Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

Source: justapinch.com

Ingredients:
(French Toast)
12 slices of bread (I suggest thick "Texas Toast" slices)
2 packages cream cheese, room temp
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
12 large eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

(Blueberry Sauce)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 tbsp butter

Directions:
(French Toast)
1. Butter 9x13 inch casserole dish. Cut or tear bread into cubes and arrange in the bottom of dish.
2. Cut up cream cheese into 1 inch cubes. Drop the cubes over the top of the bread. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the top.
3. In mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, maple syrup. Pour this mixture over the bread, cream cheese, and blueberries. Cover with fol and refrigerate overnight.

(Blueberry Sauce which you can make ahead of time and refrigerate, then warm up before serving)
4. Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a medium sauce pan. Add water and stir until smooth. Stir well so cornstarch won't be lumpy. Heat to boiling and stir 2-3 minutes until thickened.
5. Add blueberries, simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until blueberries start to burst. (Don't let them all burst, just some.)
6. Turn heat off the blueberry sauce and stir in butter. Store in plastic or glass container and refrigerate until ready to use.

(Combination)
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take casserole out of refrigerator. Place covered casserole in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until top is a golden brown and the center is set.
8. While the casserole is baking, you can heat up the blueberry sauce on top of the oven or microwave until warm. Serve over top of casserole.

Notes: Warning: this is NOT a figure-friendly breakfast but it is oh so delicious. We had a peach version of this decadent dish at a friends house and I've been dreaming about it since. Today I stumbled across this recipe and had to record it for future generations. The only difference was that they made their syrup creamy by adding half-and-half or whipping cream - yum! It would also be good with strawberries, blackberries, etc.