Before you can even remember, it’s likely your mum was spoiling you and always letting you know that she cared. It could have been as simple as cheering through your soccer match even though it was cold and wet outside. Maybe your mum has always made your favourite dinner when it was birthday or you had a particularly shitty day at school. She’s a freaking hero, and now that we’re old enough to appreciate it, it physically hurts to not be able to shower her with presents on Mother’s Day.

 

The truth is, and she has probably even told you this, she doesn’t want you to spend the few bucks you’ve saved on a gift for her. You know what they say, mother’s are always right. Honestly, she probably would rather you take an hour out of your day to close the computer, give studying a break, and hang out with her. Quality time always beats consumerism. But if you’re not sold on skipping the gift part, we have an idea for you.

 

This year, instead of making impulsive purchases in a stress spiral, picture this: mum wakes up on a sleepy Sunday morning, and even though it’s Mother’s Day, she starts planning her day of parenting chores. And just when both of her feet are about to hit the floor and make some coffee, her beautiful angel of a daughter (that’s you!) enters with a warm breakfast prepared especially for a deserving mum. What a freaking great start to a Mother’s Day, no?

 

And as you know, we’re realists. We would never expect anyone to wake up hours before sunrise to prepare a warm and impressive breakfast. That’s why we’re introducing you to your new secret weapon: a make-ahead breakfast casserole. This breakfast treat is for the ultimate Sunday slacker. Just spend a bit of time dumping ingredients into a casserole dish Saturday arvo and all that’s left to do Sunday morning is pop it in the oven and surprise dear ol’ mum.

 

We swear to you, this casserole is freaking easy to make. Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients. It’s basically all veg and those can be omitted/substituted as you please. And with that warning, here’s all you’ll need to bake this bad boy:

 

• 35 minutes the day before serving for prep
• Up to 45 minutes the morning of serving
• Saute pan
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Lasagna pan
• Whisk
• Mixing bowls
• Wooden spoon
• Cling wrap  – or even better, Beeswax Wraps
• Chopping knife & Cutting board

 

And these ingredients:

 

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 brown onion (peeled and diced)
• 1 carrot (peeled and diced)
• 500g of asparagus (cut into bite-sized pieces)
• Handful of snap peas (roughly 120g), halved
• A medium-ish head of broccoli chopped into florets
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• A cup or 2 of sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups of chopped tomatoes
• A handful of feta cheese crumbled (about 100g for those that hate vague measurements)
• 12 eggs, whisked
• ½ a cup of milk
• Salt & pepper

 

Now, on Saturday (or the day before you want to serve) here’s what you’ll do in just 30 minutes:

1.First thing first, take the time to chop up all of the vegetables we’ve suggested. Add any others you or your mum. Whisk the eggs with the milk and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2.Grease your big lasagne dish and set that aside, too.

3.The next step is to saute the veg so heat up a tablespoon of oil in the saute pan over medium-high heat and add the diced onion for 4-5 minutes. The onion should be soft.

4.Now add the garlic, carrots, asparagus, peas, brocolli, and remaining tablespoon of oil to the saute pan and have that all going for another 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally so all the veg is getting equal heating.

5.Once those guys are soft, add the mushies and tomatoes and stir everything for another 3-4 minutes. When everything looks nice and sauteed, remove from heat.

6.Scoop some of the veg into the lasagna dish into a single layer (it’s only going to be a small portion of the veg unless you have a freak-sized dish…and that would ok, too). Sprinkle some feta cheese over the veg and then layer more veg on top of the cheese. You get the picture, do this until you run out of cheese or veg.

7.Now grab your whisked egg mixture and pour evenly (or somewhat evenly) over the layered veg and cheese. Grab either side of the dish and lightly shake from side to side to make sure it’s evenly dispersed throughout.

8.Next, wrap the dish and pop it in the refrigerator until the next day.

Sunday steps:

1.Set an alarm for about an hour before you expect your mum to wake up.

2.Sleepily drag yourself to the kitchen, remove casserole from fridge, and preheat the oven to 175℃.

3.Once preheated, pop the casserole in the oven and set a timer for 30-40 minutes.

4.Now make yourself a coffee and wake up.

5.You’ll know the casserole is cooked fully when you can insert a fork in the middle and it comes out clean. Don’t mess with undercooked casserole, trust us.

6.Once it’s cooked, cut mum out a slice, grab her a cup of coffee, and start the special day immediately.

 

We’ve crafted this month’s recipe challenge specifically to spoil your mum, but we recognise that some of the most influential women in your life might not necessarily be your mum. On top of a recipe challenge, we challenge you to reach out to all the influential women you can think of this month and thank them for believing in you, or helping you, or inspiring you, or whatever!

 

If you’re going to give the casserole a go, let us know how you go making it and if you add any fun flavours! We can suggest serving with pesto, salsa, or italian seasoning. Tag your effort, whether it was a raging success or you dropped the whole thing while taking it out of the oven, with our hashtag (#GoAgainstTheFlow)!