Southwestern Breakfast Casserole

If you are a fan of breakfast casseroles (which I am) and a fan of Southwest flavors (which I am), you'll probably like this recipe (which I do!). A typical breakfast casserole usually contains eggs, bread, milk, some sort of breakfast meat (ham, sausage, bacon) and cheese. This is another variation, but more unique than any other variation I've ever cooked. It clearly has that Southwestern-y, Tex-Mex flavor . The corn muffin component is reminiscent of the flavor of corn tortillas in the casserole, and cumin would be the flavor that comes to mind when you think of tacos, chili, or enchiladas. The Rotel and hot sausage add quite a kick. Not so spicy or hot that I was uncomfortable, but definitely present. Some people I know would prefer it more mild (in which case you should use plain diced tomatoes and mild sausage), and some people I know would prefer it even hotter (dice up a jalapeno pepper and add it to the mix). I would probably give this a "medium" rating. A nice dollop of sour cream, or even more gourmet: cilantro-sour cream, would finish a serving off nicely, adding yet another component of Southwestern flavor, while helping to temper some of the heat.

SOUTHWESTERN BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Cooking Light (December 2000)

1 8 oz. package corn muffin mix

3 cups cubed white bread

8 oz. hot turkey Italian sausage*

1 c. chopped onion

2 1/2 c. fat-free milk

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (such as Rotel), undrained

1 (8 oz) carton egg substitute**

Cooking spray

1 cup (4 oz.) reduced-fat shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese***

*I used 1 lb bulk hot italian pork sausage

**I filled a measuring cup up with real eggs to the 8 oz. mark, then whisked them a little with a fork.

***I used 2 cups cheese and it was NOT reduced fat (I grated an 8 oz. block of MJ cheese and used it all!)

1. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions. Cool. Crumble muffins into a large bowl; stir in cubed bread. Set aside.

2. Remove casings from sausage (unless you bought bulk). Cook sausage and onion over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain.

3. Combine milk, cumin, pepper, tomatoes, and egg substitute (or eggs); stir with whisk until well blended. Add sausage mixture and 1 cup of the cheese; stir well.

4. Spread into a 9x13 pan. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Bake casserole for 20 minutes. Add remaining cup of shredded cheese to top. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

YIELD: 8 servings

Obviously since this recipe comes from Cooking Light, the whole point of the turkey sausage, egg substitute and lower portion of cheese is to reduce fat and calories. The whole point of me making the recipe was to try a really different variation of the breakfast casseroles I like so much. If you make CL's version, each serving contains only 271 calories (25% of which are from fat). If you make my version...well, maybe you should just eat half as much!