Eggs Florentine

I mentioned this dish, which Elly has converted to be South Beach dietish while still retaining lots of flavor, to Judy H., a close friend of ours who works with Elly at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. She was interested enough to want to try it, and then liked it well enough to want the recipe so I decided to post it here. Hi, Judy! :-) Elly’s version is based on a recipe from The American Country Inn and Bed & Breakfast Cookbook (Volume II) by Kitty and Lucian Maynard.

• 5 eggs & 1 cup EggBeaters


• 2 cups 2% cottage cheese


• 2 cups grated Jarlsburg cheese


• 8 ounces crumbled goat's milk feta cheese


• 4 tablespoons melted butter


• 2 10oz packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained


• 1 tsp dill weed


• 1/2 tsp powdered garlic


• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Okay, no South Beach concessions were made on the Jarlsburg, feta, and butter. I’ve still lost plenty of weight eating this for breakfast, though...

I often make this Saturday evening so we can enjoy a light meal when Elly gets home from work around 10:00 pm. It is complemented nicely by an arugula salad with shaved Parmesan Reggiano, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and freshly ground pepper.

Here is the sequence I follow. First, I turn the oven on Bake at 350 degrees so it can heat up. Then I thaw the spinach in our microwave with two rounds of 5-minutes at 70% power. While that is working, I mix the eggs, EggBeaters, cottage cheese, seasoning, Jarlsburg, and feta. I don’t mess with draining it, just squeeze the water out one handful at a time. You really want to get the water out before mixing it in with the eggs and cheese. I add the melted butter last and stir it in well.

I spray a 13x9-inch Pyrex baking dish with Pam cooking spray, pour the mixture in, and spread it around with a spatula. Then it goes in the oven for 50 minutes.

This is a fool-proof recipe that is both healthy and delicious.