Tasty Tuesday: Vegetarian Spinach, Artichoke, and Feta Breakfast Casserole

Eric and I don't really do anything special for Valentine's Day. Neither of us hate it or anything ... We just prefer to spend our time and money celebrating birthdays and our wedding anniversary. We also always go out for a nice dinner on New Year's Eve, but that's kind of a random tradition we started a few years ago because it seemed like a good excuse to try a new restaurant. (And because we like food, obviously.)

That being said, this year we decided to make a couple of really good meals at home. If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen our Valentine's Day dinner:


Eric made the coffee crusted steaks and grilled asparagus, and I made the red garlic mashed potatoes. They're so unhealthy (hello, entire stick of butter and heavy cream!), but they're my absolute favorite type of mashed potatoes. We don't make them often, but when we do, you better believe I eat the shit out them!

But I'm getting sidetracked ... Those potatoes aren't the focus today.

Today I'm sharing the meal we made for our Valentine's Day breakfast.


In an effort to combat our calorie rich dinner (complete with a bottle of wine and brownies and gelato for dessert), we decided to stick with a healthier breakfast.

This breakfast casserole is beyond easy to throw together, and, if spinach and artichokes aren't your thing, it's pretty versatile. I think I'll probably play around with this basic recipe in the future, but this time I mostly stuck with the original recipe (with a couple of small changes).

Vegetarian Spinach, Artichoke, and Feta Breakfast Casserole

Adapted ever so slightly from a recipe on Skinnytaste.

Ingredient List:

• 1 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and with all excess liquid squeezed out)
• 1 13.75 oz. can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup green onions, diced
• 8 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk (I used 1%.)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 cloves garlic (or, if you're lazy like me, the equivalent of jarred, pre-minced garlic)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Italian Medley

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

3.  Combine the spinach, artichokes, red bell pepper, green onion, and garlic in the baking pan, stirring several times to combine and spread the ingredients evenly throughout the dish.

4.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, sea salt, and Mrs. Dash Italian Medley.

5.  Stir the crumbled feta into the egg mixture, then pour evenly over the vegetables in the pan.

6.  Bake for 32-35 minutes (I baked mine for 33 minutes, and it was perfect), or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

7.  Allow the casserole to stand at room temperature for 8-10 minutes before cutting. 

Tasty Tuesday: Chorizo Breakfast Enchilada Stack

I really hate that I wasn't able to get a great picture of this meal because it tastes so much better than the photo below would have you believe.

I have to admit, though, that this wasn't my original vision.

When I first started thinking about some new recipes to try, I decided I would come up with a breakfast enchilada dish. Breakfast burritos are one of my absolute favorite things, so making a few simple changes to transform a burrito into an enchilada seemed like an easy and obvious thing to do.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as I initially thought.

I make enchiladas pretty regularly, and I've never had the issues I had when I was trying to make this meal. 

When I first started rolling the corn tortillas around my filling, everything was fine ... And then they started cracking and spilling shit everywhere. I made it through about 4 enchiladas before I decided I should probably rethink my original plan and come up with something else.

And so this breakfast enchilada stack was born.

Like I said, it's not the prettiest dish. The corn tortillas weren't immune to cracking even after I decided to stack them instead of roll them. I made a ton of filling, so it's kind of spilling out the sides (and I still had some left over that I used for burrito bowls!). And I can never seem to make any avocado sauce look appetizing in pictures (even though it always tastes amazing). 

But you know what? I'm proud of this meal. I'm proud because I came up with a recipe using my knowledge and experience, and, when it didn't work out the way I wanted it to, I managed to figure out a way to save it. 

Is this the best food picture I've ever shared on my blog? Absolutely not. Hopefully you can overlook the less than perfect photo, though, and see this meal for what it is: spicy, flavorful, filling, and delicious.

Chorizo Breakfast Enchilada Stack

A Divulge and Indulge original recipe. (Sauce adapted from a recipe on Gimme Some Oven.)

Ingredient List:

• 0.75 lb chorizo sausage
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 4 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into very small (about 1 inch) chunks
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 6 eggs
• 1 tbsp milk (I used 1%.)
• 1 medium jalapeño pepper (You don't need to chop this since it will be going in the food processor, but if you don't want the sauce to be very spicy, you should cut it enough to remove some of the seeds.)
• 2 avocados
• 1 lime
• 2 tbsp low fat margarine or butter (I used low fat margarine.)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream (I used low fat, and it worked well.)
• 15 corn tortillas (soft taco size)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (I used Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican blend.)
• 1 tsp cilantro
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 tsp black pepper, divided
• 4 tsp garlic salt, divided

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  

2.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

3.  Add the diced potatoes and red onion to the skillet and season with 2 tsp garlic salt and 2 tsp black pepper. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes and onions have softened a bit and the potatoes start to brown.

4.  Crumble the chorizo sausage into a separate medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until completely browned.

5.  Once the potato/onion mixture and chorizo sausage have finished cooking, mix them together in a large bowl and set aside.

6.  Wipe out the large skillet that previously held the potato/onion mixture, spray with cooking spray, and place back over medium heat.

