Spinach, Veggie and Cheese Strata

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 box (9 oz) frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
2 medium red bell peppers, cut into strips (or any color besides green pepper)
1 cup sliced leeks
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 loaf (9 oz) ciabatta or French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)**
7 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add spinach, bell peppers and leeks; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender. Remove from heat. In baking dish, spinach mixture, 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese and the bread. In large bowl, beat eggs, milk, mustard and pepper with wire whisk until blended; pour over bread. Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar cheese. Cover with foil; refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

Oven at 325°F. Bake loosely covered 40 minutes. Uncover; bake about 30 minutes longer or until top is golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

**Note-In my family we save the bread ends in the freezer to use later for french toast. They also make a great substitution for the french bread loaf in this recipe.
**Note-You may also add several cups of chopped ham to the spinach mixture for a yummy addition.

Pumpkin Pie Cake Squares

1 (18.5 oz) box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, divided
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

Oven at 350. Measure out one cup of the cake mix and set aside for later use. Lightly beat one egg, remaining cake mix, and the melted butter together. Press mixture into the bottom of a greased (and floured) 9x13" baking pan.
Lightly beat other 3 eggs, mix in pumpkin, both sugars, milk and cinnamon. Pour mixture over cake mix in the pan (this pumpkin mixture might be very liquidy. It will firm up upon cooking.)
Take reserved 1 cup cake mix and the softened butter and beat together until it forms soft crumbles. Sprinkle crumbles evenly over the pumpkin mixture in the pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Once cooled, cut into squares.

Overnight Carmel French Toast

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
12 slices bread
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 eggs
1 ½ c milk
1 t vanilla

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, heat butter and sugar stirring constantly. Once sugar is dissolved/melted, remove from heat. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with the bread. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining cinnamon. Pour over bread. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

**Note-with the carmel topping, I find this french toast sweet enough. The bread itself (if bites are eaten apart from the topping) is not very sweet. If you desire more of a sweet bread, you may add about 1/4 cup of extra sugar to the egg mixture.
**Note-While eating this, I thought it would taste delicious with apples in the carmel topping. If desired, stir in about 1 cup of finely chopped apples after the carmel has melted in the sauce pan.

Spinach and Swiss Quiche with Potato Crust

1/2 pound (Depending on the size of potatoes, 2-4) Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded**
3 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, diced
1 10 oz package of frozen, chopped spinach
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish** with cooking spray. Toss potatoes with 1 teaspoon oil and 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Press into an even layer in pie dish, up the sides like a crust. Bake until golden brown at the edges and dry, about 20 minutes. Let cool. Lower the oven to 325 degrees. Heat 2 teaspoon oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, garlic, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until any water from the spinach evaporates; 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, milk and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Spread the spinach mixture in an even layer in the pie dish, and top with an even layer of the cheese. Carefully pour in egg mixture. Bake until firm around the edges and egg is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Let cool, and serve warm or at room temperature.

**Note-you can use whatever potatoes you like-I used regular baking potatoes (Russet) and they worked perfectly.
**Note-You can also use an 8x8 square baking dish.
**Note-although this recipe seems complicated, it is fairly simple and very very tasty. It is nice that the crust is made out of potatoes, which are a vegetable. So you are still getting a "carb" crust but it's a vegetable also!

Crockpot Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 cup instant rice
2 eggs
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup hot water
1 package dry onion soup mix

Mix ingredients, form into a round loaf in a crock pot that has been completely lined with aluminum foil. Cook 6-7 hours on allow. Remove carefully.

**Note-my mother made this recipe quite often as a child, and to be honest I never liked it. I haven't tried it since childhood. I have included it, however, because it is my great-grandmother's recipe. My mother was very close to her grandmother and this is one of the only, if not the only, tangible thing I have of my mother's memories of her grandmother. So I have included it for that reason.

Potato Hash and Cheddar Omlet

1 cup shredded potatoes
4 eggs. scrambled
2 cups baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mist a pan with cooking spray. Add potatoes and cook 5-10 minutes (until tender), turning once (do not stir so that the potatoes develop and "crust" like hash browns). Add eggs, spinach, salt and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes, or until egg is done and spinach wilted. Top with cheese. Serves 2.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

1 16oz. package ground breakfast sausage (or if you are feeling really time crunched precooked sausage links or patties, equal to 16oz)
12 eggs
1 can your favorite condensed cream soup
1 soup can of milk
1 green pepper chopped
1-32oz bag frozen tater tots
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Oven at 350. Brown the sausage and green peppers in a skillet and then drain the fat and set aside. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Beat together in a large bowl the eggs, cream of mushroom soup and milk. Stir in the sausage and peppers. Pour mixture into the baking dish.
Add tater tots and lightly mix in so tots are covered in egg mixture. They will naturally float to the top and brake apart during cooking. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50min. Sprinkle with cheese and bake an additional 10min to melt the cheese.

**Note-this is not a traditional "healthy" meal or vegetarian. I added it, however, because it's a very fast and tasty dish. Perfect for a holiday meal with the family or brining to a breakfast or brunch potluck.

Huevos Rancheros

4 eggs
2/3 cup refried beans
2 tortillas
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup salsa

Prepare eggs how you like (fried, scrambled, etc.) Heat beans in microwave for 30-45 seconds. Spread tortilla with beans, top with eggs, cheese and salsa. Serves 2.

Florentine-Scramble Breakfast Sandwich

1/2 tablespoon oil
2 cups baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
2 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 whole grain English muffin
2 slice cheese (Swiss suggested)

Sautee spinach and garlic for 1 minute, or until wilted. Add egg and scramble with spinach, garlic season with salt and pepper. Divide in 2 and serve on English muffins. Top with cheese. Serves 2.

Italian Onion and Potato Omlet

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion diced
1 potato grated
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
4 eggs

Saute potato, onion and seasoning in oil for 5 minutes. Add eggs and cook 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired or serve with ketchup. Serves 2.

Breakfast Fajitas

½ c sliced bell peppers
¼ c sliced onion
1 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 small tortilla

Saute peppers and onions with spices 3-5 minutes. Set aside. Scramble eggs. Wrap in a tortilla with veggies and serve.

**Note-this serves one but you can easily adjust it to fit your family.

Asparagus and Potato Fritata

Makes 3 entrees, 4-6 servings each

2 lbs fresh asparagus, cleaned, ends snapped off, and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
2 lbs potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces and boiled til soft (about 10 minutes)
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

On hand for each entree:

6 eggs
½ c cream or milk
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ c grated Parmesan cheese

1. Boil asparagus 2-3 minutes in water (You can add it the last few minutes with the potatoes)
2. Cook onion in skillet about 5 minutes, until soft, adding garlic last minute or two.
3. Divide mixture among 3 freezer bags, freeze. (If not freezing, skip this step and jump down to step 2 below)

To cook one entree:

1. Thaw completely.
2. Oven at 425.
3. Pour filling into a greased 8x8 dish.
4. Mix egg mixture and pour over top. Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through and top is golden brown.

**Note-you may substitute any variety of veggies for the asparagus