halloween and I know I've got a lot of catching up to do as far as Ava's monthly updates go.  Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch in celebration of this being Ava's first Halloween.  She had a great time looking at all of the people there.  She wasn't as interested in the pumpkins as I thought she would be, and she fell asleep on the hay-rack ride, but it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we went.  We got several good photos to share with her when she gets older.  Tonight she's sleeping soundly so I thought I'd bake a french toast casserole.  I've never tried to make it before, but I love french toast and this recipe was very easy.  Hopefully it's as good as I'm imagining it will be.  Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

5 cups bread cubes (I just used plain, wheat bread and it tasted just fine)

4 eggs (if you want the consistency of bread pudding, use 4 eggs.  If not, I would recommend 3)

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup white sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon margarine, softened

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*I added some chopped walnuts and it was really good

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter (I used PAM) an 8x8 inch baking pan (I used an 8x8 glass dish).
2. Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and vanilla. pour egg mixture over bread. Dot with margarine; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden.
4. *After you get yourself a slice, don't forget to pour some maple syrup on top!