Yay/Nay Meals.......

Broccoli-cheese Brunch Casserole - our dish from from the oven!

About a year ago I decided I was tired of feeling like I was serving the same things all the time to my family. I don't know about you, but there are times when it seemed like you had a "rotation" of familiar foods and it seemed like the pattern would only be broken when you went out to dinner. One day I decided that we would really start trying out new recipes from cook books, backs of packages, magazines, word of mouth and the only rule was we had to try it at least once. When the meal was done, the family would vote whether to add it to our book of favorites or to never again make such a horrible dish. The kids have affectionately named this process "Yay/Nay Meals".

This past weekend, I decided to change up our meal and made a breakfast brunch I found on the back of a package of Kraft Shredded Cheeses. The recipe was called Broccoli-cheese brunch casserole and we followed the recipe but added our own twist to it. We added Canadian Bacon and chopped onions to our version making it more like a Western omelet. Also I made a smaller casserole by splitting this recipe in half but this is the original recipe. I can tell you that it was VERY filling and would be perfect for a breakfast when guests are visiting. Of course, having 2 kids that enjoy cooking and preparing food, this is age friendly from tots to teens. Smaller fingers can help layer ingredients and bigger hands can help chop and prepare the veggies, or whatever you decide to add to your casserole and if you are a really adventurous Mom, the kids can even help crack and whisk the eggs! (Please note, this suggestion does not make me responsible for any kitchen disasters messes which may occur in your house!)

Broccoli-cheese Brunch Casserole
Prep: 20 min. Total: 1 hour Makes: 12 servings

What you need:
18 slices of white bread, cubed
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
3 cups KRAFT shredded mild cheddar & Monterrey Jack cheese
1 1/2 cups of small fresh broccoli florets (I used frozen; tasted great!)
8 eggs
3 cups milk

Make it:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Layer 1/2 each of bread, peppers and cheese, in greased 13x9 baking dish, top with broccoli. Repeat layers of bread peppers and cheese.
3. Beat eggs and milk with whisk until blended; pour over ingredients in baking dish.
4. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until center is set. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

I think I'm going to be including some recipes on here from time to time. I think everyone enjoys something different and we really enjoyed this one. I'm thinking it may be pulled out for a camping trip with buddies sometime or a holiday breakfast meal.

In the words of Julia Childs......... Bon Appetite!