A Healthy Breakfast Casserole Recipe From 'Soul Food Love'
Photo: Penny De Los Santos
From Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week: Soul Food Love by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams
Breakfast Casserole
Serves 12
When I first fell in love with breakfast casserole, it was a version that contained full-fat cheddar cheese, fatty pork sausage, whole eggs, and cups of grits. It was decadent and delicious and something that just had to be eaten on Thanksgiving morning. Stripped of much of the fat, this version of breakfast casserole is different, but equally delicious—and quicker to make. Mama has served this to visiting physicians and noted black cardiologists; I serve it at Sunday dinner to musicians trying to get over their hardworking Saturday night.
Whomever you’re serving, they’ll finish it all.
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1?2 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 pound ground turkey
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 large leeks, white and light green parts, chopped and well rinsed
2 cups cottage cheese
4 ounces (1?2 cup) fresh goat cheese
4 cups tightly packed chopped fresh spinach
1 quart egg whites (from about 16 large eggs), lightly beaten
In a large bowl, mix the oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add the turkey and mix with a spatula or your hands.
Slick a large skillet with the olive oil and heat it over medium heat. Add the turkey mixture and cook until the meat is no longer pink, and a meat thermometer reads 165°F, about 7 minutes. Add the leeks and cook for another minute; then add the cottage cheese and goat cheese. Keep cooking and stirring over low heat until the goat cheese just begins to melt.
Pour the turkey mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Spread the spinach on top, and then pour in the egg whites. Use a spatula to make sure the egg whites are distributed evenly in the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the casserole until a knife stuck into the center comes out clean.
Healthy ways to start the day:
Try superfoods-packed breakfast bowls
