Sunrise Breakfast Bake

[Gwennaford]

Hi Gang!  I was searching the boards for a Let's Do LunchTM "breakfast bake" to take to church this Sunday for the covered dish breakfast after the Easter sunrise service.  Many of the other ladies are bringing their versions of the traditional recipe (you know the one where you soak bread, hash browns, sausage, cheese and onions overnight in the milk & egg custard?) Those warm and savory dishes will be hard for me to resist if I don't bring anything to eat except cold fruit!  I couldn't find one, so I made up a recipe heavily borrowing inspiration (stealing ) from Roger's Sinful Sausage!, Mary's Crustless Quiche Florentine, and LRittle's Breakfast Omelet. 

I'm asking if everyone will look over the following recipe and tell me HONESTLY if you think you would eat and enjoy it.  I'm open to any and all suggestions for changes/substitutions.  I haven't tested it yet and I don't want to poison anyone!    I'll make a scaled down recipe this evening to test it, but I wanted to post it right away to give everyone time to provide feedback before this weekend.  I'm hoping to introduce the church fellowship to LDL & this might be a good start!

Sunrise Breakfast Bake

4  large Eggs
2  4 oz. cartons Egg Beaters
½  cup Skim Milk
1 15-oz. can Butter Beans (or 1 ½  cups cooked) rinsed & drained
1  tsp. Dry Mustard
1  cup Onion, finely diced
1-2 cloves minced Garlic
1  small can mild Green Chiles, diced
2  Tbsp. low fat grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
2  tsp. Mrs. Dash original flavor (it has the garden veg flavors in it)
1  tsp. dried Herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)
Salt & Pepper to taste

A double batch of Roger’s Sinful Sausage! (recipe follows) cooked until nice & brown, and crumbled into large chunks

Your choice of one or more of the following:
· a 10 oz. pkg. frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed DRY
· ½ pound Broccoli florets, cut into small bite-sized pieces
· 1 Tomato, seeded & diced
· ½ cup sliced Red Bell Peppers
· 1 cup cooked Beans, (any kind) rinsed and drained
· ½ cup Frozen Peas or Corn kernels

4 slices Borden's Fat Free Sharp Cheese, cut into ½" strips (optional)
1 Tbsp. Italian Flat-leaf Parsley, coarsely chopped, for garnish

1.  Preheat the oven to 375° F. Spray a 9 x 13" baking pan or flat 2 qt. glass casserole with olive oil spray.  Set aside.
2.  In a blender, food processor, or large bowl with a hand-held blender, totally liquefy the first five ingredients.  Stir in the onion, garlic, chilies, grated cheese, & seasonings.  Set aside.
3.  Arrange cooked sausage and veggies evenly in casserole dish.  Stir the egg mixture again and pour evenly into casserole, being careful not to disturb meat & veggies.
4.  Bake uncovered 50-60 minutes until lightly browned, and the center is almost completely set.1  Arrange sharp cheese strips over the top, turn off oven heat, and return to oven for 5-10 minutes to melt cheese.  Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.  Garnish with parsley.  Serves 6-8 (or more, depending on how many veggies you used!)

1 Can be made ahead to this point, cooled, covered & chilled overnight.  To serve, microwave, covered for 10 minutes at 70% power.  Top with cheese strips and microwave again for 1 minute to melt cheese.  Garnish and serve.

Sinful Sausage!
8 oz. ground skinless chicken breast
½ cup drained & mashed pinto beans
1 egg (use Eggbeaters)
2 tsp. Morton's Sausage and Meatloaf Seasoning Mix2 (if your local grocery store doesn't have this, you can order it...630-595-8919)

2 or substitute 1 tbsp. parsley flakes, 1 tsp. sage, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper

Beat egg with fork.  Mix in chicken, beans & seasoning.  Let set to thicken.  Make into patties and fry on grill or pan sprayed with olive oil...makes 4 patties.  ENJOY! -- Roger Troy

Gwen's note: Many thanks to Roger & Anita, Little Mary, and LRittle for generously posting their recipes and inspiration for me to draw from.

