So if you are a mom, raise your hand if you’re feeling the itch of school days coming to an end??!!! I am a mom but of older kids so they are all out of school and 2 are out of the house so I’m not feeling it quite the same way some of you might be feeling it BUT I do work at an elementary school as a para-educator and omg — these children are definitely feeling the end of the school year hype! I love what I do and I really do end up feeling really close to most, if not all of the kids I’m in contact with on a daily basis so it’s really a bitter-sweet time of year. Most, especially the 5th graders (big men on campus) are just done! And they are testing the limits so it’s been an exhausting past couple of weeks and will continue to be for the next few! I am so thankful for a healthy lifestyle that honestly gets me through tough days where I can see other teachers are literally at their wits end!
I digress and move on to the reason for that little blurb. I often bring up prepping and because I prep, it does cut out a lot of stress and frustration when you get home from work. Most often, just trying to figure out what to make for dinner is the most stressful and then if you’re not prepared for it, you may not have the ingredients on hand. So make it easy on yourself and prep a few things over the weekend and take the guess work out of a few nights dinners. This goes for breakfasts too! Think about having breakfast all ready to go — just heat and eat. This time of day is equally as stressful when you’re trying to get a healthy meal on the table for you and your kids, get them out the door to school on time, and get yourself into work without losing your mind. Right??? The recipe I’m sharing today can totally be made up ahead of time and just waiting for you to grab and warm. Double the recipe and you’ve got yourself covered for a handful of days, depending on how many you serve and what you decide to make the quiche in.
Sometimes my recipes simply come out of the fact that I need to use up a food! Well, let’s be real — I think a lot of them happen because of that reason. I had a spaghetti squash sitting on my counter and I kept meaning to make it for dinner but never did. I decided to at least cook it up so it was prepped for a later meal but then it suddenly occurred to me that I could just toss it in a bowl with some eggs and other ingredients and make an egg bake out of it!!! Yep. And that’s what I did.
And being the frugal person that I am, I decided to stuff one into a bell pepper that I had leftover from the weekend and it was soooo good! I think I’ll always stuff them into peppers from here on out but if you’re not a bell pepper fan, they are equally as good just as is in a ramekin.
I did add cheese to the ones I made here but you can omit that if you’re not doing any dairy at all. I have been dabbling with dairy a bit and I can tolerate some cheese. I only get Kerrygold so not sure if I’m handling it because of the quality or because I am able to tolerate cheese all together. I haven’t tested the waters with other brands so that’s unknown for now.
These were specifically made up for breakfast but I am certain these would be an ideal ‘meal on hand’ for an easy dinner/lunch as well. Why not? I see food as food – it really shouldn’t matter when we eat them. I just felt like it was “breakfast-y” because of all the eggs but hey, if we can eat steak for breakfast then why not eggs for dinner? No matter when you decide to make these up, it’s hearty and delish. My hubby couldn’t stop talking about how good they were so there’s that! 😛 (He’s my worst critic and the best cheerleader so I definitely take what he says to heart). Let me know about any modifications you might make to these. I am always open to switching things up and letting others know too! Sharing is caring <3
- 1 medium spaghetti squash, cooked*
- 4 slices of bacon
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 chopped onions
- 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1 cup roughly chopped mushrooms
- 2 large handfuls of spinach
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese/divided (if desired)
- Salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Ghee, coconut oil or butter for greasing
- •4 - 1 cup ramekins
- •4 bell peppers
- •3 - 2 cup ramekins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large pan, cook bacon til crisp. While bacon is cooking, dice up the bell pepper and onions, as well as roughly chopping up the mushrooms.
- Once bacon (reserve bacon grease) is cooked, set aside on paper towels to cool.
- Add the onions and bell pepper to the bacon grease and cook/toss for 4ish minutes, then add mushrooms. Let that go for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss in spinach to wilt. Turn flame off.
- While the veggies are doing their thing, whip up your eggs in a small bowl. Chop bacon into bits. And shred the spaghetti squash strands with a fork.
- To save dishes - if your pan is big enough, you can add the spaghetti squash to the pan of veggies, combine ...then add eggs and bacon bits. If using cheese, add 1/4 cup as well. If your pan isn't big enough for all the ingredients, add all to a large bowl to incorporate. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.
- Using a large serving spoon, evenly distribute between your choice of greased ramekin or bell peppers (cut tops off and discard the seeds). Top with remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.
- Place the ramekins or bell peppers on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
- *Cook squash ahead of time to save time! Cut squash in half, spoon out seeds etc., drizzle a little avocado or olive oil on flesh side, lay cut side down on baking dish and bake at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. Alternatively, microwave for 10 minutes by placing seeded squash, flesh side down on a large plate with water on plate.
