French Toast Strata

1- cups french bread (I used one loaf)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup cream  (I used whipping cream, but the original recipe called for half&half)
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pound Jimmy Dean Sausage

powdered sugar
more maple syrup

Eight hours before:  Brown the sausage and crumble.  Drain and set aside.  Cut one loaf of french bread into 1" cubes.  Spread evenly into a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. Pour the sausage over the bread.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese until smooth.  Add eggs, one at at time, whipping in between each egg.  Add milk and cream, syrup, salt and vanilla.  Mix well.  Pour egg/milk mixture over the bread and sausage. Cover and put in the refrigerator overnight. 

In the morning, remove from the refrigerator, and let it sit on the counter, at room temperature, for thirty minutes.  Bake in preheated oven, at 350 for 40 minutes or until golden brown and a knife comes out clean.  Pour maple syrup over the baked strata and then sprinkle powdered sugar over top of that.  (I didn't pour the syrup on the baked strata.  I served it with syrup on the side, so that everyone could have the sweetness that they preferred.  Being married to GranolaMan, this works.)  SO SO NUMMY!  ENJOY!