[niki]

gwen...do you have access to chickpea flour?...you could make a great crust out of it...and you could opt to crumble jennie o extra lean turkey bacon in it instead of sausage........i would use regular eggs and not really worry about it(but, that is definitely your preference)...the egg is an EXCELLENT source of EVERYTHING........use fat free mozarella or cheddar as the cheese and make a quiche........whatever vegetables you like or are in season.....let me know what you make........niki

[DEBBIEWEBE]

speaking of chick peas I been meaning to ask you bean expert... I found those roasted chick peas you speak of but my problem is I found three different kinds and didnt know which one to buy.  There was yellow roasted chick peas, white chick peas lightly salted, and double roasted yellow....I was totally confused so I didnt buy any....but for my future shopping trip which would you recommend?

[niki]

the white and yellow are the same as far as flavor...the double roasted are a little too dry, so i wouldn't get those....the ones i would buy are the lightly salted ones.....how much are they a pound?

[Gwennaford]

I don't know if I have access to chickpea flour or not.  But I'm NOT a baker.  I would need you to teach me how to make the crust.  I would love that.  Thanks for suggestions.  I'll let you know what I end up taking on Sunday. 

I found roasted salted chickpeas at Athens deli & market right around the corner from DH's work, but I haven't bought any yet because proprietor was reluctant to accept debit card from DD#2.  Wouldn't surprise me if she carries the flour as well.  I would really love to find it because I'm not going to be eating corn products for a while.

[DEBBIEWEBE]

$2.99 a pound...is that a lot?

[DEBBIEWEBE]

Are the roasted chick peas what you make flour out of?

[niki]

I don't know if I have access to chickpea flour or not.  But I'm NOT a baker.  I would need you to teach me how to make the crust.  I would love that.  Thanks for suggestions.  I'll let you know what I end up taking on Sunday. 

I found roasted salted chickpeas at Athens deli & market right around the corner from DH's work...

  a greek specialty store won't have chickpea flour(or i wouldn't expect them to)i found it at a supermarket by me which specializes in health food items made by bob's red mill........indians eat roasted chick peas also...they call them chana and THEY make flour out of it...that's where i got the idea from(WHO thought i was smart enough to figure that out myself?)........you can make it by putting the roasted chick peas in a food processor or blender.....when i make a regular quiche, i use a cup of flour and a stick of butter....someone tell me if i'm wrong, but i believe that 1/4 pound of butter is 1/2 cup of oil..you could use whichever kind of oil you like and i wouldn't put it in all at once but would maybe add a little water and add as little oil as possible.....press it into a quiche pan and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes, then add the other ingredients.....
  and gwen, think about eating some fruit in the morning before you leave(OR chick peas)or in the car on the way to combat the smells of the delicious food...niki

[niki]

Are the roasted chick peas what you make flour out of?

  yes....before roger came out and told us it was alright to buy chickpea flour, i used to buy them and put them in the food proccessor...........$2.99 is about what i get them for.....they SHOULDN'T be 3-4 dollars.....but, it that's what they cost and they're the only ones you can get, if you like them, they're worth it... 

[Gwennaford]

OK Niki - I put Bob's Red Mill chickpea flour on my list.  Going shopping at the healthfood "supermarket" this weekend.  I'm really enjoying all different kinds of hot teas I can find there. (well, DD#2 finds them for me).

I've got the pie crust instructions in my recipe file & looking forward to trying it.  Does chickpea flour work like wheat flour to thicken soups & stews?  I'm not going to be using corn products for a while.

I usually eat some fruit & hot beans or lentils before I leave.  I pack a small bag of frozen grapes to have available in case somebody brings cookies or donuts to Sunday school.  In addition to the breakfast bake, I'm also taking a fruit tray to the dinner, so I will have plenty to eat. 

I am so incredibly happy with LDL foods -- the simpler the better.  Honestly, since I started LDL, there is NO food I have seen or heard about when I'm out in public that sounds any better than what I have waiting for me at home, usually a nice steaming bowl of BEANS!!   No kidding, all that sugar, starch, grease & cholesterol really turn me off. 

Having said all that, I know that a hot, savory breakfast is my favorite kind of meal, so that is why I wanted to take the breakfast bake.  It's WAY more complicated than what I usually make for myself, so it will be a splurge for me.  If I have that and some fruit & hot tea, I won't be temped by the all the other stuff.  I also want some of my friends at church who are struggling with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol to try some LDL foods.  I'm praying to get some converts to the program!

