Today it's all about
Today's Temptation
Yeah, so today has been a little off in terms of food. I definately didn't set myself up for success by making a delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake French Toast bake for Bible study. I know it's a strange choice in light of yesterday's weight loss results reveal. This wasn't a victory treat or anything. I don't reward myself with food. This was just LIFE. It's November, I'm jonesing for pumpkin, and God provided the ingredients and an excuse to make it. So what did I do? Did I resist temptation? Heck no!! I had to taste it! To... make sure it wasn't poisonous - that's what my mom used to say. It's great excuse to get a taste! Then I had a whole piece. Yeah Boo! little ghost, but MAN it was SO worth it!
Let me make it clear that making healthier choices is not a life-sentence away from delicious treats. It just means that you recognize treats as treats; a once-in-a-while, decadent, oh-yeah-baby it's worth it, reasonable size treat. NOT a regular thing, and NOT an excuse to say "well screw it, I messed up this one time, now I will let one mistake defeat me to the point of hurling me off the wagon and eating the entire cake." THAT would be a mistake.SO - I know you want the recipe, so here it is. Know now that I post it because you want it, NOT because I am reccomending this as healthy! Is NOT healthy, but I did make some healthy substitutions so it is a little lighter.
Here it is...
Overnight Pumpkin Cheesecake French Toast baked casserole
Warning!!! Warning!! Delicious, addictive, scrumptious? YES. Healthy? NO
Ingredients
1 loaf of whole wheat bread, cut into 1/4's
8 eggs or 1 1/2 cups of egg whites
2 TBS vanilla
2 1/2 cups of almond milk
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 TBS cinnamon
2 cups yellow cake mix
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
6 TBS light, whipped cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened, unspiced pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Crumb Topping
1/2 cup (or the remaining mix from the boxed cake mix) cake mix
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
Glaze
2 TBS light whipped cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TBS almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
1. Spray a 9 x 13" glass baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Cream together pumpkin cheesecake filling mixture. Take two 1/4's of the cut bread slices at a time. Spread cheesecake filling to one side of the bread and then top with the other piece to make a small sandwich with them. Then tear of this mini sandwich in four pieces and layer in the casserole dish. Repeat this process and layer all the bite-size pieces of bread into the baking dish until full and the bread and spread is gone.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, yogurt, cake mix, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Pour mixture over the bread.
2. Cream together pumpkin cheesecake filling mixture. Take two 1/4's of the cut bread slices at a time. Spread cheesecake filling to one side of the bread and then top with the other piece to make a small sandwich with them. Then tear of this mini sandwich in four pieces and layer in the casserole dish. Repeat this process and layer all the bite-size pieces of bread into the baking dish until full and the bread and spread is gone.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, yogurt, cake mix, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Pour mixture over the bread.
4. Cover baking dish and store in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350°.
6. In a small bowl add remaining cake mix, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until combined. Cut butter into the mixture in pea size peices and mix.
5. Preheat oven to 350°.
6. In a small bowl add remaining cake mix, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until combined. Cut butter into the mixture in pea size peices and mix.
7. Remove French toast casserole from fridge, uncover and drop topping by the spoonful evenly across the casserole.
8. Bake for one hour until the center is set and edges are browned.
9. Cream together glaze toppings and spread evenly over the casserole.
8. Bake for one hour until the center is set and edges are browned.
9. Cream together glaze toppings and spread evenly over the casserole.
10. Try to let it cool, and then serve with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee and enjoy!
This was the highlight of my day! Other than that, not much going on today - in terms of the blog. Just bobbin' & weavin'. Actually I am formulating a plan for the new month. It DOES include more tasty autumn dishes, mostly healthier ones, including my plans for Thanksgiving dinner, made lighter... but some not. Either way... stay tuned!
Breakfast: 2 HBE's and 2 mini muffins
Second Breakfast: a piece of my fabulous Pumpkin Cheesecake French Toast bake, what can I say? I couldn't resist!
"Lunch": a banana - I got preoccupied and didn't have time, so I grabbed a little snack on the way to work
Dinner: mini peppers, sliced turkey, 1 cup of split pea soup
Snack: a half cup of frozen yogurt from menchies!! with strawberries and raspberries - YUM
EXERCISE
It's a heavy work day, so it's a day of rest!
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