Wow! It’s been some time since my last blog post, but I’ve returned to start sharing recipes and stories once again.
My life has changed quite a bit over my five-year hiatus from Game Day Grub. My brother got married and the Ingersols happily added Michelle to the family. I lost my last living grandparent when Grandma Jacque passed away last November. And a couple of years ago, I decided it was well past time that I return to school to finish my bachelor’s degree in Political Science – and I gleefully graduated last December.
But most significantly and drastically, I met someone special at Konica and Vik’s wedding back in September of 2012. One of the groomsmen was Vik’s college roommate and a farmer in Illinois. We hit it off, did the long distance thing for a while, and now I live on a farm in rural Illinois with Craig and our dog and cat, Lily and Don Henley. Guess you never know what life might throw at you.
- July of 2014 – My first summer on the farm with Craig, Lily and a baby Don Henley in my arms.
I’ve gained new friendships here in IL. I miss my San Diego friends terribly but have seen many of them on visits here and there. And I am lot closer to Kansas City, so I get to spend more time with my family now.
In fact, just last weekend Mom and Aunt Karen took the train up to stay on the farm for a short weekend trip. Their Amtrak experience wasn’t the best and neither was the bitterly cold weather, but we still had a grand time eating out, watching Dateline, and shopping – lots of shopping. You’re welcome, Geneseo stores. Several times during their visit, my aunt asked me when I was going to start writing on my food blog again. So Aunt Karen, this one’s for you.
I hadn’t really planned out any specific breakfast meals to make while they were staying with us. But while lounging, drinking coffee, and watching Sunday Morning, I remembered I was supposed to play the good hostess. I took a mental inventory of ingredients I had on hand and whipped up this quick and easy Greek Breakfast Casserole. So what better recipe to share.
It’s the perfect dish to have on Saturday or Sunday for early morning soccer – something five years ago I never thought I’d write, but hey, life is full of surprises and that’s the current reality in our home – or when football season starts and you are feeling brunchy.
The casserole is ridiculously simple to make. You mix together half the ingredients in a bowl.
Throw the other half of the ingredients in a casserole dish, reserving some feta and green onions to be used later. I used my 2.5 qt dish, but you could easily use an 8×8 casserole dish instead. (At the last minute, I tossed in some chopped tomatoes, which are not pictured below because I forgot to take another picture after I added them. Whoops.)
Pour the egg mixture over the ingredients already in the casserole dish. (There you are, tomatoes!)
Top with reserved feta.
Bake for 20-25 min at 375 degrees or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. My oven tends to take longer to cook things than recipes call for, so I went the full 25 minutes. Yours might take less, so use your own judgment.
Top with reserved green onion, and voila! You’ve got a Greek-inspired breakfast casserole to feed a crowd. Look at all the gorgeous veggie colors.
Greek Breakfast Casserole
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Yields: 6 servings
WW Totals: 2 Freestyle Points per serving
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 tablespoon of oregano
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tablespoon of skim milk
3 tablespoons of sliced olives
½ package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, liquid squeezed out
½ cup reduced fat feta, divided
¼ cup of crumbled bacon
¼ cup of chopped tomato
¼ cup of chopped green onion, divided
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 2.5 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine olives, spinach, ¼ cup of feta, bacon, tomato and 1/8 cup of green onion in the bottom of the casserole dish and mix.
- Beat eggs and whisk in oregano, garlic powder, sea salt, pepper, and milk in a medium-sized bowl. Pour egg mixture over the top of the ingredients already in the casserole dish. Using a spoon, gently smooth the egg mixture to evenly distribute. Top with remaining ¼ cup of feta.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until egg is just set and knife comes out clean from the center. Let it stand at least 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle remaining green onion over top when serving.