Today’s post is dedicated to Brooke, a mom in my mom’s group who recently had a new baby boy! I’m not sure who started the idea of “mama meals,” but whoever did is a pretty awesome person in my book. What is a mama meal you ask? It is a meal made by another member of our group for someone who has just had a new baby or for whatever other life circumstance needs a meal for their family. Navigating adding babies and or siblings to the mix is always a tumultuous journey and one less thing to worry about (i.e. dinner) is really, truly helpful. I know we really appreciated mama meals when our daughter was born, so thank you to all the people out there making meals for others – it’s a great way to show love and compassion to your neighbor.
Back to Brooke’s meal – I have a tendency to make breakfast for mama meals. Mainly because when you are getting 2 weeks of meals from friends, you end up with a lot of leftovers which last for a few days, so breakfast is a nice way to mix things up a bit. I made this Egg Bake and wrote down my recipe on a scrap piece of paper- which I lost….Brooke was sad. But then I was on a cleaning spree this weekend and found the piece of paper HOORAY! So here it is – this recipe makes 2, 2 quart casseroles. When making a mama meal, I always make 2 so that I can deliver one and have one for my family! However, if you only want to make one, you can easily halve the recipe.
Necessities:
1 bell pepper finely diced (1 cup)
1/2 red onion finely diced (1 cup)
1 large baking potato shredded (2 cups)
8 oz cubed ham
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar
18 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Non Stick Spray
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 and light spray 2, 2 qt casserole pans with non stick spray and set aside. (I used one 8 in x 8 in dish and another 6 in x 10 in dish)
Next finely dice the bell pepper, onion and shred the potato with a box grater.
Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large non stick skillet and add in potato, pepper, onion and salt and saute for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. This step is actually really important, so don’t skip it. You are doing two things here 1. developing flavor and 2. cooking out the excess moisture from the vegetables so that you don’t end up with a watery egg bake.
Once the moisture is cooked out, divide the vegetables between the 2 casserole dishes.
Next, divide the ham and cheese between the 2 dishes.
In a large mixing bowl crack 18 eggs and add in 1.5 cups milk and whisk until pale yellow and pour evenly between the 2 dishes.
Bake for 45-50 minutes in preheated oven. Remove and allow to cool before serving. It’s simple, it’s delicious and any new mom you know will totally appreciate a home cooked meal. So whip this up and gently knock on their door – casserole in one hand and a venti Starbucks in the other and go enjoy all the newborn baby snuggles you want while mommy caffeinates and eats! Until, next time – happy cooking 🙂
