Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Sometimes I get focused on the bad things about living in Houston (the serious lack of mountains, or even hills, for that matter; the ridiculous heat; the snakes; the giant bugs . . .) but there are two amazing things about living in Houston.  The first is that we found our Tina-dog here (which is entirely unrelated to this post, but she's laying next to me while I write this and she got a bath this morning and smells good and she is just so sweet).  The second is blueberry picking.  About twenty minutes away there is this fabulous blueberry farm where you can go pick blueberries to your hearts content for an outrageously cheep price.  We went a few weekends ago with Geoff's parents.  It made for a wonderful morning and delicious eating.  We made this french toast a few weeks ago and it was heavenly in a blueberry sort of way.

1 loaf day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used about 3/4 of a loaf of French bread)
1 8 oz packages cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 C fresh blueberries (or a bit more becasue they are so tasty)
6 eggs, beaten
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
5 Tbsp maple syrup

Grease a 9x9 baking dish.  Place bread cubes in the dish until the bottom is covered.  Top with cream cheese cubes and blueberries.  Top with remaining bread cubes (or as many bread cubes as it takes to fill the pan. 

In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and syrup.  Pour over the bread cubes.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bread cubes from the refrigerated 30 minutes before baking.  Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350.  Uncover and continue baking an additional 25-30 minutes until lightly browned and center is firm.

Blueberry Sauce:

1/2 C sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 C water
1/2 C blueberries
1/2 Tbsp butter

Mix  sugar, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Mix in the blueberries.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in the butter and pour over the baked French toast.  Enjoy!

Isaac tried to help but he mostly just pulled leaves off the bushes and shook blueberries loose to the ground.

Little boy came to pick blueberries with us.  After a little bit, though, he went and sat with his grandpa in the shade next to the fans to cool off a little bit (Houston is hot!).  Once again, though, I am a mean mom and didn't let little boy have any blueberries.  I know there are lots of baby food recipes out there with blueberries but my doctor recommended no berries for 1 year, so that's what we're going with (though, on an odd note, she also said milk is fine after 6 months IF the baby was breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months, which is different from what many pediatricians say).

So the Little Wiggle Boy ate avocado instead.  I mashed it with a spoon but he wasn't terribly impressed, so I added some onion powder and a splash of lime juice and he liked that much better.