Today I’m bringing you something a little different. Foodbuzz has offered it’s featured publishers a chance to compete for a all-expenses paid trip to their annual festival and I am absolutely dying to go so, of course, I’m participating. The contest is simple: you must use a Nature’s Pride bread to create a recipe. Nature’s Pride is one of my favorite brands of bread and by the way, if you have trouble finding Nature’s Pride, check Super Target – it’s the only store around here that sells it. I used Nutty Oat for this recipe but my favorite is the 12 Grain which is pretty much the best bread ever.

I knew I wanted to do a fruit panzanella as soon as I heard about the contest but it took me awhile to come up with a French Toast Panzanella. Actually, it was my husband who suggested if after I asked him if crunchy bread and fruit would be weird together.

For the French toast part, I covered the bread cubes in cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla before I baked them. They were so good, addictive even. They taste exactly like a really crunchy French toast. For the fruit, I used blackberries but I think any fruit would be great. The blackberries were glazed with a peach jam but if you have another type on hand, use that. Any fruit/jam combination would be delicious!

French Toast Panzanella

4 slices Nature’s Pride Nutty Oat bread, cubed
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups fruit, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon peach jam
lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)
powdered sugar, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add cinnamon and sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Bake in preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes, or until the bread is crunchy. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a small saucepan, warm peach jam over low heat until it’s almost a liquid. Remove from heat and add fruit; toss to coat.

Combine bread and fruit in a large serving bowl. Top with sweetened whipped cream and powdered sugar, if using. Serve warm or cold.

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