Veggie Breakfast Bake

When you've got a houseful (as we often do!) you sometimes need a go to egg dish you can toss in the oven and forget for about an hour. Maybe you want to get dressed or watch the kids open presents or just kick back with the news early in the morning. This will give you some time if you do all the prep work the night before. And, added bonus, in the winter it will warm up the kitchen! I don't know about you, but my kitchen has one tiny kick plate heater that's at the very end of the run. Having the oven on for an hour really helps.

Ingredients (Change this up however you want based on what your crowd likes. Add sausage, bacon, or shrimp to go in a different direction!)

Butter (for sauteing and greasing baking pan)
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
5 English muffins (or English muffin bread), split and toasted
2 c shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided
1 lb fresh asparagus (if you make this in the winter, use frozen asparagus) - trim and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c diced red bell pepper
1/2 small onion, diced
8 eggs
2 c milk
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp dry mustard

How to:

Saute the mushrooms in butter until slightly brown, set aside.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish (we get 15 servings from this size pan). Arrange 8 English muffins halves in the bottom of the baking dish, fill in around them with the remaining 2 halves cut up. Spread 1 c of shredded cheese over the slices, layer the veggies over the cheese. 

Whisk together the eggs, milk, and seasonings, pour over the veggies. Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the eggs soak into the bread. Overnight is better.

Preheat oven to 375. While preheating, remove casserole from fridge and sprinkle 1 more cup of cheese over the top. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until knife run around edge comes out clean, not eggy. Let stand about 5 minutes to complete setting, then cut into squares. Serve with bacon and fresh cantaloupe slices or a cold fruit cup.

Because this is a casserole, and not everyone likes all the veggies we put in ours, feel free to treat this like a quiche or frittata and throw in whatever your family likes. We made this without onions and it was just as yummy. The different veggies made it quite colorful, so that's a plus!

No photos because I just cannot make casseroles look good on film. If I figure it out, I'll add a photo at a later date. ;-)

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

www.whitecedarinn.com