bentoriffic

For Earth Day, I linked up with my fellow blogger moms for a fun day to celebrate.  You can find the amazing, fun creations here for our Earth Day Blog Hop.

We all do our best to reduce waste by using reusable bento boxes each day, eliminating plastic bags and packing leftovers for our kids.   A good friend of mine makes wonderful croutons by coating the scraps with olive oil and sprinkling herbs de Provence over them and baking.

One of the favorite ideas from Earth Day was one that Lunches with Love suggested.  Please click on the link below or the picture to find her original recipe.

Lunches with Love French Toast Casserole

Many of us have used it for the use of our leftover bread scraps.  I store them in the freezer in a gallon bag until the bag is full.  For the sake of my vegan readers, I am showing you how I converted her great recipe for those who have milk and egg aversions, casein free diets, allergies and vegans.  You can use any kind of bread for this casserole so it can be gluten free too depending on your bread.  We buy Rudi’s Whole Grain bread about 90% of the time so that’s what is in ours.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

You will need:

I smeared about 1 tablespoon of the coconut spread around my porcelain casserole dish to prevent sticking.

In large bowl mix egg replacer, almond or other plant based milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar of your choice, salt and vanilla together.

Then add 1/3 cup of pancake mix and mix well.

Carefully add bread to mixture and coat well.
(You can also add bread to casserole dish and pour the milk-egg mixture over it. If you do, let the dish stand for a couple of minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. I like tossing the bread – even though it is messy – because it coats the bread faster)

Add to buttered casserole dish.

Cut remaining butter into small pieces and sprinkle with remaining sugar and cinnamon to taste.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 – 20 minutes or until brown and crispy.

This recipe would be great with fruit like blueberries added in too.

Served with cups of blueberries and pineapple and honeydew melon pieces.

Thanks again, Lunches with Love, for the great brunch idea!

One last item,  I’m in the running for the Circle of Moms Top 25 Foodie Moms of 2012, and I’d appreciate your vote!  I am currently at #16, and each vote counts.  Only 3 days left!