Baked Blueberry Pecan French Toast (Overnight)

This is sooooooooo amazing.  I've made it again and again.  If I ever have leftover french bread, my first thought is I should make this for breakfast tomorrow!  I've also made it with almonds or no nuts.  Originally from Mel's Kitchen cafe.  I modified the recipe drawing from this amazing strata to help the overnight french toast have a more uniform texture and serve more easily.

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf of French or Italian bread, cut in thick slices (2 inch) (I also like this with wheat or multigrain baguettes)

6 large eggs

1 cup milk

½  teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 teaspoon butter, melted

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup of butter ( ½  a stick) , cut into pieces

DIRECTIONS

Butter or spray with nonstick spray a 9×13 baking dish. Cut bread in thick slices (about 2 inches, or stack two pieces of thin bread) and cover the pan, pushing the pieces together snugly.   Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a large bowl and pour evenly over the bread.  Cover the bread with saran wrap and then add some weights to help the eggs soak in evenly.  I like to put 2 small bags of rice or beans on top.  Refrigerate  at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

When you are ready to bake and serve, preheat oven to 350 F.  Toast the pecans in a skillet in one layer over medium heat, stirring often. Toss with 1 teaspoon melted butter. (I usually do this the night before to save time the morning of.)

Sprinkle pecans and blueberries evenly over bread mixture.  Melt ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup brown sugar in a small saucepan, stirring just until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Drizzle butter mixture over bread and bake mixture 30 – 40 minutes or until any liquid from blueberries is bubbling.