Breakfast in a Pan

If you will be involved in any holiday brunches this season, here’s a super easy breakfast casserole to serve twenty-four. If some of the guests have high cholesterol or blood pressure, heart problems or want to lose a few pounds, use the substitutes in parentheses. Both versions are equally tasty.

Ingredients:
14 slices white bread, crusts removed (light white bread)
14 eggs, slightly beaten (4 cups Egg Beaters with yolk plus 2 whole eggs)
1 ½ cups milk (2% milk)
1 tablespoon dry mustard
½ tablespoon dried minced onion
24 slices crisp cooked bacon, cut up (turkey bacon)*
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (low fat Monterey Jack or low fat mild cheddar)
Spray cooking oil

* Make it easy on yourself and keep your stove top spatter-free. Buy precooked bacon. Reheat according to package directions. Or “fry” the bacon in the microwave.

Directions:
Lightly spray two 8 by 12-inch casserole dishes (glass works best) with cooking oil. Lay a single layer of 7 bread slices in each pan (one slice cut in half). Whisk together eggs, milk, mustard and onion. Pour over the bread. Sprinkle bacon on top. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

Remove casserole from refrigerator for a half hour. Preheat oven to 350. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle cheese over the top and return to oven for 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

As a breakfast in itself (without a smorgasbord of other food choices), this recipe serves twelve. Each serving contains one slice of bread, 1 egg and two slices of bacon – a whole Breakfast in a Pan!

The original recipe full-size serving contains 424 calories (276 from fat). Made using all the substitutions reduces the calorie count to 308 (170 from fat).

Tags: healthy breakfast, breakfast casserole, brunch recipe, recipes, healthy diet, recipe substitutions