Lemon-Berry Baked French Toast

It did something amazing here in NC yesterday. It SNOWED!

While I dislike the cold, there is something magical about watching the world around you turn white.  I watched from the windows at work as these beautiful little white flakes started floating down from the sky around 9am. I sat in a semi-dazed state, staring out the windows, wishing I could go out and play in it. I also watched snowplow after snowplow made its way down the road in front of my work.

I was thrilled at 2pm when work announced we were closing 2 hours early. By the time I left work there was about 3/4 of an inch of snow covering everything.



Then I got on the road, I'm not really sure what all the snowplows and salt trucks were doing because they obviously weren't driving around with their blades down or putting out salt. Then I remembered I was in NC, where very select few know how to drive in the snow. I checked out the traffic on my phone and realized there was no way on earth I was getting on the interstate. Traffic was reportedly going between 0 and 5 miles-per-hour. So I drove through town.

Amazingly I witnessed no wrecks. However, I witnessed over 40 cars fail to stop at red lights, narrowly missing oncoming traffic. I witnessed even more people who thought that just because you can barely see the lines on the roads, that it meant you could just drive down the exact middle and expect others to move around you. I also witnessed countless people who decided that they would walk on the slightly slippery roads because the snow was compacted and didn't get their shoes as cold and wet as walking on the sidewalks.

Between avoiding the people running red lights, the lunatics driving in the exact middle of 2 lane roads, and people who are walking down the middle of lanes of traffic; it took me over 2 hours to get home yesterday afternoon.

In honor of my snow day from work, yes the entire world shut down because we have about an inch of snow in NC, I made a delicious breakfast. I also spent over an hour at the table reading, eating, and sipping hot cocoa while looking out upon the beautiful white world. What a wonderful day!

Lemon Berry Baked French Toast
1 loaf French bread, sliced
1/2 cup lemon curd
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup blueberries, or other berries of your choice (fresh or frozen-do not thaw)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Mix together lemon curd and cream cheese. Spread on both sides of each slice of bread. Arrange slices in greased pan.

In a large bowl, mix together eggs and milk. Pour over bread slices, making sure to cover them evenly, and pressing gently to make sure custard mixture is absorbed into the bread. Allow to set 10 minutes before baking. Sprinkle with berries.

Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until custard mixture is set. Uncover and bake for additional 10 minutes, or until bread slices are lightly browned.