It seems like only yesterday that the bus pulled up to our house on the first day of camp. And now we are in week 5! Where did the time go? What happened to all those projects I promised myself I was going to tackle? I should really get started on those.
This summer Dylan and Liam were finally old enough to follow Matthew to big boy camp. Instead of waving goodbye from the driveway as Matthew heads off; they are all boarding the bus together, my little gang of three. Initially I felt sad that first week when the bus whisked them all away. But as I laced on my sneakers and headed out for a run that feeling miraculously disappeared! Funny how that happened…
Although the little guys are ready for camp, they only go half day so they miss out on camp lunch. And since they want to do EVERYTHING their big brother does I promised I would make camp lunches for them – same as Matthew was eating. I pulled out the camp menu and was glad to see that camp fare really hadn’t changed much since I was a kid. For the month of July they had chicken five times, pasta five times, pizza five times, the obligatory hot dogs, burgers, carrots (I suppose to make the parents happy), and the ubiquitous fruit cocktail.
One of the “specials” was Brunch for Lunch. On the menu that day was French Toast Sticks. Sounded like a potential winner –
French Toast Sticks w/ Fruit Cocktail
Ingredients:
French Toast
6 slices Texas toast
2 Tbsp melted butter
3 Eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 tsp salt
Confectioner sugar (optional)
Maple syrup, for dipping (optional)
Fruit Cocktail
1 peach, diced
1 cup pineapple, diced
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 lemon, juice of
Directions:
French Toast Sticks
Stack the bread and trim off the edges. Then cut the bread into 1” sticks. Yield: 18 sticks.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush half of the melted butter onto a large baking sheet.
In a shallow mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon sugar, and salt. Dip the bread into the egg mixture to coat.
Do not let the bread sit and soak up the egg, they will fall apart, just make sure the bread is coated and then place onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar onto the sticks and place in oven.
Bake 10-12 minutes. Turn and brush topside with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake another 10-12 minutes until crispy.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with a side of maple syrup for dipping.
Fruit cocktail
Combine the peach, pineapple, and dried cherries in a small mixing bowl. Add fresh lemon juice and let sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until the cherries plump up. Serve cold.
And the VERDICT is: (since Matthew was at camp I happily sat in on the tasting)
Liam (age 4): “These raisins taste like pickles. Don’t eat them Dylan”
Dylan (age 4): “Eat the raisins first. I heard a guy talking about these French toast sticks at camp – I love these”
Me (age N/A): “I wish I could eat at camp too, these are so good”
They never even asked for syrup….
houseofbedlam 
Looks great!! I want these for breakfast, lunch and dinner! (And I’m not a french toast person!)
I will teach you how to make them! See you in nine days!
That was a great blog. One shortcut…you can make the batter the night before, then dip the bread in when you are ready and you can stick it in the oven and bake it. The bread puffs up and it has a different tasted; doesn’t take long that way. also, we love egg chaleh french toast, it is so rich and delicious, almost unctuous….
Love the pic of the kids waiting to board. So glad they enjoy camp and you get a breather!
Much love,
Judy (and Bill too)
I can use all the shortcuts I can get – thanks for the tip!
Love,
Elaine
The photo of your 3 at the bus’s door is priceless and that fruit cocktail sure beats that stuff in the can that we were served. Way to go, Mom!
They are quite cute I must admit! Although I did love that fruit cocktail in the syrup when I was growing up this version is definitely better –
another missed opportunity to push the swine… what is french toast without the BACON! And by the way I prefer my french toast eggstra eggy, if any bread consistency left then not enough egg…. In fact I pour the extra batter on the toast while in the pan. But again my french toast does not need to be a finger food for little monsters. Just one giant monster.
You are a woman of excess –
The boys would be happy that you are lobbying for more bacon for them!
I clicked over from the blog hop. Immediately… your blog title and header photo make me smile. Oh my goodness. House of Bedlam I’m sure!!!
My girls have been mostly home. They’ve just done a few days of 9-12 camp. No bus. Come September both girls will be hopping on the bus for full day school though. First time for that! This moms certainly counting down the days!
Thanks for clicking over –
The bus was a big step for our little guys – but they never looked back. Enjoy the rest of the summer with your girls before that bus shows up!
It is amazing how quickly time flies by each summer. I am glad that your boys have enjoyed going to camp.
I love french toast and haven’t thought about making french toast sticks before. I love your son’s responses about the fruit cocktail mix. Yummy!
Time does seem to fly by-
This french toast is so easy and also baking it means you don’t have to stand at the stove making a few pieces at a time. Just pop in the oven –
Your blog is very inspiring – thanks for visiting mine!