Apple pie. Yum.

French toast without the hassle. Yay!

You’re going to love my Apple Pie French Toast from a Baguette for fall or anytime.

Why is a professional organizer giving you recipes? Meal planning is a struggle for many people, and here’s an example of how I use up ingredients just have laying around in my kitchen. Instead of lamenting that your refrigerator isn’t organized, save some time and create a great meal by using up things that you might otherwise toss. You’ll be organizing, saving money AND probably eating healthy, all at the same time.

If, like me, you sometimes find yourself with half a baguette, you know what a bummer that is because a baguette is only fresh for that day. Tomorrow that baguette may as well be a brick. My French friends toast stale baguette the next morning, but beyond that, well, who knows, because the French don’t let their baguette sit around that long. But here in the States, sometimes I end up with more baguette than I can eat in a day. It’s rare, but it happens. If you’ve ever thrown yours away, this is a great way to use up a stale baguette.

A dear friend gave me Penzeys Apple Pie spice not long ago, on the same day that I had half a baguette staring at me. Brilliance was born, and we’ll never toss stale baguette again. Honestly, I don’t know anything about Pensey’s, but I can recommend their Penzey’s Apple Pie spice and the other French mixes (like Herbs de Provence) that came with my gift pack.

To make Applie Pie French Toast from a Baguette, slice or tear the baguette into bite-sized pieces and layer in a buttered casserole pan. Start with slices if you must, but real French folks will just tear pieces of baguette with their hands, and I suggest you do the same.

Add your choice of apples. These could be fresh diced apples (easy enough to get in the fall), dried apples, or my favorite — apple pie filling.

Combine beaten eggs with cream or milk, even a milk substitute if you prefer, and a generous dose of apple pie spice. Cooking purists are going to hate me, but the exact proportions are going to depend on how much leftover bread you have. I’m going to suggest starting with 2 beaten eggs, a half cup of milk, and a quarter teaspoon of apple pie spice, then add more of everything in small doses until you have enough to just barely cover your torn bread in the casserole pan. You don’t need to completely drown the bread in egg mix; it will soak up the eggs from the bottom of the pan overnight. (I’ve been known to use half and half for this recipe for a really thick and creamy result.)

For best results, cover and refrigerate overnight to let the bread soak up the eggs mixture.

In the morning, put the cold casserole dish, uncovered, into a cold oven. Set the oven to bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, and check it until the tips of the bread poking out are nicely brown. See my photo below. No pre-heating required. (Note, do NOT put a cold dish into a hot oven. That’s just asking for trouble, if you remember your freshman science class.)

Once baked, serve slathered in fresh whipped cream. Or cheat, like we do, and spray it from the can, which works just as well in my book. Did you know that most canned whipped cream has very few calories? It’s mostly just air, after all.

Click here to see more of my easy recipes that use up ingredients you probably already have at home (and effortlessly organize your fridge).

What can you cook up with leftovers at your place today?