This is a great option for a Meatless Monday. If you have a hankering for meat, you can add 6 slices of crumbled, cooked bacon when you add the broccoli.

1½ cups chopped fresh broccoli
6 eggs
2½ cups milk
¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
10 slices cubed bread (I like to use whole wheat French bread)
Butter flavored cooking spray or 1 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the broccoli in a microwave safe dish with ½ inch of water in the bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and gently steam the broccoli for 1-2 minutes, until it turns bright green in color and is soft but not mushy.

Spray or apply butter to the bottom and sides of a 13” x 9” baking dish. Spread the cubes evenly in the bottom of the pan. Layer the broccoli over the bread.

Beat the eggs with the milk, pepper and salt until well mixed. Pour over the bread cubes, making sure that the bread is well covered and the broccoli is at least partially covered. If you need more liquid, add milk. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 40-45 minutes or until soufflé is firm and lightly browned on the top.

Good starters or sides: sliced apples and English muffins.

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OK, I’ll admit it. I DO prefer clean sheets and a nice hotel swimming pool to roughing it. However, this year, my accountant (i.e. husband) has called a moratorium on hotel vacations. So for Memorial Day, we got a group of families together and went camping.

This was not your normal group of experienced campers, but that is what I think made it so much fun. Our “non-camping” (hesitant first-timer) friends brought WAY too much stuff, and were worried about nature calling in the middle of the night. We all laughed at each other as we avoided mirrors at all costs, let our hair go frizzy and went without makeup for a few days, just to get in the spirit of things. Baseball caps or knit beanies are indispensable in this situation.

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This protein-packed salad takes the bite out of hunger. Use ready-cooked chicken to make it even easier.

Serves 4

2-3 chicken breasts
½ cup soy sauce marinade (Mr. Yoshida’s Sweet and Savory is good)
2 heads romaine lettuce
1 small head red cabbage
1 cup of rice crackers, crunched (Blue Diamond makes some great nutty ones)
1 bag shredded carrots
1 small head of broccoli
½ cup sliced almonds
chinese or asian salad dressing to taste (Girards is great)

Wash the chicken and cut each breast into a few pieces. Coat the chicken with the marinade in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the lettuce, cabbage and broccoli into bite-sized pieces.

After the chicken has marinated, toss the pieces onto the grill or into the oven on broil (on a broiler pan) for 2-4 minutes, each side, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. While the chicken is cooking, add the rice crackers, carrots and almonds to the salad mix and toss.

Cool chicken for 5 minutes and slice into 1-inch pieces. Add chicken to the salad. Add dressing to taste (usually 1-2 tbsp. per person) and toss with salad tongs to coat.

Enjoy!

Good sides or starters: Slice up a nice sourdough baguette and serve with butter, and don’t feel bad about a dish of ice cream after this healthy supper.

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Did you know that when you store, freeze and/or microwave food in your kitchen, you may be releasing toxic chemicals into your food? There are a lot of food storage products available but the best are recyclable, reusable and non-toxic when you use them in the microwave. When an item saves you money in the long run AND is good for the environment, I give it the label “eco-thrifty”.

For everyday storage in the refrigerator, I have transitioned my kitchen from plastic zip bags to old-fashioned Ball jars with metal lids and glass storage containers made of Pyrex that have lids and are safe to use in the microwave. In the freezer, I use plastic containers with lids so that they can be popped in the dishwasher. If you insist on using the zipper bags, there is an interesting product on the market that allows you to wash the bags in the dishwasher and reuse them.

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(Serves 4)

Though this meal sounds like breakfast, my kids love it for dinner as well. It makes a great offering for a Meatless Monday.

8 slices of whole grain bread (honey wheat tastes great)
3 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tbsp. of butter

• Heat a skillet on medium heat until a drop of water sizzles. In the meantime, whisk the eggs, milk and cinnamon together in a medium mixing bowl.

• Put a small pat of butter in the skillet and swish it around.

• One at a time, dunk the bread into the egg mixture and place it in the skillet.

• Cook about 2 minutes on each side or until egg mixture is browned nicely.

• Serve hot with honey, more butter, powdered sugar or jam.

Good sides or starters: Fruit salad with sliced bananas and whole milk.

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