Make this Bacon and Broccoli Breakfast Strata the night before and sleep in the next morning!One thing (out of many) that I’ve learned about marathon training over the years is that I need to be prepared when it comes to eating.  I need to have snacks, even backup snacks, or anything that I could eat in the case my hunger goes from zero to 100 in 5 seconds flat.  I’m not kidding – this really happens.  I’ve also learned that I need to have a good breakfast after my long runs on the weekends.  Unfortunately for me, I’ve had the mentality of ‘I’ll figure it out when I get home’ the past few weeks.  Also unfortunately for me, that mentality does not satisfy my screaming belly.

I learned from my mistakes and made this breakfast strata on Friday night to bake after my long run last Saturday.  The beauty of an overnight casserole is the ease it is to make in the morning of.  You do 15 minutes of work the night before, then the when you wake up the next day you just pop it in the oven for 45-55 minutes, enjoy your coffee and the newspaper, and let the oven do the work.  Because really, on a lazy Saturday morning (or after an 18 mile run), who wants to cook?  Not me.  And who needs to eat?  Me!  And you.  We all need to eat.

This bacon and broccoli strata was perfect for my post-run breakfast.  I loved the combination of bacon and broccoli in this dish, mostly because the bacon added its salty and smoky flavor to the whole dish, but also because I felt like I was getting a serving of veggies with my breakfast too, which doesn’t happen often.  You could substitute other veggies for the broccoli too if you want – I think spinach or zucchini would be great additions.  Since Marc was sleeping as he worked overnight the night before, I was the only one eating this but it made great leftovers for lunch this week.  I also used whole wheat sandwich bread to amp up the whole grains but you could definitely use white sandwich bread or French bread if you’d prefer.

So, not sure what you’re making this weekend for breakfast or brunch?  This simple, overnight strata could be the answer!

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Bacon and Leek Strata

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Summer Vegetable Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole