Yet another Breakfast Casserole - for the Creative-at-Heart

[ellemenno]

I used to make a breakfast casserole ages ago before starting this WOL that called for bread. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to find anything to compare, nor would anything be so filling.

I was wrong.

I found a recipe in The Ultimate Low-Carb Diet Cookbook by Donna Pliner Rodnitzky called "Eggs and Italian Sausage Casserole" that I modified even the first time I tried it.

This particular recipe called for the eggs to be layered and not beaten. I wasn't sure I would really like that, since I was needing a change from the every day egg as it was, so decided to mix everything together in a manner much like my old breakfast casserole.

The basic recipe I use now follows:

1 dozen eggs
1 cup sour cream
Dash whipping cream
Small chunk of cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs shredded cheese, separated
Various meat and veggies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9"x13" pan with non-stick spray. Spread one pound of cheese (any kind, really) on the bottom. Beat eggs together and add in sour cream, whipping cream, cream cheese, and spices. Add meat and veggies. Pour over cheese. Spread remaining pound of cheese on top and bake roughly 30 minutes or until set.

I have made so many combinations of this I can't keep track of them all.

Meat options: Breakfast sausage crumbled and cooked is good, as is bacon that is crumbled and cooked. Also, cubed ham makes for a good meat filler. I'm sure there are other options, but these are the choices the SO and I prefer for breakfast.

Veggie options: Mushrooms! Can't get enough mushrooms, really!! I know they're not a veggie, but we have to include them somewhere, right? Fried onions work well, especially green onions. Fry them for just a little release on the flavor before adding to the mix and they're a wonderful addition. We've also added spinach (especially to the ham casserole) as well as red and green bell peppers, broccoli, and zucchini.

Cheese options: We will try just about any combination of cheese and have found that swiss is a bit too strong to be in the casserole alone, although it is good with ham and spinach along with a little dill and mustard for flavoring. I think his favorite combo of cheese is Monteray Jack, Cheddar, and Mozzarella, which words perfectly fine for me.

Spice options: I normally don't change up the spices in this too often since I do use this as a breakfast food and I don't know many people who want that garlic breath to linger all day. Sometimes I will toss in dill and mustard, sometimes a little sage and rosemary. I try to let the combination of veggies and meat to flavor the dish.

:rheart:

[amyp]

Yum! I made this last night using cubed ham, sharp cheddar, a blend of Italian cheeses, spinach, and mushrooms. I could eat it all day!
It took a little longer to cook all the way so I just covered it with foil and stuck it back in for another 20 min. of so. Next time I'll prolly use less cheese(feeling a little guilty about all that cheese, plus the cost!) but other than that I'm sticking to this great recipe!

THANKS!

[mlsbkp]

This sounds great. Can't wait to try it!!

[sonnofa]

Does this breakfast casserole tend to reheat well over the course of a few days? I made a different recipe a while back and the eggs had a rubbery texture to them.

[Mossling]

THANKS! I think I just found my Christmas morning casserole!

Jude

[Jo-Ann 2]

Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I used a mixture of 5 year aged white cheddar (which is wonderful stuff, it's expensive but you need only about 1/4 the amount for the taste), some mozz., and just plain cheddar. For my veg.'s I followed your suggestion of peppers but used a small orange pepper, I fried the green onions as you suggested and the mushrooms, these were a great addition. I really liked the taste that the sour cream and the cream cheese gave, another great combo. Finally, I used more whipping cream, but thats because I wasn't paying close enough attention.
My husband said it was delicious and that it would go great with steak for a supper as well.
This is a great addition to my recipe collection, I usually try a recipe and if I like it I print it out, this is definitely "the print out recipe," I have been searching for.
Thanks again.
Jo-Ann 2 :wave:

[ellemenno]

This really does seem to reheat well. Since it's just my boyfriend and me, we tend to make this maybe once a month and then eat it over a period of a week. It's very simple to take to work for a quick breakfast.

[curly]

ok, i love the ease of a breakfast casserole, especially since i am getting sooooo sick of scrambled eggs. however, i am looking for a way to make the carb count on this lower.

i made it tonight (though i havent tasted it yet, will do tomorrow) with only 1lb of cheese. that seems to be fine, plenty of cheese for me, and that knocked off about 2 grams of carbs per serving. that got me down to 6 per serving (i made 8 servings from the pan) but that's still awful steep when i'm on induction and only have 20 for the day.

but i'm wondering now: is the cream cheese necessary? could the sour cream be reduced? could the cream be left out altogether?

i guess i could also do no veggies, which would reduce the carbs, but i like veggies. :)

i'm a pretty brave cook, but i dont have alot of experience with these kinds of recipes, so i'm not sure what impact removing some of the ingredients would have.

thanks in advance! :)

[Jo-Ann 2]

Use a sharper cheese like sharp cheddar, and you could use less,( I use a 3 or 5 year aged, Black Diamond makes one and so does Balderson, just ask at your deli they can help you) , this is good with ham or bacon, the veg's like green onion, mushrooms and peppers can be less and you still get the taste. I've tried it without the whip cream it gets really rubbery when you try to reheat it. The cream cheese adds to the creaminess of the quiche. I'm sure you could half the sour cream though.
I've made something similar to this. It makes two quiches.

Two Quiche Recipe

1 lb bacon cooked to crisp, crumble and spread on the bottom of two dishes
sprinkle with green onions
2 cups of grated aged cheddar (1 cup for each dish)

14 large eggs beaten add
1 cup of whipping cream, stir (if you beat this, the consitancy changes)
pinch of cayene pepper

Pour evenly into the dishes
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then check, if the center is firm to the touch then it is done, if not check every 5 minutes.

This is a good quiche for induction I think. It is not as creamy as the breakfast quiche that started this thread but I hope it helps bring the carb count for you.
Jo-Ann 2

[curly]

joann, thanks so much! i'll try your recipe next! what size pan do you use? i was thinking a 9" round cake pan?

the good news is, the casserole turned out delicious, and it reheated SO well this morning. i was really pleased. i decided to eat only half of my serving (1/16th of the recipe) and then take my vitamins, drink my water, take my fiber, etc. i'll save the other half for later if i get hungry. if that works out, it could be more ok.

i was also thinking of just reducing the liquid portion of the recipe by a third or fourth. like 9 eggs instead of 12, 3/4 of the sour cream, etc. and still use the same amount of meat, cheese etc. i think that could have an impact on the carbs, without sacrificing having a delicious filling breakfast.

i'll let you know how the quiche turns out! :)

[Jo-Ann 2]

Curly!!!!
I use glass 9 inch pans, this way I can see if the edges are getting too brown I can turn the heat down a bit to finish the cooking (can you tell I have an old oven), I find if you run a knife around the edge after it comes out of the oven it keeps it from cooking more.
Glad I could be helpful. For your suggestion of less liquid, what you are really doing is making this less quiche and more additions, if you can understand this. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can tweak it anyway you want because in the end this has to be a quiche you want to eat and that you can fit into your WOL. I know the feeling of not wanting to look at another egg, but they are inexpensive compared to other protien sources. So count out the carbs you want and put together a quiche that fits the count, have some fun.
Jo-Ann 2

[curly]

joann, thanks again! i was actually thinking of modding lmno's recipe. thanks for the encouragement to modify! :)

[ellemenno]

My recipe started out as a mod!! My best recipes are modifications of others!! Please, modify, modify, modify!! It's the best way to learn what works for YOU!! :)