If you have a few favorite breakfast casseroles, you may be wondering how you could serve them as a wonderful dinner. You don't just want a breakfast repeat – you want to transform your morning dish into a delightful evening meal.
A hearty breakfast casserole is a treat when you have an easy going, lazy morning to relax. If a lazy day isn't in the cards for you, but you have a hankering for one of those filling and frugal breakfast casseroles you love, try making one for dinner. You can enjoy the same warm feelings you get when eating a breakfast casserole, and, at the same time, get away with being more creative and adding ingredients not necessarily considered breakfast food.
Traditional breakfast casseroles are made with sausage, bacon, ham, eggs, bread, cheese, and milk. You can start with this basic recipe and add or substitute just about anything to wish to make a savory casserole that's quite delicious for dinner.
You can add more meat than you would normally use for breakfast. Or, you can use another kind of meat altogether. Think about dinnertime ingredients you may forget about during the morning hours. How about trying shrimp, scallops, or even lobster for a real treat? Chicken, turkey, and duck add an evening feel to your morning dish. Use up leftover grilled fish like salmon for an intense flavor surprise. Saute firm tofu in soy sauce and olive or sesame oil for a vegetarian dish. Remember, think breakfast casserole with dinner ingredients.
Once you've chosen the meat, fish, poultry, or other protein, you'll be ready to decide on the other ingredients to complement the flavors. If you're cooking dinner for adults or young people with mature palates, think about adding a variety of ingredients like onions, celery, garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, roasted Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, jalapenos, artichoke hearts, okra, kale, snow peas, leeks, fennel, bok choy, or even Greek olives. The combinations are endless.
Perhaps you'd like to give your breakfast-turned-dinner casserole a Mexican flair by adding chorizo, carne asada (spicy grilled strips of beef), or taco seasoned shredded pork or chicken. You can add a variety of spices and peppers to make your casserole flavorful. Use well seasoned rice, beans, and tortillas as the base and you have created an entirely new twist on a classic breakfast casserole. Think about the ingredients in your favorite huevos ranchos and tweak them to fill your casserole dish for a spiced-up evening meal.
When you're looking at your traditional breakfast casserole, and you're longing for Italian spaghetti for dinner, go ahead and combine the two! Turn cooked pasta into the base of the casserole by mixing in eggs and Parmesan cheese. Fill up the baking dish with this pasta-egg-cheese mix, then pour on marinara sauce mixed with a combination of ingredients you like in a spaghetti dinner. Include ingredients like oregano and basil, Italian sausage, mushrooms, and olives. Cover with more Parmesan cheese and let it all bake together and you have flipped an egg breakfast casserole into a spaghetti dinner just by replacing the bread with pasta and adding lots of Italian dinner favorites.
Even a sweet custard style breakfast casserole can get turned on its ear and become a dinner casserole. Apples and pecans go beautifully with big chunks of sweet sausage. Add more interest with dried cranberries or golden raisins. Use multi-grain bread and the casserole instantly becomes hearty.
The main thing to remember is you can get creative and try pretty much anything that sounds good to you. Look at the meals you like for dinner and use your imagination putting them together with your basic breakfast casseroles. This is how some of the great recipes are created!
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