Layered Sausage and Gravy Brunch Casserole

It is spring and you know what that means-Brunch season is upon us.  Keep this casserole recipe handy all season long. It seems that biscuits and gravy are always a hit and this casserole allows you to have a complete meal in one easy package. Get someone else to bring the Ambrosia Salad and the Mimosas!

Ingredients (serves 8-10):

1 (10 biscuit) can buttermilk biscuits

7 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

2 green onions, chopped

1 pound breakfast sausage (I used a roll of turkey breakfast sausage)

3 Tablespoons flour

2 cups milk (I used 1%, so I can tell you low fat works just fine)

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the biscuits evenly over the bottom of a non-stick 13 by 9 inch pan and use your hands to spread the biscuits to cover the bottom of the pan and slightly up the side. Mend any holes by pinching the dough together.

Bake the biscuits for 5 minutes and remove. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the salt and pepper. Add in the green onions. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and add in the egg mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes until you just have a soft-set scramble. Remove the eggs to a plate and set aside.

Wipe out the skillet and return it to the heat. Add in the sausage, breaking it up into bite size crumbles as you go. Cook until brown and drain off all but 1 Tablespoon of the fat in the skillet. Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir it in. Slowly stir in the milk and increase the heat to medium high. Cook for about 3 minutes until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and pour over the biscuit crust.

Top the biscuits and sausage with an even layer of the soft scrambled eggs, then sprinkle the cheese over. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into squares. 

Bacon and Cheddar Mashed Potato Patties

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but my Mom often made us kids a simple supper of mashed potato pancakes. It certainly stretched the food budget, but it was also the best comfort food—crispy outsides and creamy insides. I think Mom would love the addition of green onions, bacon and sharp cheddar.

Ingredients (makes about 15-18):

3 cups leftover Parslied New Potatoes

2 eggs

1/3 cup chopped green onions

4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3-4 Tablespoons canola oil, divided

1 cup dry, seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions: Place the mashed potatoes in a large mixing bowl and add the eggs. Use an electric mixer to blend them smooth. Add in the green onions, bacon and cheese. If the mixture is really sticky, add some instant potato flakes or a little flour. You want cakes that hold together.

Form the mashed potato mixture into balls a little bigger than golf balls, using damp hands.  Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl and coat each cake in the bread crumbs (don’t discard the leftover bread crumbs yet). Place on a plate and flatten slightly with you palm. Let rest in the fridge 30 minutes.

Heat 2 Tbs. of oil in a large skillet on medium. Then, put the cakes back in the bread crumbs, shaking off any excess and add the pancakes in batches to the skillet. Cook for about 5 or so minutes per side or until nicely golden. Tip: Do a test patty first—it will let you know if you need to adjust the heat and/or time.

Add more oil as you need it. Note: you may want to clean out your skillet and add more oil between batches, especially if you have lots of browned crumbs in the pan.

Keep the first batch on a baking sheet in a warm oven until you are finished.

Tangy Glazed Corned Beef

(re-post from March 2013)

I know I go on and on about how great a cook my mom was, but St. Patrick’s Day was her finest moment each year. This very precious woman would wrestle mounds of corned beef and put her own special glaze on the top to feed the hungry masses. Even though she was Irish, she didn’t ever make Colcannon—we would have Parslied New Potatoes instead. And maybe some slaw and rye bread-not soda bread. No boiled cabbage for this crowd. Go figure.
Note: This shrinks down by about half, so a 3 pounder equals about 1 and a half pounds when fully cooked.

Ingredients:
Corned Beef—I’m using a three pound point cut, with the spice packet

Water
2-3 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 Tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
2-3 Tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions: Remove the corned beef from its package and rinse well, saving the spice packet. Place the corned beef in a Dutch oven and cover with water by about ½-1 inch. Add the spice packet. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for 50 minutes per pound.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the corned beef from the water, and place it (fat side up) on a foil lined baking sheet. Use a knife to remove the fat cap and discard it. Sprinkle the dry mustard over the beef and spread it all over the top and sides with a butter knife or spoon. Top the dry mustard with the prepared mustard and spread it out. Top that with the ketchup and spread it around. Sprinkle on the sugar and black pepper. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes. Let cool a while and then slice across the grain (short end to short end).