7.  Crack the eggs into a medium dish with a lid (I usually just use a Tupperware dish), and add the diced red bell pepper, sea salt, and remaining 1 tsp black pepper. Cover and shake vigorously, then pour the mixture into the large skillet.

8.  Pour the milk into the egg mixture and continue to cook over medium heat, scrambling with a spoon or spatula. 

9.  Once the eggs have finished cooking, transfer the egg mixture into the large bowl with the potato/onion mixture and chorizo sausage. Stir to combine and set aside.

10.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan.

11.  Add the flour, then slowly pour in the chicken broth, stirring well to get rid of any lumps.

12.  Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Allow the sauce to simmer for approximately 5 minutes, stirring often.

13.  Add the sour cream, cilantro, and remaining 2 tsp garlic salt to the sauce. Stir well to combine.

14.  Add the avocados and jalapeño pepper to a food processor, blending until fairly smooth. (It's okay if there are some lumps at this point.)

15.  Slowly pour the sauce into the food processor, blending with the avocados and jalapeño pepper until smooth and creamy. (Be very careful blending hot liquid in a food processor! Make sure you open the lid regularly to allow heat to escape!)

16.  Squeeze the juice from the lime into the sauce, and pulse a few more times until everything is thoroughly mixed.

17.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

18.  Place 6 corn tortillas across the bottom of the pan, then cover with about 1 1/2 cups of the filling from the large bowl, about 1/2 cup of the Mexican blend cheese, and about 1/2 cup of the avocado cream sauce. (These amounts are approximate. I didn't actually measure out how much I used between each layer, so just use your best judgment.) 

19.  Stack 3 corn tortillas across the center of the filling/cheese/sauce mixture, and add more filling, cheese, and avocado cream sauce.

20.  Place the last 6 corn tortillas across the top of the center layer and finish off with the remaining cheese and avocado cream sauce.

21.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese has completely melted.

I know this probably looks like a lot of ingredients and a lot of work (and it kind of is). But trust me ... It's well worth it! If you're also a huge fan of breakfast burritos, you should definitely give this a try!

Tasty Tuesday: Sausage, Onion, Pepper, and Tomato Frittata

If you've read any of my recent posts, you've probably seen this one, which is basically a summary of all the delicious (and usually fattening) food Eric and I consumed at various points between Christmas and New Year's Day.  If you read that post, you probably remember this picture of the brunch we made for ourselves on New Year's Day:

This picture really makes me want a mimosa.

Today I want to share the recipe for the frittata we made that morning.

Frittatas are awesome because they're relatively inexpensive to make and easy to throw together.  They're also incredibly versatile ... If the ingredients we used don't sound good to you, you can always use this recipe as a basic guideline and add whatever you like.

I'm still not an expert at making things look pretty, but this didn't look too bad.  I'm sure I'll get better one day.

Sausage, Onion, Pepper, and Tomato Frittata

Adapted from a recipe on Skinnytaste.


Ingredient List:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 5 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup white onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 large sausage links, casings removed (I used chicken sausage with spinach and feta, and it was delicious)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar Jack cheese
• 1 tomato, sliced into rings
• 2 tsp sea salt, divided
• 2 tsp black pepper, divided
• Fresh avocado for serving (optional)

The contents of my skillet prior to adding the egg and cheese mixture.

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Heat the olive oil in a 10 inch skillet.  Crumble the sausage into the warm skillet and cook until browned.

3.  Add the diced white onion, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper.  Cook until the vegetables have slightly softened.

4.  While the vegetables and sausage are cooking, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, cheese, 1 tsp sea salt, and 1 tsp black pepper in a medium bowl.

5.  Once the vegetables and sausage have finished cooking, pour the egg and cheese mixture into the skillet.  Be sure to cover all of the vegetables and sausage!  (You may have to tilt your skillet a bit to make sure everything is completely covered.  If you don't have to do this, you're probably better at pouring things evenly than I am.)

6.  Place the sliced tomatoes in a circular pattern across the top and season with the remaining sea salt and black pepper (1 tsp each).

7.  When the edges begin to set, move the skillet into the oven.  (This should only take about 2 minutes or so, so make sure you keep an eye on it after you've added the eggs and tomatoes!)

8.  Bake the frittata for 15-18 minutes, or until completely cooked through.

9.  Top with fresh avocado, if desired.

We cut our frittata into 4 pieces, but you could cut smaller pieces if you want.  It reheats surprisingly well, so don't be concerned if you have leftovers!

I would like to note that we bought the eggs used in the frittata at Whole Foods.  They were cage free brown eggs, and although they were a little more expensive, I'd highly recommend using them for a frittata recipe.  Eric and I made a frittata about a month or so ago (our first time making one) with regular white eggs and it wasn't as good as this one.  Yes, it could be due to inexperience on our part, but the eggs just didn't get as fluffy or taste as fresh.  (I didn't even share that recipe here because the pictures were kind of awful.)  After making this, we determined that we'll only use cage free brown eggs in future frittata recipes.

(And no, this isn't a sponsored post ... But if someone from Whole Foods wants to send me free shit, please feel free.  I love that place and will happily sing its praises on this blog!)