Breakfast Strata

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Rest Time: 1-24 hours
Cook Time: 50-55 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Comfort Food Makeovers

Recipe is available from americatestkitchenfeed.com which is a great place to watch for free access to their recipes and videos.

I make stratas all the time, most often a skillet strata as a way to use up leftovers. They can be done without the resting time. But this is a nice one if you have the time to rest the strata, because the assembly is easier. Plus it is nice to get something done ahead of time.

They say to use whole milk and not substitute. I make stratas enough that I know I am fine with the lower fat milk. I still found this rich enough. In fact I like it better this way. It was very good. Leftovers were still good. I even froze a serving and had that later, and that was good too. I will definitely use this recipe again.

Triple Chocolate Brownies (Lighter)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2012)

The annual "light" issue always includes lighter desserts. I'm not a big fan of those.  I think I'm better off eating less desserts but enjoying them in full. However, the idea of using black beans in brownies has been around for a while now and I've always wanted to try it.

These are really good. They are extremely moist and fudgy which is the way I like my brownies. The recipe only used 1/4 of black beans, so they are definitely hidden. It allows you to only use 1/2 stick of butter for the recipe.

I would definitely make these again. The only issue is using only 1/4 c. of black beans. I can use up the rest of the can, but that is still a tiny bit of a downside in my mind.