Apple French Toast Casserole
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon + 2 teaspoons cinnamon
⅓ cup butter, melted
3 baking apples, peeled, sliced with core removed
½ cup dark raisins
1 (1 pound) loaf raisin bread, diced up into 1½ squares (approximately)
6 eggs, beaten
1½ cups, milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Add the sliced apples and raisins and stir until they are coated well. Pour this apple mixture into a greased 9 x 12 x 2 glass baking dish. Spread the diced raisin bread on top of the apples.
Using the same bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vanilla and the remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Pour this over the apples. Make sure all the bread pieces are fully soaked with the egg mixture. You may need to press some of the bread down into the egg mixture to make sure the bread is moistened. Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate for 8-10 hours.
One hour before you want to serve this, Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the foil covered casserole for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Remove the casserole from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Cut into squares.
Serves 8-10, and leftovers can be reheated.