Marinated Flank Steak

Please consider this flavorful marinade to be a great basic marinade for everything. I think it’s wonderful for steak, veggies, fish and chicken. Also, it is customizable! If you don’t like cilantro, use parsley or leave it out altogether. Don’t like red onion? Use green onions or shallots. Change lemon juice for the lime juice. Marinade your world the way you want it to be. Me, I’m going to not only use this batch on steak, but on some asparagus and Portobello mushrooms. Wrap some of this in a 'Thin Wrap' with baby asparagus (marinated in the same sauce), some roasted red pepper and some red onion and you've got a meal!)

Ingredients:

 Marinade:

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Juice of one lime (about 1-2 Tablespoons)

1 Tablespoon honey

¼ cup diced red onion

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Steak:

1 ½ pounds flank steak

Directions: Mix all ingredients together. Reserve about ¼ cup in a separate container to use as a basting sauce when grilling the steak. You can just put that in the fridge until you need it.

Place the flank steak in a large zip top bag and add the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight, flipping the bag every so often. Bring the bag out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you plan to cook so the steak comes back to room temperature.

Heat your grill to medium high. Pat the steak dry and grill about 6-8 minutes per side (hey, it’s your steak, cook it the way you want), basting once per side with your reserved marinade.

Remove the steak from the grill and let it rest a few minutes before slicing it thinly across the grain.

Thin Wraps

….and they are thin in more ways than one. Not only are these nutty, flavorful little wraps thin enough to serve as tortillas, moo shu pancakes, wraps for scrambled eggs in the morning, etc., they are gluten free and low in both fat and calories. I happen to be one of the ones who doesn’t want a whole loaf of bread on my sandwich—I’m all about the fillings. I’ve also always been fascinated with crepes and German egg pancakes (Eierkuchen), so here is my take. I’ve got a million applications for this in my head, so don’t be surprised if you see more posts using these wraps.

Ingredients (makes four 9 inch wraps):

1 cup yolk free egg product (like Egg Beaters®)

1 generous Tablespoon coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled

2 Tablespoons water

½ cup garbanzo bean flour

1 Tablespoon corn starch or arrow root

½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste

Cooking spray

Directions:

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the egg product, coconut oil and water. Slow whisk  in the garbanzo bean flour, corn starch and salt.

Spray a 9 inch (or whatever size you got) non-stick pan with cooking spray. Heat on medium and add in about 1/2 cup of the batter. Swirl around so that the entire bottom of the pan is coated. Cook for 2 minute (until you can see the surface get a bit dry and you can squiggle a spatula easily underneath the wrap). Gently work a spatula under and flip the wrap over. Continue to cook for another minute. Remove to a plate.

Repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter (you may need to spray more cooking spray in from time to time), laying down a sheet of wax paper between each cooked wrap. If you have any extra (ha!) store them by wrapping them flat in plastic wrap and putting in the fridge. You may want to let them come back to room temp before you try and fold them.

Spicy Sweet Potato Snacks

Yeah, about that plate in the pic-it's done. It's gone. You may want to double or triple this recipe. This one goes out to my sweet sister Terrie. 

Ingredients:

¼ cup canola (or other neutral flavored) oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 large sweet potato (scrubbed, but not peeled) cut into 1/8 inch or so slices

To finish:

Coarse sea salt

Fresh lime, cut into quarters

Fresh cilantro

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the oil, salt, parsley, chipotle and chili powders. Add the slices of sweet potatoes and toss them around. Let the potatoes sit in the marinade for 5-10 minutes (the longer, the better).

Remove the sweet potatoes from the marinade and drain off any excess marinade to another bowl. Place the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Cook for approximately 70-90 minutes, turning the slices over once or twice. Remove them from the oven.

Hit the sweet potatoes with a drizzle of the remaining marinade, the coarse sea salt, a squeeze of lime and some fresh cilantro while they are still hot.