Saturday, December 20, 2008

Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole with Ruby Grapefruit on the side

Sometimes it is nice to have a delicious breakfast, that you can prepare the night before, that will feed a number of people. All you have to do is pop it in the oven and you have a great breakfast, in a short amount of time. I made this breakfast casserole for a weekend breakfast and it was so, so easy to put together. I made it even easier on myself by using Jimmy Dean's Fully Cooked Turkey Sausage Links, which I buy regularly for my children. I just sliced them and threw them in with the bread cubes we had leftover from making our Thanksgiving stuffing. Since grapefruit is a readily available fruit this time of year, it is a nice addition to any breakfast, but you can jazz it up with this quick and easy raspberry sauce. The raspberry sauce could also be made ahead and kept in the fridge overnight. If you are expecting holiday guests, this would be an easy way to keep everyone happy in the morning!





Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole from Cooking Light
8 ounces ciabatta bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used leftover homemade bread cubes from Thanksgiving)
Cooking spray
1 pound turkey breakfast sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's Fully Cooked Turkey Sausage Links)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used mozzerella)
2 large eggs1 (8-ounce) carton egg substitute
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 400°.
Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until toasted.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Combine sausage, bread, and onions in a large bowl. Combine milk, cheese, eggs, and egg substitute in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to bread mixture, tossing to coat bread. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Uncover casserole. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Sprinkle with parsley; serve immediately.
Ruby Grapefruit from the Black Book
1- 10 oz pkg. frozen raspberries
1-3 tsps sugar
3-4 grapefruit
In a small dish, thaw raspberries in the microwave, until completely defrosted. Put them in a blender or food processor with 1 tsp of sugar and process, until smooth. Taste and add a little more sugar, if needed. Press this mixture through a sieve and discard the seeds.
Halve the grapefruit and remove the sections. Place the sections in bowl and drizzle the raspberry sauce over top.
Coming Up on Monday- Greek-style Stuffed Pepper and Greek WonTon Cups

9 comments:

Prudy said...

I needed this post! I was going to make 3 quiches for the Laurels tomorrow morning, but I'm fizzling fast. I think I'll make your casseroles. How many cups of bread cubes do you estimate? Thanks!

Unknown said...

I love making a warm breakfast. How much did this make?

Gigi said...

This sounds like a great Christmas morning breakfast. Especially since it can be made a head of time. Happy Holidays!

Cathy said...

This might well be our Christmas morning breakfast, Mary Ann. I wanted a make ahead casserole, and I love the sound of this one. The fully cooked sausage makes this one extra appealing to me! Oh, and your grapefruit looks great, too! Thank you for this post!

The Blonde Duck said...

I always worried Cooking Light was too yuppie, but you've convinced me with this casserole to get a subscription!

Aggie said...

Ok, this looks so perfect. I have to make this ... I've always wanted to make a breakfast casserole but have been freaked out about all the fat and calories, love that this lighter version!! And that grapefruit! Wow! Love this Mary Ann!!

Marie Rayner said...

That casserole looks delish Mare!!! I love overnight casseroles. I MISS JIMMY DEAN SAUSAGE!!! I sure wish we could get it here. Sausage over here is good, but not the same . . . sigh . . . I wish I could eat grapefruit. Your ruby grapefruit looks so delicious. Sadly it contradicts one of my medications so I cannot eat it, but I do love it!

Chef Jeena said...

Looks delicious and the grapefruit looks so colourful. :-)

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