Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

Want to know a little secret about me?  I love Hobby Lobby.  It's my favorite place to go on my lunch break because I can just walk around, look at all the fun stuff, and disappear into creative-ville.  They already have all of their Fall and Christmas stuff out, which is awesome because my favorite time of year is approaching...Fall and then CHRISTMAS!!!!  :)  Seeing all of the Fall decorations got my wheels turning, and I decided to experiment with a Fall-ish recipe.  I've never made a baked french toast anything so I figured I'd give it a shot, and I was surprised at how good it turned out!  Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:

 

• 12 slices Nature's Own 50 calorie per slice sourdough bread

• 305g (about 1 cup) canned pumpkin

• 3 egg whites

• 3 whole eggs

• 10 stevia packets

• 1 tbsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

• 50g slivered almonds

• 12 oz. reduced sugar vanilla almond milk

• 4 slices maple turkey bacon

 

 

 

Once I got all my ingredients together, I started with the bacon.  I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, and put 4 pieces onto a cookie sheet lined with foil.  I let them cook for about 20 minutes, and some of the corners burned but that's okay.  Once they were cooked, I laid them on a paper towel then chopped them up into squares.  I let them cool then put them in a ziplock bag and into the fridge.

 

 

Next, I chopped the bread into squares.  I let it sit out for a little while so it would get a little bit stale. 

 

 

 

Then, I put all the bread into a nonstick 9x13 baking dish.  I made sure the bottom was covered, then just spread the rest out evenly.

 

 

 

After that, I topped it with the slivered almonds.

 

 

 

Next, I dumped the pumpkin, egg whites, eggs, stevia, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, almond milk, and vanilla extract into a bowl.

 

 

 

Once I had it blended together, I poured it on top of the bread (check out that action shot)!

 

 

 

Then, I spread it out with a spatula and gently pressed it down into the bread.

 

 

 

Next, I covered it up with foil and let it sit in the fridge for about 8 hours.

 

 

I took it out of the fridge, unwrapped it, and topped it with the bacon that I had previously cooked.

 

 

 

I put it in a 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes, and it came out like this (don't mind the messed up corner - I was making sure it was cooked).   :)

 

 

 

I cut it into 6 servings, grabbed a piece, topped it with some low calorie/low sugar maple syrup and chowed down.

 

 

 

The almonds add in a crunch, and the bacon (yes I burned it, oops) adds in some salty with the sweet...so yummy!  I loved it, my hubby loved it, and I will definitely be making this again!  This is one of those dishes you can throw together the night before and bake in the morning while you are getting ready...and who doesn't love a hot breakfast?  :)

 

 

Here's the nutritional breakdown per serving (makes 6 servings):

• Calories:  264

• Protein:  18

• Carbs:  35

• Fat:  9

 

Enjoy!