Make-Ahead Breakfast Strata

Hi! Sorry things have been quiet around these parts. The closer Christmas gets, the busier I seem to be.....I'm sure you can all relate, right?!

One of the things I've been busy at is menu planning. We're hosting our annual Christmas party on Saturday and our theme is the '80s, so I've been trying to come up with some '80s-themed food to serve. I'm thinking fondues, black forest cake, cake rolls and whatever other fun things I come up with this week!

Are you hosting any meals this holiday season? For me, it's all about planning ahead. I write my menu out, re-write and amend it as the date gets closer and then work away dish by dish when the big day finally arrives. Things that can be made ahead are always favourites because it helps to alleviate all the things that must be done at the last minute.

This breakfast strata is something that I often make when we're hosting a breakfast or brunch. My mom used to make something similar to this for Christmas morning, so I have a sentimental attachment to this dish, plus it's easy to throw together, can be customized with any veggies/meats that you like and can be made the night before ---- {WIN!}

Now you don't need a special occasion to make this; I made it this past weekend and now we have leftovers for breakfasts and/or lunches for the first part of this week.....and who's kidding who, Derek will be lucky to get even a bite. :-D

Make-Ahead Breakfast Strata
Serves 6

8 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
1 1/2 c baby spinach
1 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 large tomato, thinly sliced
2 c cheese
7 eggs
1 1/3 c milk
salt & pepper to taste

Choose a medium-sized casserole dish and spray with non-stick spray.

Layer your ingredients starting with half of the bread cubes, followed by all of the spinach, the mushrooms, tomato, 3/4 c of the shredded cheese and the remaining bread.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt & pepper. Pour your egg mixture over the entire casserole making sure to soak all of the bread. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the entire casserole. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

About an hour and half before you are planning to eat, pre-heat your oven to 375. Bake the casserole, uncovered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes prior to serving.

The assembly looks something like this:

Make sure you let the casserole 'rest' before serving.

I usually give it 5 - 10 minutes before diving in.

I'm sure that you can cut it into lovely little wedges when you're serving it to guests, but we don't get too fancy and just scoop out big ol' portions at our house.

YUM!

Will you help me with my '80s menu? If you have any great dishes that were popular in that decade, give me some inspiration!!!

What's your favourite dish to serve for brunch?

Have a great day,

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate "On Canada Day" Wednesday

Happy Wednesday once again!!! I love celebrating the middle of the week during the summer months because that means our summer weekend fun is almost within reach! I can't believe it but if I'm counting right, this is my 13th What I Ate Wednesday!! It seems like just a few short weeks ago that I stumbled upon Jenn's site and found myself compelled to join in the WIAW fun.



As promised, this edition of What I Ate Wednesday is all about our Canada Day Brunch. I've gotta say that Derek and I made an amazing meal that was enjoyed by everyone!!

We enjoyed:

•  a gorgeous fruit salad filled with cantalope, kiwi, pears, apples, watermelon, raspberries (99 cents a pint!!!!!!), blackberries and oranges. It was 95% organic and it was so cool and refreshing.

• veggie kabobs on the grill

• homefries

• Calabrese salad (alternate sliced mozzarella and tomatoes in a shallow dish and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and add a pinch of your homegrown basil) ---- this was definitely my favourite

• for the meat eaters we had breakfast sausage and Canadian back bacon
• scrambled eggs and
• buttermilk biscuits (of course - no breakfast is complete without)

Check out my plate. It was goo-ood :-D

....and of course we cannot forget dessert.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting (recipe from Jessica) and

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites (recipe from Angela)

They both were perfect for our Canada Day theme - go Red & White!!

Both were very big hits and will be making repeat appearances in our household in the very near future.

I betcha want to come to visit for brunch now don't ya?! ;-) You know you're welcome ANYTIME!

What is your favourite thing to serve for brunch?

Have a great Wednesday --- the countdown to the weekend is on my friends :-)

Andrea

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Scones

I've been dreaming about dark chocolate raspberry muffins all week. Sadly, when I went to the grocery store to pick up my supplies, the raspberries were in a very poor condition, so I ended up with these.

You can't really tell from that picture, but these strawberries were HUGE! See... 

And I was happy to discover that they were super sweet & juicy ~ much better than I expected!

Oh, I also picked up some of this....

Strawberries and dark chocolate. There really aren't many other combinations that can compete.

