Low-Carb Gluten Free Breakfast Bake

Every other week we receive a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box of delicious fruits and veggies from Hood River Organics.  Sometimes I have a hard time using all the box items in a timely manner, so this is a great way to use a variety of veggies at one time.  It’s always a crowd pleaser, but if you’re cooking for two (like we are normally) this freezes fairly well.  You just have to use it within a month, or so.  I usually make this with cubed bread for a strata, but it works just as well (if not better) without. 

Low-Carb Gluten Free Breakfast Bake

1 bunch rainbow chard, cleaned and ends trimmed

8 leaves Lacinato kale, cleaned and ends trimmed

½ onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 tbsp butter, divided

½ lb mushrooms, rinsed and roughly chopped

Salt & Pepper

3 green onions, sliced (whites and greens)

1 cup chopped ham (optional)

4 oz sharp cheddar cheese (2 oz diced and 2 oz grated)

12 fresh eggs

½ cup milk

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp garlic salt

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp chili powder

Butter to grease baking dish

Slice chard and kale in long, thin slices.  Heat half of the butter and olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.  When oil looks swirly and butter starts to sputter but not browning, put onion in pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, until translucent.  Add chard and kale to pan.  Season with salt & pepper.  Stir until wilted but still brightly colored and remove from heat.  Set aside.

Clean pan out with paper towel and put the rest of the olive oil and butter in pan.  Heat on medium high until swirly and the butter is sputtering, but not browning.  Place chopped mushrooms in pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, until cooked through and slightly browned on the outside.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Let vegetables cool.  You could easily refrigerate overnight at this point, if you wanted.

While vegetables are cooling, chop green onions, ham, and chop and grate cheese and set aside.  In large bowl, crack eggs and whisk with garlic salt, paprika and chili powder until combined.  Season with Salt & Pepper and stir.  Add cooled vegetables, green onions, ham, and cheese to whisked eggs and stir with spoon to combine.

Choose your baking dish wisely.  Too small and your eggs will puff up and could spill over.  Too small and you might have a casserole that’s too thin.  My dish was about 8 x 12 and it was perfect, but you could use 9 x 13 just the same. 

**Very Important** Grease your dish with butter thoroughly.  Cleaning out baked on eggs from a pan is no fun. 

Pour egg mixture into greased baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.  Place in refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place baking dish in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, though this time could vary based on the size of your dish.  A good rule of thumb is to start checking at about 40 minutes.  If it looks set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, your breakfast bake is done.