Egg Brunch Casserole

Another breakfast casserole.  This is an oldie that Tyra and I made when we had our Tea Room.  We served it with a hot curried fruit and a spinach salad on the side.

It's easy, simple and one of those dishes you can pretty much prepare the night before serving.

 
White bread is called for and over the years I have used different breads for this recipe and I keep going back to the grocery store white sandwich bread.  It's cheap and soft, and there are certain things that cheap, white sandwich bread is best for; peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese and this casserole, oh, and fried Bologna sandwiches.

Shredded Cheddar cheese is layered on next.  Of course you can use any cheese you like but I prefer a sharp Wisconsin Cheddar

Sliced Kielbasa-style smoked sausage that you cook then slice.  I used Eckrich.  The original recipe called  for a pound of smoked sausage but just like a can of coffee is no longer a pound of coffee, this sausage is now packaged at 14 ounces; so just get the 14 ounce package and don't sweat over the other 2.  Can you even buy coffee in the can anymore?  Hmmm...

Mix the eggs, 1/2 cup of the milk, mustard, marjoram and basil together.

Pour this mixture over your bread, cheese and sausage.

Cover the casserole with foil or a lid if you pan has one.  I would normally use a glass casserole dish but I was taking this to work and this metal pan was easier to transport it.  Slip it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day prior to serving, pre-heat the oven to 350°F.  Dilute the soup with 1/2 cup milk and pour over the casserole.  Bake for 1 hour.

Egg Brunch Casserole
Serves 10 to 12


Ingredients:

Night before:
8 slices white bread
2 cups grated cheese
1 pound Kielbasa 
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk

2-1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dry marjoram
1/2 tsp. dry basil
 Day of Serving:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt


Mise en Place:

• cube bread
• grate cheese
• brown  sausage whole, then cut in 1/2" pieces
• crack eggs in medium mixing bowl
• measure out 1/2 cup of the milk
• measure out herbs

Method:
The night prior to serving:
Prepare an 8" x 12" baking dish by spraying with vegetable spray.  Place bread cubes in the bottom of the baking dish.  Sprinkle cheese evenly over bread.  Layer sausage pieces on top of cheese.

Whisk the eggs, 1/2 cup of milk and herbs in the mixing bowl.  Pour mixture over the ingredients in the baking dish.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

Day of serving:
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Remove baking dish from the refrigerator.  In a mixing bowl dilute the soup with the other 1/2 cup milk and add the salt.  Pour over top of baking dish.  Bake for 1 hour or until the top is golden brown. 

Avocado Toast

One of my favorite breakfasts starts with the simplest ingredients.  This is so filling and gratifying.

Select a good sized Haas avocado.  I prefer to pick mine that are quite firm, not yet ripe.  I find they haven't been squeezed to death by every Tom, Dick and Harry at the market.  I bring them home and place them in a brown paper lunch bag for a day or two; checking each day to see how they are progressing.  When they give to a light squeeze I put them in the refrigerator.

 The next star of the show is a good egg.

 Toast whatever kind of bread floats your boat.  I like to make sure it is brown and crispy.

Mash up 1/2 of the avocado.  Depending on the size of your toast you can use up the half.  Slather as much of it or as little of it on your toast as you want.  It's your breakfast.


 

Then top with your egg.  I prefer an over easy, runny yolk or a poached egg.  But I made my second toast of the morning with some scrambled eggs and they were just as heavenly.

Sprinkle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and go out on the front porch and enjoy your breakfast.
 

Breakfast Casserole

I know, I know, breakfast casseroles come at a dime a dozen.  When I read this recipe it was a little different from most.  What intrigued me and made me want to give it a try was that the eggs are softly scrambled prior to being mixed with the milk and all the other things that the bread soaks in over night.  Also, cheese wasn't simply sprinkled over the casserole; a cheese sauce was made.

The recipe comes from a book I've had for almost 30 years called "Savoring the Southwest - A Cookbook and More From the Land of Enchantment".  It was compiled by the Roswell Symphony Guild and I have to say I'm disappointed that the cover didn't depict a space ship flying out of the clouds.

