Overnight Breakfast Casserole

Who doesn’t love a throw together casserole recipe that can be made ahead?? I know I love them! This would make a wonderful Christmas morning breakfast or brunch recipe! I love baked egg dishes; frittatas, quiches, etc. However, they are time consuming in the mornings and I don’t like to wait on them so I don’t make them often. After Thanksgiving, I had some white GF bread that was just okay. No one really ate it but I hated to throw it away so I decided to make this casserole dish. I wasn’t exactly sure how it would turn out but it is great! It is very similar to a bread pudding type recipe. The nutrients come from all the veggies this dish is loaded with. If you prefer, you could use more egg whites than whole eggs.  You could also throw in some sausage or other meat for additional flavor. This serves about 6.

6 slices of GF bread, cubed

6 eggs (or an egg/egg white mixture to equal about 1 cup)
¼ cup milk
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp sage
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp sea salt
2 cups raw spinach
½ cup chopped mushrooms
¼ cup diced onions
½ cup cooked spaghetti squash or shredded potatoes
¼ cup diced carrots
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup shredded cheese (I used dairy free Daiya cheddar style)

• In a greased 9x9 baking dish, place bread cubes.
• In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms, onions, carrots and spinach for about 10 minutes or until crisp-tender.
• In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk and seasonings together.
• Add mushroom mixture to eggs.
• Place the spaghetti squash over the bread cubes. Sprinkle shredded cheese over bread and squash. Pour egg mixture over dish.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning, bake at 375°F for about 35-40 minutes or until eggs are set in the center.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

Amazing. That’s the only thing I have to say about this one. Well – and the fact that I got a remarkable response out of my 5 year old. He told me, “Mom, this tastes even better than asparagus AND corn on the cob!” He hates asparagus but corn on the cob is his absolute favorite food. Therefore- we know this recipe is a keeper!

1 large chicken breast

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 small head of broccoli, cut, steamed or cooked

1 small onion, diced

½ cup mushrooms, diced

1 cup brown rice

1 cup water

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp sage

1 ½ cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

2 Tbsp starch (corn or potato)

1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into small chunks

½ cup GF bread crumbs

•  In an electric pressure cooker (or other method of cooking rice-just adjust water amount), cook rice and water.
• While rice is cooking, sauté chicken in oil in a large skillet until cooked through. Add in onion, mushrooms and cooked broccoli and cook until onions are tender.
• Add in cooked rice and mix together. Then pour into a large baking dish, probably 2 quarts.
• Combine milk, spices and potato starch until starch is well blended.
• Spread mozzarella chunks evenly over the top of the casserole mixture. Pour the milk mixture evenly over the dish.
• Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and the bread crumbs have started to brown