A "French" Toast to Honey Boo-Boo

Honey Boo Boo as a little girl

A preview of
Honey Boo Boo at 18!

So Halloween was a few weeks ago, but since I am getting caught up as it were, I thought I'd share a couple of photos and a delicious family recipe standby. Ever since one of our fencers started telling me about Honey Boo Boo and her family, I have been fascinated with the whole thing. Not having cable- or television for that matter- helped me not to start a Honey Boo Boo addiction which was probably a good thing. This all changed when Mary and I were in our hotel in Baltimore during our taking David to school trip. We not only had cable television, but I ended up not feeling good one day and staying in our room for most of it. This gave me the opportunity to watch not one, but three episodes of "Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo". I believe Mary watched a few minutes with me then turned to her book and spent the next few hours reading instead. What does this have to do with Halloween you may ask? Knowing we were attending a Halloween Open House, I wanted to have a costume that no one else would have (or, as the girls said, even think about having). This led me to the Honey Boo Boo costume. Of course, I looked like Honey Boo Booed-or-Honey Boo Boo the Later Years. Cari did snap a photo, but instead of sharing subjecting it upon you, I thought I'd share what Honey Boo Boo might look like as a teenager(courtesy of Mary, who decided to try on Mom's costume when we got back home). I've gotten over my Honey Boo Boo phase (pretty much), but I now have quite a likin' for pink!!

If you were havin' a hard time stomaching that, the second thing to share is easier to swallow! It's a recipe for our family favorite, French Toast Casserole. I used to make it when the kids were little then hadn't in a long time mostly due to not having many of them at home anymore. I ended up making it a few weeks ago after David shared with me about how much he is appreciating one of the cooks at school for her homemade-tasting desserts. He said one of them tasted like my French Toast Casserole which ended up being a basic bread pudding. I decided to try it and see how well the leftovers would reheat, if I made a whole pan. It was delicious both the morning I made it as well as the next couple of days. I am pretty sure it would freeze well too, if it lasts that long.

Here's the recipe, adapted from Taste of Home

• FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE Ingredients 1 loaf bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (I've used French, Wheat, even leftover hamburger buns- whatever you have on hand should work well) 8 eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups milk 4 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon salt TOPPING: 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Maple syrup, optional Directions Place bread cubes in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread. Dot with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top. Cover and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with maple syrup if desired. Yield: 12 servings.

• You can also cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.