Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
I have not only heard that all of my life but continue to say the same thing to the students in my class. Scientific studies have shown that breakfast is good for the brain and makes you healthier, happier and less stressed.
The word breakfast literally means to break your fast. After not eating for about eight hours, your energy is low. It is also the reason that some people wake up grumpy — they are hungry.
As a child, I detested the thought of eating breakfast. My mama would fix me a piece of toast in the morning in hopes of getting some type of nourishment in my stomach. I would tear the toast into several pieces to make it appear as if I had eaten something. After I left for school, she would put all the pieces of toast back together like it was a real-life puzzle. I hadn’t eaten a bite!
My husband told me that when he was young, he would mix all his breakfast foods together on his plate and pour ketchup on top. His older brothers and sisters would stack cereal boxes and anything else they could find to shield the sight of what “baby brother” was eating. To this day, he will get up and eat cold fish, spaghetti or any other type of meat directly out of the refrigerator. He knows not to let me see it, or I immediately become nauseous.
Here are a few interesting facts I have discovered about breakfast.
• Orange juice is the preferred breakfast beverage for kids. About one-eighth of the sodas sold in the United States are consumed at breakfast.
• One-third of all the eggs people eat are consumed for breakfast.
• Almost all households with children have ready-to-eat cereals. Most families have at least four different types in the cupboard. These families average about 50 boxes of cereal a year. You are less likely to catch a cold if you eat cereal. Breakfast cereals are the third most popular item sold at grocery stores, following milk and sodas.
• Pancakes are also a favorite. The record for pancake flipping is an amazing 349 flips in two minutes. The largest pancake ever flipped was 50 feet across. The largest pancake breakfast was held in San Antonio, Texas, in 2001. If you stacked up all the pancakes that were served, they would tower more than two miles high.
• National Waffle Day is Aug. 24 each year. This is the anniversary of the first U.S. patent for the waffle iron.
• The largest breakfast ever served was in Taiwan in 2001 when 23, 391 people were fed, which included 1, 247 gallons of milk and 4,232 pounds of bread. That is more than 2,800 loaves of bread and enough milk to fill 40 bathtubs.
• The world’s largest omelet contained 160,000 eggs and had an area of 1,383 square feet. The people of Japan gulped this down in 1994.
When discussions about breakfast come up, I always tell people, “We just aren’t breakfast eaters.” Steve finally told me that if I would actually fix breakfast, they might eat it! If I don’t eat it, I don’t cook it.
Here are some great breakfast-inspired dishes that I enjoy — just later in the day. Hope you enjoy them. Thanks for reading.
HAM AND CHEESE STRATA
9 large eggs
2¾ cups milk
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
12 slices white sandwich bread
1½ cups diced ham (about 1 pound)
1½ cups shredded Swiss cheese (you may use any type you desire)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup minced green onion
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 3-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Place six slices of bread evenly on the bottom of prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half the ham. Top with half of the Swiss cheese. Top with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with half of the green onion. Pour half of the egg mixture over the top. Repeat layers beginning with bread and ending with green onion. Pour remaining egg mixture over layers. Cover and refrigerate for at least eight hours. Let stand for 30 minutes before baking. Bake for one hour, covering with foil if needed to prevent excess browning. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOM QUICHE
1 (9-inch) pie crust
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
½ (16-ounce) package ground sausage, cooked and crumbled
5 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake prepared pie crust for eight minutes. Set aside. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, heat butter and saute onions and mushrooms for about five minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in cooked sausage. Spread this mixture into pie crust. In a large bowl, combine eggs and cream, whisking until combined. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour eggs mixture over sausage mixture in pie crust. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cut into pie wedges to serve.
CHICKEN, MUSHROOM AND ASPARAGUS STRATA
¼ cup butter
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (8-ounce) package fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
8 large eggs, slightly beaten
3½ cups milk
8 cups cubed sourdough bread
2 (5-ounce) package shredded Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a 3-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a large skillet, melt butter and add asparagus, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for six minutes. Remove from heat, and add chicken, salt and pepper. Set mixture aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and milk together until combined. Set aside. Place half the bread cubes evenly into prepared baking dish. Top with half of the asparagus mixture. Sprinkle evenly with one package of the Swiss cheese. Pour half of the egg mixture over layers and repeat. Cover and refrigerate for at least eight hours. Let stand for one hour before baking. Bake for one hour to one hour and 15 minutes or until center is set. Place foil over the top to prevent excess browning. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
• Contact Lee Ann Flemming at lafkitchen@hughes.net.