Thank you for being so sweet and caring...

[Gwennaford]

I was talking to my friend Bernie today & she said her doctor has taken away all her favorite breakfast foods because of diabetes & high cholesterol.  She said she really misses her pork sausage the most. 

WEELLLLLLL.... I had JUST finished culling all the LDL sausages recipes and variations from the boards and compiling them into one big document.  So I told her about how yummy LDL sausage is, and about all the luscious bean dishes we enjoy, and about Roger's Christian ministry AND invited her to check out the Let's Do Lunch website.  I believe she is really interested! 

So BERNIE -- If you're out there, come in & say Hi!  I'll tell her to search for her name.

[niki]

Does chickpea flour work like wheat flour to thicken soups & stews? 

  usually a nice steaming bowl of BEANS!!

Thank you for being so sweet and caring...

  using chickpea flour in soups or stews is the same as pureeing beans...so i don't waste the roasted chickpeas on that.....
  ahotbowlabeans...........just what the bean queen loves to hear.....
 
    you're ALWAYS welcome....let me know how it turns out(add a little salt too)
                                                    bq

 

[Forever Young]

Good morning,

Not sure if anyone has ever seen this or not, but I found it on another web site and thought perhaps someone might be interested in using this cookie recipe only because it illustrates a point. 

Resurrection Story Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of whole pecans
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Placee pecans in zip lock bag, close the bag, and let the children beat the bad with a wooden spoon to break the pecans into small pieces.
3.  Explain to the children that after Jesus was arrested, the Roman soldiers beat him.
4.  Let the hchildrem smell the vinegar.
5.  Put the vinegar into a mixing bowl.
6.  Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.
7.  Add egg whites to the vinegar.
8.  Eggs represent life.
9.  Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life.
10.  Sprinkle a little salt in each child's hands.
11.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
12.  Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our sin.
13.  So far the ingredients aren't very appetizing
14.  Add 1 cup sugar
15.  Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.
16.  He wants us to know and belong to him.
17.  Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until the stiff peaks form.
18.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sin have been cleansed by Jesus.
19.  Fold in broken nuts
20.  Drop by teaspoons onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
21.  Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.
22.  Put the cookie sheet in the oven and turn it OFF.
23.  Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
24.  Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.
25.  Go to bed.
26.  Explain to the children that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.
27.  Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
28.  On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.
30.  The cookies are HOLLOW!
31.  On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tumb open and empty.
32.  He has risen!  Happy Resurrection Day Everyone!

Love,
Jeanne

[Gwennaford]

OH -- Jeanne, that is so beautiful.  I'm going to pass it along to my friend Bernie.  She's in charge of children's church and this might be something she can use next Easter.  Thank you for posting it.  Even if I don't make it, it is very inspirational just reading it.

[iluvsoup]

That is an awesome devotional to do with children.  Thanks so much.  I just printed it out to do this weekend with my grandkids.

[CJ]

Jeanne, I already forwarded that recipe to about 30 of my people that have little people. I know all of my people will be thankful to you and your people. then all people will be happy people. Thanks.

[Gwennaford]

Thanks to everyone who provided input on the Sunrise Breakfast Bake.  I made some alterations to the original recipe, and the one I baked is posted here.  This time I used the sausage, broccoli, tomatoes, red pepper strips.  I will definitely try it with turkey bacon when I'm a little farther along in my weight loss. 

I took it to church this morning and, with some icy cold fresh fruit, it totally satisfied me.  Good thing, too, because they had every kind of fattening breakfast food you can name.  My DH very kindly seated me next to the pork fat, pancake, and pastry table, and put a big-old biscuit on my plate when I got to the table, because he heard they were running out. 
So I had to wear blinders, but I made it!  YAY

[Gwennaford]

OH, I almost forgot the best part!  When I was pouring the egg & herb mixture over the sausage & veggies, it smelled AMAZINGLY like pizza. 

I think if you substituted fennel seeds and red pepper flakes for some of the sage and lowfat mozzarella for the cheddar, it could easily pass for deep dish pizza.  In that case, I would also load it up with mushrooms and black olives.