 Start by getting all of your ingredients measured, chopped, and grated. 

Chop the ham or buy it already cubed like I did.



 That's a lot of eggs!  Go ahead and get them all cracked in a large bowl

 I love fresh mushrooms, but I love mushrooms in a bottle too.  I specifically prefer them in a bottle over a can.  Many canned foods take on a metallic taste and mushrooms are one of them.  The jar I bought was 6 ounces instead of the suggested 4; so sue me.  I almost ate the whole jar by themselves.



Tear of up bread crumbs.  You'll need 4 cups.  I used a store bought loaf of Italian bread and trimmed the crust off & give to the birds; mine love me today as they got a real treat in the back yard.  You can use any white bread as long as it's soft; you don't want to use a dense white bread.

Ingredients for the base of the cheese sauce.  Milk, flour, butter and salt & pepper

 

Once the flour is thoroughly mixed with the butter allow the roux to cook for a minute to get rid of the flour-y taste

Heat the milk in the micro wave before slowly adding it to the roux.

Add the rated cheese, salt and pepper.  Stir until fully incorporated and smooth. 

Set your cheese sauce off the heat.

 In a large skillet melt 3 Tbsp of the butter and saute the ham until it has some nice color to it.

 Beat the eggs and add to the pan.  Cook until they form large, wet curds.  Don't over cook so that the eggs are dry, you want them nice and moist.

 Add the mushrooms and cheese sauce.  I also added one fresh jalapeno that I seeded, de-veined and minced.  Depending on how much heat you want you can leave the veins but I would definitely get rid of the seed; just a texture thing with me.

 Softly fold the mixture until incorporated.

 Pour into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch casserole

 Melt the other 3 Tbsp butter then pour over the bread crumbs.

Toss the crumbs until all have been coated with the melted butter

Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the egg / cheese mixture.  Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.  At this point you can also freeze this dish.  If you do freeze, let it thaw in the refrigerator before you place in oven

The next morning when you are ready to bake, uncover the casserole and bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

One of the things I really liked about this casserole was how the bread-crumb topping was buttery and really crispy, not soggy.


Breakfast Casserole
Adapted from Savoring the Southwest
Serves 12

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter plus 6 Tbsp. butter, divided
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
1 cup grated medium Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup cubed cooked ham
12 eggs, beaten
1 jar (6 ounce) mushrooms, drained
1 to 2 fresh jalapeños

4 cups soft bread crumbs

Mise en Place:

1. measure butter, divided into two 3-Tbsp portions and one whole stick
2. measure flour
3. measure milk
4. measure salt & pepper
5. grate cheese
6. cube ham, if necessary
7. crack eggs into large mixing bowl and beat
8. drain mushrooms
9. seed, de-vein and mince the jalapeño(s)
10. trim bread and tear into crumbs
11. spray casserole dish with vegetable spray

Method:
In a medium sauce pan melt 3 Tbsp of the butter.  Whisk in flour and incorporate well into a roux.  Allow to cook for one minute.  Heat the milk in the microwave for a minute or two until hot.  Slowly add to roux and whisk until smooth.  Allow to cook until it begins to thicken.  Add graded cheese and stir until smooth.  Add salt and pepper.  Set aside, off the heat.

In a large skillet melt the other 3 Tbsp of butter.  Add ham cubes and saute until lightly browned.  Add the beaten eggs and cook until the eggs are moist and large soft curds have formed.

Fold in the mushrooms, cheese sauce and jalapeño(s).  Pour this mixture into the greased casserole.

Melt the 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan.  Pour the butter over the bread crumbs and toss until all bread has been coated with the butter.  Sprinkle the bread over the top of the egg / cheese mixture.

Cover the casserole with foil and place in refrigerator overnight.

The next morning when ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350° and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

Brie and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

I can't tell you how many breakfast casseroles I have made in my lifetime.  I really don't remember any of them being bad but for the past 8 years or so this is the best I've come across and this is what I make when there is a pot luck breakfast at the office.

I clipped the recipe from the February 2003 issue of Southern Living.  Then, sometime later I also ran across the exact same recipe on the Bed & Breakfast Inns website in their recipes section.

