Blueberry Cobbler French Toast

 Say  'good morning' with this  easy, warm  casserole of bubbly blueberries crowning thick,  puffy golden french toast,  and have a little more than you might otherwise, since  it might be , depending on which ingredients you choose,   pretty  healthy  too.   It's best  when soaked overnight but in a pinch you can get by with  a 2-hour head start in the morning.

Use  an 8-oz loaf of French or whole grain french-type bread, sliced diagonally into 10-14  3/4" thick slices  placed on a rimmed baking sheet.  In a medium bowl, whisk  together 4 eggs (use Egg Beaters if you choose), 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 c milk, 1 tsp vanilla.  Slowly spoon/pour  over the bread slices, turn to coat them completely.  Cover with plastic wrap and  refrigerate overnight or let sit at room temp for a couple hours.

Preheat oven to 450.  Butter (or spray) a 9x13  baking pan and dump in 2 1/2c   fresh or still-frozen blueberries into it.  Sprinkle with 1/2 c. sugar or splenda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cornstarch.  Stir to coat the berries. Fit the bread slices in the dish,  wet side up.  Wedge/squish tightly,  (even so,  you may not always get them all in).   Brush the tops with 2 tsp melted butter, and bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes..the time may vary depending on the thickness and density of the bread..When the berries are bubbling around the edge, remove  from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes  before serving.   Just lift the slices onto plates and spoon the berries over.  Sprinkle with 10x sugar if you like.

If  it's a birthday breakfast, top with a little vanilla ice cream for a decadently  melting  start to the day, and leftovers served chilled  can be presented as a delicious blueberry bread pudding.

Dried Beef-Cream Cheese Oven Omelet

Reminiscent of the popular 1970's appetizer, dried beef rolled up with chive cream cheese inside,  this is a rich and delicious way to start the day.

Beat together 6 or 8 eggs.  Using a jar of dried beef slices , make rolls by smearing them with softened cream cheese mixed with  a TB or two of chives. Roll up and cut each into thirds. Stir  the beef  rolls into the eggs, add  1/2 tsp pepper, and  pour into a sprayed or  buttered 1 1/2 qt casserole dish or muffin cups.  Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 30 minutes- about 20 for muffin pan.  Sprinkle top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese the last 10 minutes.

Any leftovers will freeze nicely once completely cooled.  Just microwave for a minute or two to thaw and  heat through.