March 17: Happy St. Patrick's Day - Breakfast

Last night, I threw together an asparagus/mushroom strata.  It is in the oven as I type.  I couldn't find a recipe that was exactly what I wanted, so here is what I came up with:

Asparagus Baby Bella Strata
Makes 4 servings

• 2 Thomas' Whole Grain Light English Muffins, split
• 1 lb asparagus, woody ends removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 5 baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin
• 4 eggs*
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 cups evaporated skim milk
• 1 tsp ground mustard, dry
• salt & pepper to taste

Spray an 8"X8"X2" pan with cooking spray. Split English muffins and place in bottom of baking pan.  Sprinkle with asparagus and baby bellas.  In a small bowl, mix eggs, milk, evaporated milk, mustard, salt and pepper until well blended.  Pour over English muffins.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350F.  Uncover and bake strata for 45-50 minutes until knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes to finish cooking before serving.  Makes 4 servings.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 7

March is birthday month in our lab with four March birthdays.  Yesterday, the guys brought a cassata cake in to celebrate the first birthday.  This morning, I am making gluten-free egg-free blackberry muffins to celebrate the next as there are some serious allergies in our lab.  I developed this recipe to deal with all the varied allergies.

Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Blackberry Corn Muffins
Makes 12 servings

1/4 C melted butter*
3/4 C GF flour blend
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C cornmeal*
1/2 C + 1 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 C milk
1/2 C yogurt
1/4 C canola oil
3/4 C fresh blackberries

In a large bowl, combine gf flour, baking powder, cornmeal, sugar and salt.  In a small bowl, melt butter; add milk, yogurt and oil and mix well.  Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until well blended.  Split blackberries between lined muffin wells.  Then split batter as well.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until muffins are lightly browned.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value:  5

Note: these muffins could be made further allergen free by using soy based products in place of the dairy.

*CSA ingredients