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

Zucchini Cheddar Egg Muffins

Morning, friends! Welcome to the last Tuesday of August. Crazy right?!

Lately you've seen many ramblings and brags about my garden and finally we are seeing the produce that I've been very (im)patiently waiting for. Lettuce, green beans, cherry tomatoes and boatloads of zucchini are what's in season at my house right now. I've been able to share the lettuce, beans and tomatoes with family & co-workers, but the zucchini count is starting to get a wee bit out of control.

So far, I've made ~

- my favourite zucchini bread

- Courtney's light & tasty zucchini casserole and zucchini latkes

- my dad's goulash

I still have 2 1/2 zucchinis at home and several little baby ones growing away in the garden. Is anyone in need of zucchini?? I would be very happy to share! :-)

On Sunday, I did a little meal prepping for the week and one of the things that I cooked up was a batch of egg muffins. These are great because you can make them on the weekend and store them in the refrigerator for a week. I often pack them in my lunch or pop a couple in the microwave for breakfast on the go. I got the idea after I made Courtney's zucchini casserole. I mean really, can you go wrong when you mix zucchini and cheddar together?!  I think not.  

Zucchini Cheddar Egg Muffins
Recipe adapted from He & She Eat Clean

Makes 12 egg muffins

1 1/2 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c mushrooms, diced
1/2 c onions, diced
3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
14 egg whites
1 tsp Italian seasoning
sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375. Grease your muffin tin well.

Place zucchini, mushrooms & onion in a large bowl and mix well. Fold in 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Scoop the veggie mixture into the muffin tins. Fill each cup about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs & egg whites. Stir in your spices.

Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable mixture filling each muffin cup. Leave a little room because the egg will puff up & expand as it bakes.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over the egg mixture in each muffin cup.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes.

Slide a knife around the edges of each egg muffin and carefully remove each one and place it on a cooling rack.

Once the egg muffins are completely cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge.

I know this muffin tin is old and ugly but that's because it's been well loved <3

One thing I would caution is that non-stick spray is not the most effective when trying to get these little muffins out of the tin. Even though I used a knife to cut around the edges and a fork to oh so gently lift the muffins up and out, several of them came out with a messy looking bottom. Lucky for me, the ugliness did not affect the taste - these are tasty little bites if I do say so myself! Next time I'm going to grease my pan with shortening and I hope that will make the whole muffin removal procedure a little easier and more successful.

Here are some other zucchini recipes on my radar to try over the next couple of weeks ~  

- Jessica's Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 

- Summer Squash & Ricotta Galette

- Jenna's Portobello & Zucchini Lasagna

- Angela's Zucchini Bread Oatmeal 

Do you have any great zucchini recipes that I should try? Please leave your link below.

Enjoy your day,

Andrea

xoxo

Best Scramble Combo EVER

I love going out for breakfast. It's my favourite meal to eat out and Derek & I often go on the weekend to our favourite greasy spoon spot. I especially love going when we're on vacation in the US because I love biscuits, shredded hashbrowns and fried apples.

When we were in Las Vegas we only got up in time for breakfast twice! Let's just say we vacationed like rock stars and stayed up to the wee hours of the morning almost every single night. The first morning we had breakie was the day that we took a roadtrip to California. We stopped at a 50s-themed diner called Peggy Sue's Diner and had a traditional Southern breakfast. It was delish! 

We also got up early on our last day of vacation. We asked around about where a good place to eat was and were sent off to Hash House a Go Go in Harrahs.  If  you're planning a trip to Las Vegas and you're looking for a place that is rockin' awesome, Harrah's is it. We love to spend time at The Piano Bar, the Carnival (an outdoor bar) and Toby Keith's Bar & Grill.   The Hash House is yet another reason to love it there!

The menu at the Hash House is outrageous and the portions are HUGE. I ordered a scramble combination of eggs, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil and goat cheese. It was soooooo gooooooodddddd!!!! I knew it was something I was definitely going to have to re-create when I got home. What I didn't expect was that my scramble was going to be amazing! I'm pretty confident in saying that mine is the absolute best and I promise that it's going to leave you weak in the knees.

Tomato Basil Scramble with Goat Cheese
Serves 1

2 eggs
1/4 c almond milk
4 sundried tomatoes, sliced
2 large basil leaves, thinly sliced
2 - 3 tbsp creamy goat cheese
pinch salt & pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and almond milk. Add the tomatoes and basil.

Heat a small non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add your egg mixture and cook until scrambled. Once the egg mixture is cooked, fold in your goat cheese. Add salt & pepper to your preference.

Serve immediately.

The Cast

I served mine with some homemade shredded hashbrowns.

