They say Valentine’s Day is the most popular night to dine out. So, because you’re getting a break on dinner, why not start the day with a delicious homemade breakfast. But nothing that will over-exert ourselves. Let’s not go that far, this is barely a holiday after all.

Here is a nice, easy recipe that you can mostly assemble the night before and pop in the oven in the morning. Something interesting: it’s a “French” toast recipe that calls for Italian bread. As far as I can tell, this just means a loaf that is skinnier than French bread but fatter than a baguette. I found a loaf in my grocery store bakery and it was perfect for this dish.

In case bananas and strawberries aren’t your thing (they are good colors for this “holiday” though), also below is a recipe for blueberry cream cheese French toast. It’s a little more labor intensive, but worth every second of it.

Banana strawberry French toast
Ingredients:
5 eggs, beaten
½ C. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 loaf Italian bread, cut into 1-inch slices
12-ounces frozen strawberry slices, thawed
2 bananas, cut into round slices
sugar
cinnamon
Directions:
Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and baking power. Soak bread slices in mixture overnight. Before baking, spread thawed strawberries (with the juice) and banana slices in the bottom of a sprayed 11- by 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle sugar on top. Place egg-soaked bread on top of fruit; sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a little drizzle of syrup on top, powdered sugar or as is.

Blueberry-stuffed French toast
Ingredients:
1 loaf fresh French bread
2, 8-ounces cream cheese
1 C. blueberries
10 eggs
1/3 C. maple syrup
1/2 C, skim milk
Sauce:
1 C. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 C. water
1 C. blueberries
1 Tbsp. butter

Directions:
Cube bread and cream cheese into one-inch pieces. Arrange half the bread in a 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Scatter cream cheese and berries on top, then cover with remaining bread chunks. In a large bowl, beat eggs, syrup and milk. Pour mixture over bread; cover and chill several hours or overnight. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes uncovered.
Sauce: Cook sugar, cornstarch and water for 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in berries and simmer for 10 minutes. Add butter. Cook until melted. Serve with drizzled on top French toast.