Southwestern Breakfast Casserole

You can assemble this entire dish up to a week ahead. Bake the corn muffin mix ahead; store in an airtight container in the freezer for a couple of days. Assemble the casserole according to directions; cover and freeze. A day in advance, take it out of the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator (about 24 hours). Uncover and let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before cooking; bake as directed.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1  (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix
• 3  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed white bread
• 8  ounces  hot turkey Italian sausage
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 2 1/2  cups  fat-free milk
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
• 1  (8-ounce) carton egg substitute
• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack or mild cheddar cheese, divided

Preparation

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

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage and onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain.

Combine milk, cumin, pepper, tomatoes, and egg substitute; stir with a whisk until well-blended. Add sausage mixture; stir well. Stir into bread mixture. Spoon half of bread mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon remaining bread mixture over cheese. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Bake casserole at 350° for 20 minutes or until set. Top with 1/2 cup cheese, and bake an additional 20 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

271 (25% from fat)

Fat:

7.6g (sat 2.7g,mono 2.6g,poly 1.7g)

Protein:

14.7g

Carbohydrate:

33.9g

Fiber:

1.6g

Cholesterol:

22mg

Iron:

2.1mg

Sodium:

700mg

Calcium:

290mg