Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all. According to a poll on ABC, the most popular breakfast is cold cereal. I get it. It’s easy to prepare. All you have to do is pour it into a bowl with some milk and presto! I ate cold cereal or pop tarts for breakfast for the first 18 years of my life. However, after a while, I got bored with cold cereal. I started skipping breakfast or having coffee during some free time I had during school. Breakfast started to become too much of a chore. Once the workload became too much, it became difficult to make time to eat. The lack of nutrition started catching up to me. I would have sugar crashes and fall asleep during class. It was hard to pay attention and my grades suffered.
Other options existed, like Chinese food, cold pizza, or cold canned Chef Boyardee. They became my typical college diet, along with booze for breakfast. Eventually, my gut gave out and I couldn’t eat like that anymore. I started developing a leaky gut, where my body wouldn’t digest certain foods anymore. It would be quite a shit storm the next day after eating like crap. CRAP being chemicals, refined sugars, artificial sweeteners/flavors, and preservatives.
As I got older, I realized how important it was for my gut and my health to eat more vegetables and less refined carbs. I got my ass to the kitchen and started finding ways to eat better. There was no way I was going to be able to get into the “real world” with a 9-5 job and eat the way I was. I didn’t have much time, so I used whatever free time I had looking for new recipes that I could have for multiple meals. A casserole is easy enough because you can cook it in one dish and have little mess afterward. It also makes for great freezer meals, where you can have it for a day you don’t feel like cooking.
I’ve been perfecting this recipe for years with many variations, such as my Quinoa Egg Cups. Adding salsa to the casserole gives it a more fresh taste to mask the flavor of the vegetables. Especially, if you’re someone who doesn’t like vegetables, this is a hack to help be able to eat the vegetables without wanting to spit it right out. As someone who struggled to eat vegetables for the first 21 years of my life, this recipe is something that helped me enjoy vegetables. With a bit of breakfast meat, I find this quite a well-balanced meal that I’m excited to share with you all. As a bonus, topping the casserole with mango guacamole takes this basic casserole to the next level. It is completely optional but highly recommended.
Ingredients:
8 eggs, lightly beaten
½ white onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced **
1 jalapeno pepper, diced **
½ bag of spinach, wilted
½ container (4 oz) Portobello mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
16 oz breakfast meat of choice (I used chicken apple sausage)
¼ cup fresh salsa
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. Everything Bagel Seasoning
2 Tbsp. Butter, divided
Cooking spray
Toppings:
2 green onions, sliced
1 handful cilantro
Mango guacamole
Flavor God Nacho Cheese Seasoning (optional)
For the Mango Guacamole:
3 medium-sized avocadoes, mashed
1/2 red onion, diced small
1 mango, diced small
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (** You can leave the seeds in if you like your guacamole spicy) **
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
Fresh limes, juiced (I add ¾ of a lime)
Salt and pepper, to taste
** Notes:
You can pickle your own peppers to amplify the taste. See my pickle recipe if you wish to add these to your casserole. I HIGHLY recommend it if you are a pickle lover like myself.
I also seasoned the casserole with Flavor God Chipotle Seasoning instead of plain salt, but this is completely optional.
Directions:
1) Preheat your oven to 400 Degrees F
2) Chop all your veggies, set aside
3) In a separate bowl, mix your eggs and salsa with salt and pepper. Set aside
4) Cook your breakfast meat according to the directions on the back of the package. I cooked mine in a skillet with some oil and flipped them once they were brown. Let it rest for a few minutes.
5) In a medium-sized skillet, on medium heat, add some butter. I like to use fresh herb butter because it adds another layer of flavor. ** Recipe coming soon **
6) Add your onions. Sautee until they start to brown.
7) Add your peppers and mushrooms as well as some salt and pepper. You can also add Flavor God Chipotle Seasoning or Adobo if you have that on hand. This is completely optional. Stir for another 5 minutes until everything starts to caramelize.
8) Remove from the skillet and add to your sprayed casserole dish.
9) Add a pinch more butter and add your spinach and garlic. Stir until the spinach is completely wilted. Put this in the casserole dish and give it a good stir to mix the veggies.
10) Cut your breakfast meat and put it on top of the veggies as the second layer of the casserole.
11) Last, add the eggs to your casserole. Top with green onion, cilantro, and some Flavor God Nacho Cheese Seasoning.
12) Put your casserole in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
13) While the casserole is cooking, assemble all the ingredients for your mango guacamole into one bowl (except the avocado). Add avocado as you eat to avoid it going brown too fast. That way, it will last longer. Mix until you get the desired taste.
14) When the casserole is done, top with guacamole and serve immediately. This makes for great leftovers and is easy to freeze for convenient meals later. Just reheat in the air fryer for the best results. Enjoy!
I would love to teach you how to cook this recipe from the comfort of your own home. Contact me for more details.