{DROOL}

{EAT}

{SWOON}

What's your favourite scramble combo?
Do you have a place you love to visit when you're on vacation?

Happy Thursday!!!

Andrea

Mini Greek Egg White Souffles

Oh happy day!! The sun is shining, the temperature is rising and the sound of our neighbours lawn mower is music to my ears. This is just what I needed to pull myself up out of my funk and get my booty in gear!

This morning I was up bright and early to go to a new spin class at the gym. On my way home, I decided that  I'd take the dogs for a walk in this gorgeous sunshine before I went inside to start tackling my very long list of To-Dos.

By the time I finally came in the house I was torn between checking out all my fave blogs or getting something to munch on. My bloggie buds won out and I took a quick buzz around the Net to see what everyone was up to. I'm so glad I did, because I saw a recent post from Cait at beyond bananas that totally inspired my lunch! This recipe is easy, based on one serving for one lone gal at home and is delicious!! It also helped me get rid of some leftover ingredients lurking around in my fridge from my orzo spinach greek salad last weekend.

Mini Greek Egg White Souffles

Makes 4 mini souffles (perfect for one hungry gal)

Recipe adapted from Cait's Egg White Souffle Dinner Cakes

These little beauts are so delicious. Cait put some spices into hers and I completely forgot. They still tasted amazing! You have to be careful when removing them from the pan because they can easily be squished down. They are light and fresh and would be a perfect addition to a Mother's Day Brunch!

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

3 egg whites

1 c baby spinach, chopped

3 tbsp onion, chopped

3 tbsp tomato, diced

2 tbsp black olives, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp feta

Note: The original recipe called for a dash of garlic powder, pepper and chili powder. I forgot and mine still tasted great, but you could add any spices that you like!

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 4 muffin cups in a tin muffin pan. Make sure you grease your cups well because these will stick.

Preheat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add your spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted (approximatley 1 - 2 minutes).

Add the tomato, onion and black olives to the skillet and cook an additional 4 - 5 minutes ~ until the onion is softened. Remove from heat.



Place your egg whites into a medium sized mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed for 4 - 5 minutes until the they are white and fluffy and are able to form stiff peaks.

In the beginning....

The final result. 

Fold in the veggie mixture and feta cheese.

Scoop the egg mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Makes 4 large muffin cups or you could make 6 smaller ones, if you prefer.

Bake for 14 - 15 minutes. They are done when the tops are golden brown.

Don't they look lovely (minus the old pan I was using)??

 I found that the best way to remove the souffles from the pan was to run a knife around the edges and then use a fork to GENTLY remove them. They squish very easily so be careful!!

Yet another healthy meal that is quick, easy and delish!! I was nervous about just using egg whites, but you can hardly even tell. These were amazing and I loved every single bite! I had some salsa on the side, but they are really good on their own. I didn't use much salsa at all.

I think I've procrastinated enough, so I better be off! My workout is done, the dogs are exercised and my belly is satisfied. Time to go be productive!

Have a wonderful weekend. Soak in some of the sunshiney rays while you can!

How do you tackle a great big to do list?

What ingredients do you like to add to your souffles?

Andrea

Poached Eggs on Heart-Shaped Toast

I have been up since the crack of dawn because I just couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to do with my new heart-shaped cookie cutters....as soon as I got up, I got straight to work.

Derek had to work late last night and then again this morning, so I thought I would make him a healthy and filling breakfast to start his day off right.

He loves poached eggs, which I have never made before, so I thought I would break out of my comfort zone and give them a try.

How to make poached eggs:
I used the old school method for poached eggs, which is to bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and then crack the eggs into the pot. Leave them to cook for 3 minutes and then remove them from the pot. I found using a spoon with slits worked well, so I could strain as much water as possible off of them. Cooking the eggs for 3 minutes leaves you with a nice, soft yoke. You need to be quick getting them out of the pot because the yokes can become hard pretty quickly.

I decided to serve the poached eggs on heart-shaped toast. I toasted the bread and once it popped, I quickly got to work with my large cookie cutter.

Have you ever seen a cuter piece of toast????

I arranged each piece of toast on the plate and then topped each piece with a poached egg and a sprinkling of pepper. Of course I had to add a side of fruit to round out the breakfast. How delish!

I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed his breakie this morning.

To us, small gestures like this cutesy breakfast are just as good (or better!) than buying over-priced flowers or chocolates for Valentine's Day, wouldn't you agree?? This was a very inexpensive and fun way to do something nice for someone I love. The other bonus is that it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to put together ~ most of us have that amount of time to whip up something healthy and delicious.

Wishing you all a wonderful Saturday,

Andrea