Breakfast Mini Quiches

These are a snap to make and the variations are endless. Depending on the specific ingredients, they clock in at around 55 calories apiece. I use them for a quick breakfast on those hurried mornings (my kids LOVE them), or have even served them at a Mothers' Day buffet brunch! They freeze and reheat well in the microwave.

Breakfast Mini Quiches

-----------------------------------------

-1 pre-made piecrust (I like Safeway's brand)

-Nonstick cooking spray

-1 cup diced mixed vegetables (Whatever's on hand. I usually use mushrooms, onions, and red and green bell peppers. Asparagus with onion is also good.)

-6 slices low-fat turkey bacon or center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

-2 ounces low-fat cheddar cheese, grated (or use the pre-shredded stuff if you are in a hurry; just make sure it is reduced fat)

-3/4 cup nonfat liquid egg substitute

-salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Using a small cookie cutter (1.5" in diameter), cut circles from the pie crust. When you have cut as many circles as you can fit, re-roll the leftover crust and keep cutting circles until you have 36 in total. Spray 2 mini muffin tins with nonstick spray. Set a dough circle into each cup. Gently press down with fingertips.

2. Spray a small skillet with nonstick spray. Sautee the vegetables for 2-3 minutes or until softened. You may need to drain them in a sieve for a couple of minutes if your vegetables are watery. Distribute the vegetables evenly atop the prepared pie crusts in the muffin tin. You will use about 1/2 tsp. for each.

3. Divide bacon evenly among each, followed by the cheese.

4. Using a glass measuring cup with a spout, add salt and pepper to egg substitute and whisk until combined. You may also add fresh herbs if you like. Carefully divide the egg substitute among the 36 muffin cups. Don't worry if some spills underneath the pie crust in your cups - it doesn't matter. Cups should be from 3/4 full to all the way full.

5. Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, or until egg looks completely set and edges start to brown. The egg mixture may rise significantly during the course of baking, but it will shrink back down once you remove them from the oven.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Pudding

My kids would eat cereal every morning for breakfast if I let them. But that just gets on my nerves for some reason. I like to mix it up - sometimes we do eggs and toast, sometimes oatmeal, sometimes smoothies.

I recently had some bananas that were getting a little overripe, and some big slices of Whole Wheat Nature's Pride bread that needed using. I decided to make a bread pudding using those. I had never made bread pudding before, so I perused MANY recipes (both online and in my Joy of Cooking cookbook) to get ideas.

This is what I came up with. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture or figure out nutritional stats. But it was good! The bananas were sweet and went well with the brown sugar, and the chocolate chips made it feel decadent - like dessert for breakfast!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Pudding
-----------------------------------------------------------------

8 slices whole wheat bread, torn into bite-size pieces
3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1 can Evaporated Milk (I used fat free)
1 cup water
2/3 cup packed brown sugar (could use substitute if available)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
3 large bananas, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease an 8x8 baking dish (I used nonstick spray).

Mix together egg substitute, milk, water, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Add bread pieces and stir until combined. (I used clean hands for this step).

Place half of bread pieces in pan; top with banana slices. Cover with remaining bread, pouring any leftover liquid on top.

Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until edges start to brown and egg looks set.

Allow to set for a few minutes before cutting into slices. Top each serving with a small handful of chocolate chips.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Holy Huge Breakfast, Batman!

This morning I was SO hungry when I woke up, I was tempted to just grab whatever was ready to shove into my mouth. That would usually have equated to packaged cookies, muffins, or the like. But not any more! I forced myself to cook (and used up some leftovers in the process. I love that).

I didn't take a picture. I forgot because I was so hungry.

Fajita Huevos Rancheros
------------------------------------------
2 tsp. olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 roma tomoto, chopped
1 cup cooked Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup Chicken Fajita Chili (leftovers from 4th of July BBQ)
1 and 1/2 cups Egg Beaters
3 ounces Cabot 75% Fat Free Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Sautee the veggies in the olive oil until just softened. Set aside. Mix the chili and beans and warm in the microwave until steaming. Scramble the egg substitute in the pan from the veggies. Then assemble your breakfast in a large, shallow bowl in layers: first the rice, then the chili/bean mixture, topped with the veggie mixture and eggs. Sprinkle cheese on top. Makes 3 servings.

Couldn't calculate accurate nutrition stats because I didn't make the chili and had to guess on the points...but I guessed based on WW food listings. One serving of this is about 6 points. You can even add a small La Tortilla Factory Tortilla for 0 extra points!

Recipe: Black Bean Polenta "Pizzas" with Eggs

This breakfast has a little of everything - healthy fat, a serving of vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and protein! That means it will keep you full for a while. This is one of those weird recipes - if I put the ingredients in the WW point tracker individually, I get 4.5 points. If I add up all the stats and put it into the point finder that way, I get 7 points. I'm going with 5 personally!



