Wednesday, April 10, 2013

There Is More To Breakfast Than Scrambled Eggs

Are you tired of the same-old same-old scrambled eggs every morning?  Looking for something new to spice up your breakfast?  Would you like something more filling while still being healthy for you?  Are you looking to feed a lot of people a hearty breakfast?

If you answered; “Yes!” to the any of the above questions, you may be ready to try your hand at making a breakfast casserole.

Scrambled eggs are a simple breakfast to make.  In less than five minutes, you have breakfast.  That's it.  That's great.  But that's boring.  In order to make those scrambled eggs a more filling meal, you usually add hash browns, bacon, and toast, right?  But, again, that's more of the same.  And, unless you have a restaurant style kitchen, you probably aren't going to easily get that sort of assembly line breakfast going to adequately make large quantities of scrambled eggs to feed more than a couple people, let alone a lot of hungry guests.

Perhaps you have a brunch or breakfast time party planned for a group.  If you need to prepare eggs for a large amount of people, you don't want to be standing over the skillet scrambling eggs.  Breakfast casseroles are a convenient way to cook a lot of eggs in delicious ways and serve them easily to a large group.  With a wide variety of ingredients to choose from, you know you'll be able to create a breakfast casserole that will please everyone.

You want breakfast to be filling, but not necessarily filled with fat, calories, and carbs.  Breakfast casseroles are the answer to that problem.  With an endless variety of foods to add to your eggs, you can let your imagination run wild while keeping tabs on the nutritional value.  Any combination of foods you dream up, you can probably mix together to create a yummy and healthy breakfast casserole.

For the purist who doesn't want to give up their favorite scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon breakfast, you can even make a breakfast casserole out of those ingredients.  The great thing is, you can walk away from the stove and let the oven do the cooking for you.  Enjoy that second cup of coffee visiting with your family or friends while the breakfast casserole bakes slowly and perfectly in the oven.  When it's ready to come out of the oven, you'll be ready, all refreshed and relaxed, and ready to dig in.

If you're ready to expand your horizons beyond the basics, you have a world of ingredients just waiting to entice you.  Get those eggs beaten and mix in something a little different, like fresh spinach and feta cheese, or even bleu cheese.  Try a healthy mix of tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, and broccoli, and top it off with Parmesan cheese.  Don't forget to add different meat to the mix.  Of course ham, bacon, and sausage are all classics, but what about some leftover cooked chicken, or shrimp, or even grilled fish?  A classic strata is always welcome, using ingredients such as bread, milk, eggs, cheese, and ham.  This makes a warm, wonderful, and filling breakfast casserole.  Use hearty, multi-grain breads or even bagels for more interest and texture, along with nutrition.

Are these breakfast casseroles still too tame for you?  Try a Creole breakfast casserole with spicy andouille sausage, okra, hot peppers, and a little cumin and cayenne to boot.  Or how about a Chili Con Carne breakfast casserole?  Throw together the makings for a pot of chili, mix in the eggs, top it with lots of Cheddar cheese and you've got a breakfast casserole that will delight and surprise your family.  Whatever combination you can come up with, a breakfast casserole takes the scrambled egg breakfast to a whole new level.  The possibilities are endless;  just take a look in your refrigerator and pantry for inspiration.

Many breakfast casseroles can be made in advance, put in the refrigerator, and cooked in the morning.  This works very well if you have house guests in the morning or a big gathering for brunch.  You can have the breakfast casserole in the oven cooking while you're greeting and chatting with your guests.  Nobody wants to be stuck in the kitchen trying to whip up large quantities of scrambled eggs while everyone else is enjoying their coffee and juice on the patio.  And, if you're like me, there have been plenty of times when a big bowl of scrambled eggs got cold.  Keeping scrambled eggs warm is a chore and nobody wants to eat cold dried out eggs.  You can avoid all that by making a breakfast casserole instead.

The next time you're having company over, or even just looking for a new twist on scrambled eggs, why not try a breakfast casserole?  It's the perfect way to go beyond the traditional scrambled egg breakfast in the morning and serve something inspired, delicious, and nutritious all at the same time.

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