Spring, Cheerios and French Toast

Spring is right around the corner.  Can you feel it?  It is hard for me with the temperatures outside below freezing but it is nice to start thinking ahead.  When I think of spring I think of: cleaning, flowers, picnics, kites, and so much more.  With spring on the brain, it was a great time to pull out my Christmas present from David, an herb garden.

 

Here is the kit I received.

The kids and I went straight to work.  Here we are mixing water with the pellets to create dirt.  It was actually a fun experiment.

 

A filling in her pots with soil.

And then, her seeds.

 

C sprinkling his seeds.

And of course, B too!

The finished Herb garden.

Hopefully in a few short weeks our basil, parsley, cilantro, chives, spearmint and oregano will have started to grow.

I was recently asked to create a breakfast experience using original cheerios.  I must admit that my first attempt failed miserably (note: Cheerios are *not* a substitute for flour!) but if at first you don't succeed try, try again and that I did!

So, my family made French Toast Casserole with Cheerio Streusel Topping.

What you will need.

Cut the Texas toast into four triangles.

 A did about 75% of the cutting.  I love including the kids in cooking.

Neatly arrange in the bottom of a deep baking dish.

Cut the bread however you like - we did triangles because we thought it was fun.  C arranged the slices above creating a puzzle.

C with his finished two layer bread puzzle.

 D climbed up into the booster seat and started helping by trying out the bread.  Quality control is important and she verified that our bread was indeed fresh.

The remaining ingredients (except the topping).

 

We always have lots of helpers when we need to crack eggs.  And believe it or not, my children can usually crack eggs better than I can.

Daddy helping out.  Notice C getting in on the quality control :)

Layer the liquid mixture onto the toast.

Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate overnight!  Easy peasy.

Now on to the cheerio streusel topping.

 

First we crushed enough cheerios in our food processor to make 1/4 cup.

Then we mixed the remaining ingredients into the food processor.  Add the crumbled topping to the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes!

The finished product.

I ate mine with a little syrup and powdered sugar.

And the big question, how did D like it?  She loves it :)

David liked it, too; but he says it's not as good as Mema's legendary french toast.  And there you have a breakfast option with a spin on cheerios!  Enjoy!!  Feel free to let me know your thoughts, I would love to hear them.