--Black Bean Polenta "Pizzas" with Eggs--

-3.6 ounces (or one serving) polenta (I used Food Merchants' Organic Green Chili and Cilantro flavor, available at Whole Foods Market or Cost Plus)
-1/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 very small vine-ripened tomato, diced
-1 piece Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese Snacks, shredded
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-1/8 tsp. ground cumin
-1 tsp. olive oil
-1/4 red bell pepper, diced
-1/2 small yellow onion, diced
-1/2 cup fat free egg substitute (I use the Safeway brand)
-1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
-1 La Tortilla Factory whole-wheat, low-carb soft taco size tortilla

Slice polenta into 4 rounds. Spray a small baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; place polenta rounds on it and bake at 350F for approximately 10 minutes, turning once. Mash black beans and tomato in a small bowl; salt and pepper to taste. Divide bean mixture evenly atop polenta rounds. Sprinkle each round with a pinch or two of cheese. Bake for 6 more minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small nonstick skillet until shimmery. Add onions; cook 2 minutes or until softened. Add bell pepper, salt and pepper to taste, and ground cumin; cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until bell pepper is just softened. Add egg substitute; cook and scramble 2-3 minutes or until firm.

Plate the polenta "pizzas" alongside eggs. Sprinkle all with chopped cilantro. Sprinkle any remaining cheese on eggs. Warm the tortilla for a few seconds and serve it alongside. (I like to make a little burrito with some of my eggs and the tortilla.)

Nutritionals: 349 calories, 10g fat, 13g fiber, 26g protein

WW Points: 7

Recipe: Breakfast Polenta with Eggs and Vegetables

I had a number of ingredients in the fridge that needed to be used - an open carton of Egg Beaters, some fresh Basil, zucchini, flat-leaf parsley. I whipped up this breakfast this morning in about 15 minutes. The kids and the husband all ate it. Although my 7-year-old didn't love it and took his time eating it, he didn't complain or make faces. So I'll consider that a win. :) This recipe could easily be halved or doubled depending on the number of people who are hungry. It would make a nice healthy brunch!

--Breakfast Polenta with Eggs and Vegetables--

Makes 6 servings

-3 tsp olive oil

-1 small onion, halved and slivered

-2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

-1 cup canned tomato puree (I used Progresso Brand)

-3 Tbsp chopped fresh Basil

-1 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf Parsley

-1 Tube fat-free Polenta (I used Food Merchant Organic Basil Garlic Polenta - 5 servings to a tube)

-3/4 cup Nonfat Milk

-3 cups fat-free Egg Substitute (I used Safeway's "Best of the Egg")

-1 ounce Shredded Parmesan Cheese

-salt and pepper to taste

-1 Tbsp shredded Basil

Sautee onion and zucchini (with salt and pepper to taste) in olive oil over medium/high heat until softened and zucchini starting to brown. Transfer vegetables to a small sauce pan (reserving the oil in the pan); add tomato puree and chopped herbs. Stir and simmer over low heat. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a medium sauce pan over low heat until just warm. Slice the polenta into rounds and add it to the milk. Stir to soften. Use a potato masher to mash the polenta; stir until milk and polenta are combined and smooth. Turn the heat to lowest setting and stir occasionally to keep from scorching. Scramble the Egg substitute in the same pan in which the vegetables were cooked (the remaining olive oil in the pan will help keep them from sticking). Salt and pepper to taste. Place 1/6th of the polenta in a shallow bowl; top with 1/6th of the scrambled "eggs", 1/6th of the vegetable/tomato mixture, and sprinkle on 1/6th of the cheese. Garnish with a few shreds of fresh Basil.

Nutritionals: 195 calories, 3.6g fat, 2g fiber, 18g protein

WW Points: 4

Recipe: Breakfast Tostada

My husband made tacos the other night for dinner for himself and the kids - one of their favorite dinners! We get the 80/20 ground beef at Costco and their big cannister of Taco Seasoning. The only other requirements here are tortillas or taco shells and then we serve it up with whatever other condiments and veggies we have around (shredded cabbage or zucchini instead of lettuce, no problem).

There wasn't enough taco meat left over for another dinner and it had been sitting in the fridge for a day or two. I have a "thing" about throwing away food (especially in this economy, hello!) so I decided to use the rest. Yesterday I made another mock "Meximelt" with La Tortilla Factory tortilla, some Cabot 75% Fat Free Cheddar, and Trader Joe's pico de gallo (they should win an award for that stuff, I swear). This morning I wanted a high-protein breakfast (I try to alternate protein breakfasts with high-fiber breakfasts like oatmeal), so I decided to use the little tiny bit of remaining taco meat with some eggs. The tostada was bigger than I thought it would be, and very tasty!

--Breakfast Tostada--

-1/2 cup Egg Beaters or other nonfat egg substitute

-1 La Tortilla Factory low carb whole-wheat tortilla, soft-taco size

-3/4 ounce Cabot 75% fat free cheddar cheese, shredded

-3/4 ounce taco meat made with 80/20 beef

-2 Tbsp. fresh pico de gallo

Scramble the egg substitute in a non-stick skillet. Meanwhile, set pico de gallo in a small sieve to drain out excess liquid (or you will wind up with a soggy tostada). Warm tortilla in microwave about 20 seconds. Top with scrambled eggs, taco meat, cheese, and pico. You'll want a fork and knife for this as there is too much filling to pick up and eat!

Nutritionals: 200 calories, 7g fat, 700mg sodium, 7g fiber, 28g protein

WW points: 4