It's a great place to find recipes by the way.  All of the different B&B's contribute recipes and this one had been submitted by Rock Cottage Gardens, a B&B in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

As with most breakfast casseroles, they're easy and some, as this one is, can be assembled the night before and finished off with the baking the next morning.

 I use an Italian loaf but you can use white sandwich bread if you like.



The word 'Brie' in the name of the recipe is what caught my eye

I like to buy a hot Italian sausage.  A breakfast sausage works well too.  Either way you go, drain the fat, drain the fat, drain the fat.

 Topped off with freshly grated Parmesan

Let her soak overnight in a cream, milk, egg mixture.  The original recipe suggests using 2 cups of fat-free milk but in a recipe where you are already using 3 cups of heavy cream I don't see the point in going fat-free do you?  Use what you have in the 'fridge.  I used 2%.

The next morning christen it with the rest of the cream and eggs and bake for almost an hour.

You will be rewarded with the creamiest, soufflé-like concoction so velvety smooth it will melt in your mouth. 
Brie and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Adapted from Southern Living
Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients:
1 - 8 ounce round of Brie
1 pound ground hot Italian sausage (remove from casing if it is in links)
6 to 8 slices Italian bread (enough to make one layer in your pan)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
7 large eggs, divided
3 cups whipping cream, divided
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp. dried rubbed sage
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
Garnishes optional:  chopped green onions, or shaved Parmesan cheese

Mise en place:

• cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain well and set aside
• trim rind from Brie and discard; cut cheese into cubes and set aside
• grate Parmesan
• crack 5 of the eggs into a large mixing bowl
• measure 2 cups of the whipping cream and add to eggs
• measure the cups of milk, sage, salt & mustard into the eggs and cream bowl
• slice bread (if not already) and trim crusts, saving crusts

Method:
Lightly butter the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Place crusts evenly in the bottom of the baking dish.  Layer evenly with the bread slices, then Brie, then sausage and finally the Parmesan cheese.

Whisk the egg/cream mixture well and pour evenly and gently over the layers in the baking dish.

Cover and chill mixture for 8 hours.

The following morning pre-heat the oven to 350°F.  Whisk together the remaining 1 cup of whipping cream and the remaining 2 eggs; pour evenly over the chilled mixture.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until casserole is set (making sure not to let the top get too brown).  Garnish, if desired.

Double Hatch Omelette

One of the many things I love about weekends is that I get to cook a real breakfast.  During the week I pretty much stick to oatmeal and my Kashi Seven Whole Grain Puffs that I keep at the office.

For me, a real breakfast includes eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, grits, biscuits and gravy or a combination thereof.

I dug into my stash of roasted Hatch chile peppers that I froze last month and a Hatch link sausage and made myself an omelette.

 I took the sausage out of its casing and cooked it up.




chopped up the roasted chile pepper



 
Once the eggs were set yet a little wet on the top, I added the chopped chiles



then the hatch sausage and cheese

fold the omelette over in the pan and turn it out on the plate.

Mmmmm....creamy, cheesy, spicy and stick to your ribs delicious!  No lunch needed.


Double Hatch Omelette
Serves 1 to 2


Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. milk
1 link hatch chile sausage
1 roasted Hatch green chile
2 Tbsp shredded cotija cheese

Mise en place:

• whip eggs and milk together in small mixing bowl
• remove sausage from casing
• rinse, seed, and coarsely chop the roasted chile
• shred cheese

Method:
Sauté the sausage in omelette pan over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink.  Remove sausage, set aside and drain excess grease.  If your sausage was extremely lean and your omelette pan is not a non-stick one, add 1 Tbsp of butter.  When butter is bubbling and just beginning to turn brown pour in the egg/milk mixture.  With a soft spatula or wooden spoon gently pull edges of the setting eggs to the center and allow the non-set eggs to flow to outer edges of pan.  Repeat this procedure until most of the egg mixture has set, with the tops of the omelette being a little wet.

Sprinkle the chopped chile pepper onto one half of the eggs.  Top with the reserved sausage and sprinkle with cheese.

Gently fold omelette in half and roll out of pan onto serving plate.