Baked French Toast - Freezer meal

I'm just going to pretend that i haven't been AWOL for the last five months.  instead, i'm going to share a recipe that so easy and so yummy i just can't keep it to myself!

Baked French Toast (Freezer meal)

What you need:

• 13x9" baking pan that you don't mind being without for a while (i use the disposable foil pans with lids from GFS Marketplace)
• one loaf (16z) day-old baguette or Italian bread from the markdown rack
• 3 c milk
• 5 eggs
• cinnamon - maybe a tablespoon
• brown sugar - 1/4 to 1/3 cup
• nonstick spray
• foil and plastic wrap if your pan doesn't have its own tight-sealing lid

What to do:

• snatch up the marked-down baguette or Italian bread from your grocery or bread shop.  go ahead and get 2 or 3 if they have 'em.  just get extra eggs and milk!
• cut your loaf into 1/2" to 3/4" slices (i do finger-width). cubing it also works.
• spray your pan with the nonstick spray
• arrange half of the slices of bread in the bottom of the pan.  cut/tear to make them all fit and fully cover the bottom of the pan.
• Sprinkle the bread with cinnamon and all the brown sugar.
• arrange the second half of the bread over the first layer
• sprinkle with cinnamon again
• whisk together the eggs and milk
• pour evenly over the bread, tilting the pan as needed to get into the corners
• wrap tightly, label  and freeze until you need it

How to Cook:

• Thaw the pan on the counter for an hour or so, or in the fridge for several hours (if you have the time.  this can be baked frozen but it's not ideal)
• bake loosely covered at 375F for about 40 minutes.  pull it out and check it.  if it's still pretty cold/solid, re-cover and bake another 30 minutes or so.
• once it's heated, uncover and bake another 5-15 minutes to brown it up.  you should really be smelling it now.  
• Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.  Devour
• if you need instant gratification, let the pan sit for a couple hours (up to 8) in the fridge to soak up all the liquid, and then bake, cutting the time down.  
• Serve with bacon or sausage, fruit, and the satisfaction of feeding a bunch of people a very impressive meal very easily.

My Notes:

• Next time, i will let the dish sit in the fridge to fully soak up the milk/egg mixture before freezing.  the upper-most bread was dry.  not horrible, but not ideal.
• if i forget to do the fridge thing, i will flip the frozen block o'French Toast over in the pan before thawing, so the liquid soaks the dry bread on bottom as it thaws.
• i may also try splitting this into two single-layer pans, although i did kinda like the crunchy-on-top/gooey-on-bottom layering.  
• with the brown sugar in it, it really didn't need syrup!  
• it was wet enough on the bottom that it didn't really need butter either
• i still used both butter and maple syrup on the crustier pieces.  
• ALWAYS use a baking sheet under foil pans in the oven.  ALWAYS.  
• frozen solid casserole would travel well for holidays
• you can do the same basic thing but swap the cinnamon and brown sugar for cheese and veggies and meat.  equally yummy, equally easy, equally impressive.
• i was raised on meat and poultry thawed on the counter year-round, so i don't really fear leaving eggs and milk to thaw in a climate-controlled kitchen.  I'm more concerned that my cats will scale the cupboards and feast on my food.  Obviously, do what you're comfortable with.