From the pantry: Breakfast for dinner, made ahead, made easy

Breakfast for dinner is a welcome alternative on a cool fall evening.

Like pulling on a warm sweater, breakfast for dinner is a comforting warmth that fills your belly with savory satisfaction. For our family, breakfast for dinner is also about the ease of preparation. The easiest dinner for breakfast is a casserole.

These can and sometimes must be made a day ahead to allow the bread to soak up the eggy mixture.

My go to breakfast casserole is a frittata casserole layered with hearty greens, sausage and Monterey Jack cheese.

Frittatas are typically started on the stovetop in an oven-safe pan and finished off in a hot oven. But when you are looking for an easy, fix-it-and-forget-it meal option, the frittata casserole is the answer. It is baked in a cake pan and spends no time on the stovetop yet still results in a puffed, moist egg cake with a crusty exterior.

You can easily swap out meats and veggies. And while it doesn't have to be put together the night before, you can assemble it ahead of time to bake the next day or bake it the evening before and warm it up for dinner.

Serve with toasted bread and fresh fruit and voila, you have breakfast for dinner.

While it bakes, put on that warm sweater and bask in all your newly found free time.

Sausage Frittata Casserole

Serves 6 to 8 people

• 12-ounce bunch of a hearty green (such as chard or kale), stems and ribs removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 8 ounces ground pork sausage
• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
• 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Spray an 8-by-8-inch glass cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In medium pan, heat salted water to boiling, add greens and cook until slightly wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove and drain and then chop finely.

In large saucepan over medium heat, pour in the olive oil and once warmed, add in the onions and cook until softened.

Add in the sausage and sauté until browned and cooked through completely. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and basil. Stir in the cheese and greens. Lastly, add in the onion and sausage mixture.

Pour into pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes until slightly brown around the edges and set in the middle. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Source:

Adapted from June 2010 Bon Appetit Magazine