Easter Brunch for Vegetarians {Recipe: Croissant Egg and Cheese Bake With Asparagus}

I recently came across a recipe for a croissant, cheese and egg bake. It sounded fabulous, but is has ham. So I altered the recipe to come up with a vegetarian version. My vegetarian daughter raved about it. There are few vegetarian recipes that I make that garner this much praise from her. Vegetarian or not this egg bake is fantastic! It is also good for more than just brunch, I made it for a meatless dinner.

Croissant Egg and Cheese Bake With Asparagus

This is an vegetarian adaptation of a recipe from a recipe found @ http://www.thecandidappetite.com/croissant-egg-and-cheese-egg-bake/

3 tablespoons butter, melted
9 mini croissants 
9 slices medium or sharp cheddar cheese 
18 asparagus tips
8 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons Trader Joe's Everything Bagel Seasoning
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional

Brush an 8x12" baker* with melted butter; set aside remaining melted butter. Split croissants in half. Working with one croissant at a time, place 1/2 slice of cheese on the bottom of a spilt croissant and one 1/2 on top. Sandwich 2 asparagus tips between the 1/2 cheese slices. Line up the asparagus and cheese croissant sandwiches in the prepared baking dish. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dried parsley,  salt, snd white pepper. Pour over the croissant sandwiches in baking dish. Brush the tops of the croissants with remaining melted butter, then sprinkle with Everything Bagel seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Remove cover and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the egg mixture is puffed and set. If the tops of the croissants are browning too much while baking, but eggs aren't set, loosely cover with foil for the remaining cooking time. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley, if using. Serve immediately. 

Makes 9 servings.

*This is a dimension of a Pioneer Woman baker I have that I purchased at Walmart. Any approximately 2qt. baker should work if mini croissant can be lined up in it and deep enough for the egg mixture. 

Happy Easter!