(44) Broccoli-Cheese Pie

According to my husband, real men don't eat quiche... but they WILL eat 'egg pie'!! He deemed this 'one darn good egg pie' and I agree! It was delicious and I can't believe only 200 calories a piece! We had hash browns and strawberries to round out a great meal.

Two notes - First, I wish I had seen the make-ahead note and made this the night before. It wasn't hard to make, but I was HUNGRY so it would have been nice to just pop it in the oven! Second, I don't have a deep dish pie dish, just a regular 9" one and a regular 10" one. I used the 10" dish and had too cook it a little longer to get it firm in the center. (I think you could have also used an 8x8" glass square dish, a tart pan, or even a springform pan.)

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Broccoli-Cheese Pie

Source: Eating Well Magazine, Winter 2004
Yield: 6 servings

If you want to give this a fancy name, call it a crustless quiche. For a vegetarian version, simply omit the Canadian bacon.

2 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cups cubed whole-wheat country bread, (about 2 slices, crusts removed)
3 cups broccoli florets
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 slices Canadian bacon, diced (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup grated Monterey Jack, or part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (6-cup capacity) with cooking spray. Add breadcrumbs, tilting to coat bottom and sides.

2. Whisk eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add bread and stir to coat. Set aside in the refrigerator.

3. Steam broccoli until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Refresh under cold water and drain well. Chop coarsely.

4. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and onion; cook, stirring often, until softened and light golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion mixture and broccoli to the egg mixture; stir in cheese. Pour into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.

5. Bake the pie until light golden and set, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly, cut into wedges and serve.

Nutrition
209 Calories; 12 g Fat; 5 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 164 mg Cholesterol; 14 g Carbohydrates; 13 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 341 mg Sodium; 205 mg Potassium


* Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through step 4. Cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

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(23) Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole

As I mentioned last night, this was pretty easy to put together (about 20 minutes start to finish). Look for the tube of turkey sausage in the freezer section. I haven't eaten in quite a while and it was surprisingly tasty!! I had to cook the casserole about 10 minutes longer than written because it was still really wet in the center.

I have to admit, one serving was a tease! I wanted more! This was really good and I will make it again. You could serve 4 good size servings for weekend guests or put this on a brunch spread with other goodies. Did I mention this was good!? YUM!

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Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, May 2007

8 ounces ciabatta bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
Cooking spray
1 pound turkey breakfast sausage
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) carton egg substitute
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until toasted.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Combine sausage, bread, and onions in a large bowl. Combine milk, cheese, eggs, and egg substitute in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to bread mixture, tossing to coat bread. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover casserole. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Sprinkle with parsley; serve immediately.

CALORIES 344 (28% from fat); FAT 10.8g (sat 4.2g,mono 2.2g,poly 1g); IRON 3.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 123mg; CALCIUM 227mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.4g; SODIUM 983mg; PROTEIN 28.7g; FIBER 1g

(5) Cranberry-Apple French Toast Casserole

This recipe got mixed reviews on the CL website. Some said it was soggy, others said it was dry (go figure). Ours bordered on the soggy side (in the middle, at least), but the flavor was delish!! It was SWEET and a little gooey. We had bacon along side and the salt helped cut the sweet. This would be nice on a brunch buffet as a little something sweet!

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Cranberry-Apple French Toast Casserole

Yield: 12 servings
Source: Cooking Light, November 2007

This prep-ahead casserole, which turns extra dinner rolls and cranberry sauce into a brunch or dessert treat, is especially welcome if you are entertaining houseguests for the long holiday weekend. While we enjoyed the tartness of the Granny Smith apples, any baking apple will do. Serve with apple wedges.

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups diced Granny Smith apple (about 2 apples)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
1/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 pound dinner rolls, quartered
Cooking spray
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 1/4 cups apple juice
1 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
3/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 250°.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add apple, cinnamon, and cloves to pan; cook 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar; cook 2 minutes or until sugar melts. Remove from heat.

Place quartered rolls on a jelly-roll pan; bake at 250° for 15 minutes. Arrange rolls in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cranberries evenly over rolls; top with apple mixture. Combine apple juice and the next 5 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour egg mixture over roll mixture; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover dish, and sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until golden.

CALORIES 270 (28% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 2.9g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.2g); IRON 2mg; CHOLESTEROL 112mg; CALCIUM 103mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.9g; SODIUM 265mg; PROTEIN 7.7g; FIBER 2.4g

(59) Tex-Mex Egg Casserole

My mom has been making this for years. I've never tried it myself, but today was the magic day! I made it for a retirement brunch at work and it was a success! I love this casserole so much. Serve it with a little sour cream and mmmmmmmm a great Tex Mex breakfast! I used skim milk and next time I will try Eggbeaters just to see how that works. If you try it, please tell me what you think!

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Tex-Mex Egg Casserole

8 eggs
2 c. milk (counting liquid from Rotel)
1t. salt
5 slices of bread cubed (a good layer on bottom of pan)
2 c. grated cheese (I use cheddar.)
1 can Rotel

Cube bread and place in bottom of a 13 x 9 dish sprayed with cooking spray. Drain Rotel liquid into a 2 cup measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 2 cups of liquid. Beat eggs, liquid mixture, and salt together. Spread drained Rotel over bread layer. Sprinkle 1.5 cups of cheese over bread. Pour egg mixture over that and top w/remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350° for 30-45 min. until lightly brown on top. (The bottom tends to get too dark if left too long.) Serve with sour cream as a topping.

(37) Healhty Pumpkin Pancakes

This recipe is one that I feel 'eh' about. I was prepared to LOVE them, but I didn't. They were very dense and I think that was part of the problem. In my mind, pancakes should be light and fluffy. We ate them, but I won't repeat this recipe as is.

Does anybody have a pumpkin pancake recipe that they love? Healthy or not, I'd love to try it, so please email me or post them in the comments!! Thank you!

PS: I think my whole wheat flour has gone bad. Maybe that was part of my problem? Who knows?!

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Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
SERVES 16
Source: Recipezaar

2 cups whole wheat flour (I use whole wheat white flour)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I use Splenda Brown sugar baking blend)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cups nonfat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons olive oil (so much better for you and doesn't affect the flavor)
1 cup canned pumpkin

1. Mix all the dry ingredients well.
2. Mix all the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients until there are no clumps.
3. Cook on medium heat until the edges look dry, then flip.
4. Remember, these pancakes will be dense and thick. This is how they are supposed to turn out.
5. Super good with REAL maple syrup!
6. Enjoy!

PS: The notes after ingredients are from the original recipe poster, not me.