Once I got home, I started searching for muffin recipes, but surprisingly there weren't very many that looked very good. So I turned to my new cookbook, "eat, drink & be vegan" by Dreena Burton. I found a raspberry chocolate chip scone recipe that inspired me. So I set to work making some dark chocolate strawberry scones. Derek was working last night, so I had nothing better to do. The challenge is to not eat all of them before he gets home! Being home alone can get me into trouble because no one knows whether or not I've stuck to my diet (with the exception of Dora & Hank of course...& they'll never tell ;-)

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Scones

Inspired by eat, drink & be vegan

These scones would make a really nice side to a brunch with family and friends. The chunky strawberry and dark chocolate is an awesome combination. The scones aren't very sweet, which is the way I like it, but if you like your scones sweeter, you might want to adjust your sweeteners. 

PS - they're vegan too! 

2 c spelt flour (I'm not sure, but whole wheat flour might also work)

1/4 c agave nectar (white sugar or honey would be ok)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 coconut oil, melted (canola oil would work)

1/4 c dark chocolate chunks

1/4 c + 3 tbsp almond milk (any milk would do)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2/3 c chopped strawberries

1 - 2 tsp spelt flour - for dusting counter

1 tsp almond milk

Pre-heat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Add in your oil and mix well - flour will be crumbly. Stir in chocolate.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the milk and vanilla. Add your wet ingredients to the dry and add the strawberries. The dough is going to be wet, heavy & sticky. You might have to use your hands. Place dough on a floured surface and shape into a circle that is about 7" in diameter and 3/4" thick.

 Cut the circle into 6 equal wedges.

I admit that I am not the most accurate or neat cutter. I blame it on the chocolate chunks - they got in the way of a neat line!! Luckily cutting accuracy did not affect the taste.

Place the wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The recipe suggested that the tops be brushed with soy milk. I brushed mine with almond milk although I'm not really sure that made any difference in the way that the scones look once baked.

These look really ugly! I swear they weren't so bad looking in real life :-)

Bake for 14 - 16 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove them from the oven and  cool on a cooling rack.

Serve warm with your favourite cup of tea.

I enjoyed mine with Earth Balance, but they would be really delicious with fresh cream and strawberry jam!

Scrumptiuos!

These are fantastic, but I am still set on making some raspberry muffins. I promise that you will have a recipe from me as soon as our raspberry supply is replenished with some healthier looking berries.

Wishing you another fab weekend!

Andrea

Sweet Potato Homefries

Good Morning all! Did you remember to turn your clocks ahead last night?? Derek and I talked about it, but never did it. He was an hour late for an 8 a.m. meeting and I missed my step class.....oops!!

I still went to the gym and did my first ever skip fit. What a great cardiovascular workout. I loved it and will be trying to catch that class whenever I can. Did you know that a 155 lb woman can burn between 563 and 844 calories by skipping for one hour (that sold me on this class!!).

My absolutely most favourite meal of the week is Sunday breakfast. Sunday is the one day a week that I usually skip a green smoothie and go with something more traditional. Since we ended being home with nothing to do, we I (it would be my dream if Derek would actually cook with me in the kitchen, but so far my hints haven't been sinking in :-) decided to whip up a delicious breakfast.

Are you a homefry lover?? We are. I love going out for breakfast and ordering a big mound of greasy homefries that I can smother in ketchup and salt. But, since I am trying out some healthy alternatives and I have been totally digging sweet potatoes lately, I thought I'd switch it up and make some sweet potato homefries for a change.

I made them exactly as I would if I were whipping up homefries with regular potatoes and they turned out great!

Sweet Potato Homefries
3 medium sized sweet potatoes
1 sweet onion
1 1/2 tbsp Earth Balance (butter would work)
salt & pepper to taste

I love recipes with 4 ingredients!! 

Peel and dice the sweet potatoes and onion.

Steam your sweet potatoes for just a few minutes until they are fork tender. I have a microwave steamer that is so quick and convenient for a meal like this.

Meanwhile, melt the Earth Balance (or butter) in a medium sized frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook for approximately 5 minutes.

Keep in mind that I love carmelized onions (today they got quite dark while I was getting everything else ready). You can adjust your cooking times to suit your preferences on how crispy you like your homefries.

Add the sweet potatoes and continue to cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes.

Add additional salt & pepper according to your taste preferences and serve immediately.

I could have eaten this whole bowl myself. They were sooo tasty!

These are a fantastic side to all of your favourite breakfasts and they are so easy to whip up.

  

 Derek's Plate (check out the dessert - at least I was able to sneak some fruit in there)

Andrea's Plate (I would love the same dessert, but I was strong today)

What great fuel to get us through our day. I was full of energy and pizzazz when I got to skip fit!

What is your favourite meal of the week.

What is your favourite breakfast foods.

Wishing you a wonderful Sunday afternoon.

Andrea