Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

1 small onion, diced
1/2 each poblano pepper and red bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
16 ozs tater tots
3/4 c shredded pepper jack cheese
12 eggs, beaten
1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Bake covered at 375° for 25-30 minutes, then uncovered another 5 minutes or until browned on top

Southwestern Egg Salad

This very flavorful twist on egg salad has just a tinge of heat. Use more jalapeño if your family likes it spicier. 

6 eggs
1 jalapeño chile (roasted if you have it), seeded and minced
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Greek yogurt
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 handful cilantro, chopped

Place eggs in a saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and let stand 20 minutes. Drain and cover with tap water. Peel once cool enough to handle.

Cut eggs in half. Chop whites; place yolks in a serving bowl. Mash with a fork. Add jalapeño, sour cream, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, cumin, salt, pepper and turmeric. Stir until creamy and well blended. Stir in cilantro and reserved whites. 

Mushroom Cheddar Breakfast Bake

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bunch scallions, greens only, or 3/4 c chopped arugula
12 eggs
2/3 c white whole wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 c nonfat cottage cheese
3 ozs sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms; cook over high heat without stirring until mushrooms give up their liquid. Stir; add soy sauce and thyme. Cook until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are browned. Stir in scallion greens or arugula. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with balloon whisk attachment, beat eggs until lemon-colored and tripled in volume, about 3 minutes. Add flour, baking powder and salt; mix until smooth. Stir in cottage cheese.

Butter a 9"x13" casserole dish. Spread mushroom mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Top with cheddar cheese. Pour egg mixture atop. Bake in a preheated 350 oven, covered, 35 to 40 minutes or until cooked through. 

Christmas Miracle Breakfast Casserole

I have been trying to get my kids to eat breakfast casseroles for years. YEARS. Nobody wants to be in the kitchen cooking on festive holiday mornings, and these "take it out of the fridge and pop it in the oven" casseroles promise to solve that problem, but not if your family uniformly turns up their noses every time you present one. So I sat down with my kids and we looked at recipes. Lots and lots of recipes. We picked and chose our favorite ideas from various recipes, and I assembled the resulting concoction. It's not that different from other breakfast casseroles I have made for them in the past. But they ate it. Both of them. And they enjoyed it. Talk about a Christmas miracle. 

Edited to add: I made this for Thanksgiving 2015, cooked it in a 6-quart oval slow cooker for 10 hours on LOW, and woke up to a perfect breakfast.

1 26-oz bag frozen hash browns (I use Trader Joe's)

1 Tbsp butter

1 c diced onion

1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced

12 eggs

1/2 c milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ancho chile powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

12 ozs grated pepper jack cheese

Butter a 9x13 casserole dish or the ceramic liner of a 6-quart oval slow cooker. Set aside.

Heat butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add onions; cook until softened and beginning to brown. Add mushrooms in batches, stirring as needed. Add spices; saute just until fragrant. Turn off heat. 

While vegetables cook, beat eggs and milk together. Place one-third of hash browns in bottom of prepared casserole. Top with half of sauteed vegetables, then a little less than half of cheese. Repeat this process with one-third of hash browns, the other half of sauteed vegetables, a little less than half of cheese, and the rest of the hash browns. Pour egg mixture atop vegetables, poking gently as needed to coat evenly. Top with the rest of the cheese.

I baked this in a casserole dish immediately after assembling it. It took 45 to 50 minutes at 375 degrees, the first half covered. This was much longer than I'd anticipated. Next time I'm going to try to cook it overnight in my slow cooker, which has a "keep warm" feature once the set time has elapsed. I'll start with 6 hours on HIGH, and we'll see how it goes. 

Christmas Morning Strata

This breakfast casserole comes together easily the night before. In fact, not only can you put it together in advance, you are supposed to! In the morning, remove it from the refrigerator and preheat the oven. Then take a quick break from presents to pop it in to bake. Right around the time your family frenzy slows down, and people start asking what's for breakfast, it will be ready.

