Breakfast Casserole

Happy Easter! I hope you are having a wonderful Easter. I just read my Easter post from 2011, and it made me a little sad. In 2011, my Easter table was full—my dad and Lynn joined us, Les had the day off from work and my daughter was still in high school and at home. This year, Lynn, my son and I are having a quiet Easter with my daughter away at college and Les working, but the three of us attended a beautiful mass together and enjoyed a delicious brunch.

I’ve made this Breakfast Casserole countless times, so I was surprised this morning when Lynn said she had never had it. I guess that makes sense, since I tend to make Breakfast Casserole for Christmas breakfast, and Lynn usually comes over in the afternoon on Christmas for dinner. This casserole is perfect for brunch. You can assemble it the night before, and pop it in the oven to bake in the morning. It is savory and delicious and perfect with a sweet roll or a bit of fruit salad. I could also imagine it with a spinach salad with strawberries. Breakfast Casserole is the first to go on a breakfast potluck table.

Breakfast Casserole
Printable Recipe
1 28 oz bag of frozen O’Brien hash brown potatoes
1 lb of bacon, cut into pieces, fried and drained
1 7 ounce can diced green chilies, drained
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 dozen eggs
1 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour the frozen potatoes in the prepared baking dish and top with the green chilies, bacon and cheese. Beat the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and mustard together, and pour it over the potato mixture.

I usually prepare the casserole the night before and leave it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to cook it the next day. You can also prepare it the same day, but the casserole will take a little longer to cook due to the frozen potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the casserole for 40 to 45 minutes or until the edges are brown and the center is firm.

Chipotle Deviled Eggs

I don’t know about you, but in a couple of days I’m going to have more hardboiled eggs than I’ll know what to do with.    In past years, I’ve made deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches.  This year I decided to be proactive and try a different deviled egg recipe. 

I had a couple of chipotle peppers leftover from my Orange Chipotle Glaze, and I love the smoky spicy flavors of the pepper, so I decided to experiment with them in deviled eggs.  I added the cumin to add a little complexity to the pepper and egg mixture.   The chipotle adds a little heat right at the end, but the eggs weren’t too spicy.

I loved these deviled eggs, but Les and my daughter were ambivalent.  They are both more traditionalists when it comes to deviled eggs.  If you are looking for something different to try with your hardboiled eggs, try Chipotle Deviled Eggs.  

If you have ideas for hardboiled eggs, please let me know.

Chipotle Deviled Eggs
6 eggs, hardboiled
3 to 4 tablespoons of Mayonnaise
½ chipotle pepper in adobe, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon salt

Peel the eggs.  Cut them in half lengthwise, and scoop out the yolks into a small bowl.  Break up the yolks with a fork.   Mix in the mayonnaise until the yolks are creamy, and add the chipotle pepper, cumin and salt.  Spoon the yolk mixture back into the egg whites.  I spooned the yolk mixture into a zipper bag, and then I cut a small hole in one of the corners, so I could squeeze the yolk mixture into the egg whites.  Makes 12 deviled eggs.

Joe’s Special Quiche

Joe’s Special is a San Francisco tradition allegedly dating back to the gold rush era with many restaurants claiming to be the restaurant that first offered the dish.  I had never heard of Joe’s Special until I moved from southern California to the San Francisco Bay area, but I loved it once I tried it.

I will make Joe’s Special occasionally (usually when we are camping), but my family usually chooses pancakes for breakfast.  With this in mind, I decided to serve my version of Joe’s Special for dinner.  And, to change it up even more, I decided to serve it as a quiche.

I did change the original recipe slightly by adding Italian sausage instead of hamburger, but I think the quiche needed the extra flavor.  Joe’s Special Quiche was a big hit with my family (well, a big hit with my daughter, husband and me.  My son wouldn’t even touch it.  Too green, I guess).  My daughter even earmarked the leftovers for lunch.

 

Joe’s Special Quiche

½ Recipe Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pie Crust

1 medium onion, sliced in half and then sliced

½ pound Italian Sausage (I used ½ sweet and ½ hot), casings removed

10-12 ounce frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained

6 eggs

1 cup whole milk

½ cup heavy cream

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large skillet, heat the oil.  Add the Italian sausage.  Brown the sausage, breaking it into small bite-sized pieces.  When the sausage starts to brown, add the onions. Cook until the onions are soft and the sausage is cooked through.  Stir the spinach and nutmeg into the onion and sausage mixture, and cook for another 2 minutes.  Cool slightly.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large circle.  Place the dough into a deep-dish pie plate.  Fold under any excess pie dough and crimp the edges, set aside. 

In a large bowl, beat the eggs.  Stir in the milk, cream, salt and shredded cheese. Add in the slightly cooled sausage mixture, and mix well.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell.  Place the pie plate on a baking sheet, cover loosely with foil.  Bake the quiche for 15 minutes at 400°F then turn the oven to 350°F and bake for an additional 45 minutes to 60 minutes, or until the middle of the quiche no longer jiggles.