Breakfast this Royal morning reflects on a long-ago bed-confinment with a fairytale ending

On this day, as I’m preparing breakfast while I catch TV glimpses of the Royal Preoccupation, or Royal Wedding, happening at this hour, I joyfully reflect on that other wedding 30 summers ago. No different than millions of other onlookers, I, too, made mental reference to Prince William’s parents, Charles and Diana, and the “fairytale” nuptial that preoccupied millions in times past.

As I viewed that long-ago wedding on the morning of July 29, 1981, breakfast was being served to me as I lay bed-confined in pregnancy. The princess that I expected had been attempting to make her arrival too early; I was immobilized in an effort to keep her at bay just another hour . . . just another day until her October due-date. Watching the televised vows of Princess Di had been one of my main diversions that summer as I lay virtually without a flicker of movement and patiently and prayerfully waited for our red-letter event.

I “joyfully” reflect on the time surrounding that other wedding because all my confinement and immobilization, then and later, paid off. Our princess stayed put and was born at term, only two days before her due date. Although the joy was our own, private one, and not one shared by the world, I could swear that I heard the equivalent to those 5,000 bells at Westminster Abbey ring out at the moment of her birth. Today that daughter and her hubby are parents of their own little prince. God is good.

So what to feature in my blog on Royal Wedding morning? Breakfast, of course. A Royal “Huzzah” for Western Egg Bake, a breakfast casserole laced with lots of red and green bell peppers and green onions straight out of my garden. The recipe calls for purchased croutons, but I made my own with leftover homemade wheat bread that I sliced into cubes, seasoned, and toasted.

I found the recipe in a recent Kroger grocery circular and originally prepared it for Easter breakfast, with plenty of leftover slices to freeze and reheat. If you awakened at the wee (U.S.) hours this morning to see Kate walk down the aisle, you might need a good, sturdy pick-me-up such as Western Egg Bake to keep you propped up for the rest of the day.

You couldn’t pick a more healthy choice. Huzzah for the newlyweds! May God grant them a Christ-centered marriage that will withstand the world’s pressures and will endure long years until only death parts them. And Huzzah for health and foods fresh from garden!

Western Egg Bake

2 1/2 cups hot skim milk

1 1/2 cups croutons (either purchased or made from your own bread)

6 large eggs beaten (or 1 1/2 cups egg substitute)

2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup each red and green bell peppers, diced

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 cup turkey bacon (approximately 8-10 slices), cooked and crumbled

1/4 teaspoon each ground black pepper and salt substitute

Spray with nonfat cooking spray a shallow 1 1/2-quart ovenproof baking dish. In a large mixing bowl combine hot milk and l croutons. Let croutons soak for 10 minutes. Mix in remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour or overnight. If casserole has been refrigerated overnight, remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before you bake it. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Refrigerate any leftovers. Serves 8.

Red and green peppers help decorate potato casserole for Christmas-morning brunch

December days marched on, and a bad old freeze was preparing to zap the last of anything still in bloom in any garden. As I looked from my patio into our almost-bare vegetable plot, I spotted them—like green and red ornaments on a Christmas tree--the last bell peppers clinging to the about-to-be-ruined plants that had birthed them and given them sustenance. I couldn't believe that this late into the winter, a few pepper plants STILL were sallying forth out in the garden.

But not for long. Just before dark fell that night and temps were about to plummet into the danger zone, I ran out and brought these last vestiges in. These survivors deserved some special recipe to commemorate them. Christmas morning! What would be more appropriate than to use them in my Christmas-morning brunch? Like red and green confetti they could dot the cheesy top of the casserole with the hash-brown potato base. I set them aside in the refrigerator and saved them for my food preparation which would take place in a few days.

This past Saturday morning they—and Crispy Potato Breakfast Casserole—along with the Chocolate Oatmeal Apple Muffins from a previous blog—made their debut. How glad I was that the pepper plants had held forth until only a few days ago so these fresh, chopped-up peppers could help us wish our guests (the aforementioned adult kid and her spouse and baby, who spent the night with us so Santa could visit ALL of them, not just the baby) a Merry Christmas!

The casserole was beautiful; since it made an ample amount in a 9-by-13-inch dish, it continues to be lunch and dinner while we chill a little from the frenzy of holiday food preparation and are happy to feast on leftovers. Soon the new year turns over; I can gaze out at my totally bare garden plot now and envision the scene a few months hence when it all springs back to life. Until then, I'm glad I have my supply of red and green peppers frozen in the deepfreeze.

Crispy Potato Breakfast Casserole

1 (30-ounce) package frozen shredded hash-browns, thawed

2/3 cup melted butter

2 cups shredded hot pepper cheese

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

2 cups diced cooked ham

1 cup skim milk

1 cup egg substitute

1/2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash)

1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

Press thawed hash browns between paper towels to remove moisture. Grease 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole; fit hash browns into it. Form a crust over bottom and up sides of dish. Brush crust with melted butter. Be sure to brush top edges. Bake 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle cheese and ham evenly over bottom of crust. Beat skim milk with egg substitute and salt. Stir in diced peppers. Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center emerges clean (or the night before serving, bake the crust only. To crisp again place in oven 10 minutes before you add filling and let the crust crisp up while the oven preheats. Add filling and bake.)