1 Tbsp each butter and olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced1 large bunch kale, stems removed, cut in chiffonade
6 c stale sourdough bread, cut in 1" cubes
8 eggs2 c milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 c shredded Italian cheese blend (mine has mozzarella, asiago, fontina and provolone)
1/2 c shredded Pecorino Romano or other hard Italian grating cheese

Butter a 9"x13" or deep 10"x10" casserole dish. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove to a large (5-quart) bowl. Add mushrooms in batches; cook in a single layer until beginning to give up their liquid, then stir. Remove to bowl. Add 3 tablespoons water; stir to bring up browned bits. When water boils, add kale; cover skillet and cook until wilted. Remove kale to a cutting board; finely chop. Add to bowl along with bread cubes.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Add milk; whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over bread-vegetable mixture. Layer ingredients in casserole dish as follows: 1/3 of bread-egg mixture, 1/2 of Italian cheese blend, 1/3 of bread-egg mixture, other 1/2 of Italian cheese blend, final 1/3 of bread-egg mixture, top with Romano. Cover with foil; refrigerate 8 hours or overnight to allow bread to soak up custard.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350. Remove casserole from refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes to allow to come to room temperature. (Reserve foil.) Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, until nicely browned, then cover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until cooked through in the middle. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

Roasted Chile Frittata with Hash Brown Crust

I roasted several big trays of bell peppers and poblano chiles earlier in the week, making tonight's dinner very easy.

3 c peeled and shredded leftover baked potatoes
olive oil spray
salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 c chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp crushed dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 roasted bell pepper, chopped
1 roasted poblano pepper, chopped
2 ozs cotija cheese
3 slices veggie bacon, crumbled
4 eggs
1/2 c milk

Preheat oven to 425.

Spray a 9" pie pan with cooking spray. Press potatoes into pan and up sides to make a crust. Spray again with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt. Bake 15-20 minutes or until beginning to brown.

Meanwhile, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add spices; saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in bell peppers; remove from heat. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Set aside.

Sprinkle cheese over baked crust. Top with bacon, then sauteed vegetables. Pour egg-milk mixture atop. Reduce heat to 375; bake 20-25 minutes or until set and beginning to brown.

Southwest Breakfast Flatbread

Many of my favorite neighborhood restaurants have jumped aboard the trend of fancy flatbread offerings. This morning I found myself hankering for one, but also felt like eating an egg. I bridged the gap with the below recipe - come to think of it, less a recipe than an instructional manual, as I used what I had in my refrigerator. Feel free to customize it according to your specifications.

2 eggs
1 lavosh flatbread, approx. 8"x12"
1/2 c non-chunky salsa of your choice
3 Tbsp cooked black beans
1/4 c breakfast sausage of your choice (my family likes Morningstar)
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
1 handful heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 c grated Mexican cheese blend
1 Tbsp cotija cheese
1 Tbsp shredded fresh cilantro

Scramble the eggs. Spread salsa on lavosh to within 1/2" of edges. Sprinkle on scrambled eggs. Add black beans, sausage, green onion, tomatoes and cheeses.

Broil until cheese is melted and edges of lavosh are browned. Sprinkle with cilantro. Cut in wedges or squares (I like to use my kitchen scissors for this). Serve with fruit. Serves 2.

Kerala Egg Curry

We had this for breakfast this morning with dosas. A nice change. Would also be good with chapatis or rice.

2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
6-8 curry leaves
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste or 2 tsp each minced ginger and garlic
1/2 to 1 tsp masala spice blend
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup light coconut milk
6 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and halved lengthwise
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add mustard seeds and cover. Once seeds have spluttered, add curry leaves and stand back. Then add onion, ginger-garlic paste and season with salt and pepper. Stir, turn heat down to medium-high and cook until onions are browning. Then add spices. Stir and cook 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir well. Set hard-boiled egg halves on top, spoon a bit of sauce over, turn heat down to medium, and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes until sauce is thickened. Stir gently and season with salt and pepper. Serves 4-6.