Saturday, February 27, 2010

Breakfast for Dinner

I know we aren't the only family that sometimes likes to have breakfast foods for dinner. Sometimes, though, I am surprised by the people who don't consider breakfast a good alternative to dinner. After doing some searching for a particular recipe, I've come up with the following menu:

Roasted Tomato-Pasta Fritatta with Parmesan Toast from Weight Watchers Down to Earth vegetarian recipes cookbook

Simple spinach salad (okay, so we probably wouldn't normally have spinach salad for breakfast, but it sounds good anyway) with grapefruit again (see my Superbowl Sunday dinner post)

Banana Pecan Pancake Bake from the 2006 Pillsbury Bake-Off contest

So, if you are wondering which was the recipe I was searching for, it is the pancake bake, which is truly decadent and not at all weight watcher friendly. However, it makes 12 servings; 1 serving is 9 points, so if I have half of a serving, I have 4.5 points to count. I can do that. I made this recipe for a work holiday breakfast one year and it is tasty. It's pretty easy too since it uses frozen pancakes.

Here's the frittata recipe:

1 garlic clove, halved
4 (1.5 oz) slices Italian bread
2.5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
5 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices, about 2.5 pounds
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
7 large egg whites, lightly beaten
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup cooked spaghetti (about 5 oz uncooked pasta), cooked without salt or fat
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon olive oil

1- Rub garlic on one side of each bread slice, and place slices on a baking sheet; sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until lightly browned; set Parmesan toast aside.
2- Preheat oven to 450.
3- Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 40 minutes, turning after 20 minutes. Peel and discard skins.
4- Combine remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, salt, hot sauce, egg whites, and egg yolks in a large bowl; stir well. Add tomato slices, pasta, and basil; stir gently. Set aside.
5- Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over low heat. Add egg mixture, and cook 15 minutes or until set (do not stir). Wrap handle of skillet with foil; broil 3 minutes or until top is set. Cut into wedges. Serve immediately with Parmesan toast.
Yield: 4 servings (1 serving = 1 wedge and 1 slice toast) for 8 points each

Some adaptations I am thinking of making include using canned whole peeled tomatoes, drained instead of fresh tomatoes since this is not tomato season and lately they've been a bit mushy. I'm also thinking of adding artichokes to the mix.

Originally, I had thought I would make spaghetti pancakes from Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian cookbook, but I decided to make that another day. I also considered artichoke quiche from the WW Down to Earth cookbook or Christmas morning fritatta from Taste of Home's Treasury of Christmas Recipes. But, in the end I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with the menu I listed above. We'll see. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

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