Tasty Tuesday ... French Toast with Raspberry Sauce

When a room full of women are dismissing to go to their study groups, and a voice cries out, "Wait!  I want to know who brought the amazing french toast!" .... you know a great recipe motivated the plea. And when the room responds with lots of "mmmhmmm," followed by a rush for the few remaining bites, you know it has to be shared on Tasty Tuesday. I only wish I was the one who brought it!


My friend LeAnn brought this to our women's Daybreak last week, and she was kind enough to share it. It's originally from eatbetteramerica.  You can see all the nutrition info there, also. I don't want to spoil it here by telling you how good it is for you!  Check out the recipe and the picture (taken from the website), then be sure to see LeAnn's commentary at the end. ;)

French Toast with Raspberry Sauce
1 loaf (1 lb.) soft French bread (about 18 inches long)
4 oz. of 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1 cup fat-free egg product
1 cup fat-free (skim) milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce
1 bag (12 oz.) frozen whole raspberries without syrup, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch 

1  Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cut bread into 24 (3/4-inch-thick) slices. Spread 12 slices with cream cheese. Spread remaining bread slices with preserves; place over cream cheese to make 12 sandwiches. Arrange in baking dish, pressing together if necessary to fit.

2  In medium bowl, beat egg product, milk, 1 tablespoon sugar and the salt with wire whisk until blended. Pour over bread in dish. Let stand 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

3  Heat oven to 400°F. Cover dish with foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray (to help it not stick to the toast); bake 10 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until golden brown.

4 Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, mix sauce ingredients until blended. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil 30 seconds to 1 minute or just until thickened. Place strainer over medium bowl; pour raspberry mixture into strainer. Press mixture with back of spoon through strainer to remove seeds; discard seeds. Serve sauce over French toast.  LeAnn has one of my favorite bad habits: "I have a bad habit of trying out new recipes on people (instead of trying them first on just my family). This recipe seemed to turn out fine except for one part. There are two sentences of instructions in the recipe that seem innocuous enough. They say, “Place strainer over medium bowl; pour raspberry mixture into strainer. Press mixture with back of spoon through strainer to remove seeds; discard seeds. Well, this little part of the recipe did not go very well for me. I tried the one “strainer” I had in the entire kitchen. I spent 15 minutes trying to force that mixture through that strainer and ended up with about 3 tablespoons of sauce. I tried some other options I had like colanders, etc. They just let the seeds right through. After way too much effort and time on this endeavor, I gave up and poured the sauce, seeds and all, into the container to take to church. I just hoped the other women in the group didn’t detest seeds as much as I do! I am not a natural cook – just someone who follows directions really well. I don’t have a clue what kind of strainer I needed for this job. I believe the correct tools would have made this easier (and seedless!)." From the rush to LeAnn's casserole dish, the puddles of raspberry sauce, and the residue on a certain lady's lips ... I don't think anyone minded the seeds. :) Great fiber! Thanks to Jen and Lisa for hosting Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, great places to find great recipes.  And another awesome recipe source?  Your church family!!! Do you have a recipe you love that first came from a friend in your church family? Love the sound of LeAnn's recipe? Click below to share it on Facebook, Twitter, or in an email. And while you're off to Twitter, follow JulieSanders_  or if you're off to Facebook, "Like"  the Come Have a Peace page to see quick updates. :)