Egg Bake – Camelback Edition

Egg Bake – Camelback Edition

While gathered around the kitchen island a few months ago, I think Shelly threw out an idea of a long weekend in Phoenix.  It wasn’t long (seriously…it was like 10 minutes) before we had seven gals ready to plan a trip.  Since Nancy and I were both turning 50, we also decided that a challenge was necessary. You know, to prove we were still the youthful specimens that we appear to be!  Shelly is typically full of good ideas and suggested  climbing Camelback Mountain.  I don’t remember that there was much discussion. We were deep inside a Minnesota winter.  Doing almost anything beneath the sunshine sounded heavenly to us.  Within days, our flights were booked and we began planning our itinerary and our menu.

In AZ, we baked the dish the night before our climb. When we woke in the wee hours, each of us nuked our own serving.  If you choose, you could also prepare the dish, refrigerate overnight then bake in the morning.  Once it is baked, it easily keeps for a week in the fridge and makes an awesome “on the go” meal.

I will give you a couple different options.  We have found that we all like different ingredients.  You can experiment and decide which you like best!

Vic’s Spinach, Mushroom and Ham Bake

1 – 5 oz package of baby spinach – raw

4 oz  fresh mushrooms

10 oz diced ham

12-14 eggs beaten

Splash of milk or cream (optional)

1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese

Spray the bottom and sides of a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  Place entire package of  spinach in the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle mushrooms on top of spinach.  Layer the ham on top of mushrooms.  Poor the beaten egg mixture over the ingredients in the pan.  You might need to shake the pan a little to disperse the eggs evenly. Season with salt and pepper, or your seasoning of choice. Evenly sprinkle the cheese over the entire dish.

Place the uncovered pan in the oven at 375 degrees F.  Cook for approximately 30 minutes.

You will know it is done when the eggs are set in the middle of the pan.

Here are a couple other tasty options:

Shelly’s recipe  – Sauteed spinach, sausage, green onions, mozzarella cheese and Spike seasoning.

Kathleen’s recipe – Cauliflower, Jimmy Dean sausage, red and green pepper and pepperjack cheese.

Nancy’s recipe – Frozen broccoli (thawed first), sausage, green onions and monterey jack cheese.

I also like to add toppings (because who doesn’t like toppings?!)  Try it with some guacamole, salsa or a little sriracha sauce for a spicy kick!

As you can see, anything goes…that is the absolute best part. Or wait…the best part is that it’s SO EASY!   Have you made something like this?  Once you try a version of this recipe, let us know what you think.  If you have a different version to share, we would LOVE to hear it!

By the way, we all made it to the top of Camelback.  It was a great morning, spent with great friends!

Have a great weekend!

Vicki