Free Recipe Friday. . .It's Breakfast Time!

If you've ever been to any kind of large family function, potluck, etc.

you have most assuredly had some form of a breakfast/sausage casserole.

There are as many variations of this casserole as there are

bread types!  If you have never attempted to make one,

this one is a pretty good and easy start.

Ellen Watson of Kilgore gave me this recipe

(along with many others) more than 20 years ago.

I don't believe I ever attempted to make it until about 5 or more years later.

It's funny how it has since become

a Christmas tradition in our household.

Even though we have since acquired other favorite breakfast foods....

we just can't stop making THIS one for Christmas!

It's just tradition.

You will only need a few basic ingredients,

and you can most certainly add to these...

such as throwing in a few hashbrowns, etc...

half this recipe or double it. 

It is VERY forgiving...you can easily fudge

the quantities of any of the ingredients!

1 lb. ground pork sausage, cooked

10-12 large eggs, beaten

3 cups milk

2 tsp. dry mustard (or a few squirts of reg. mustard)

2 tsp. salt

1-2 tsp. black pepper

8-10 slices of bread, cubed or torn (any kind or a mixture)

2 -3 cups shredded cheddar

Brown sausage, crumble while cooking and drain.

In a separate, medium size bowl, whisk eggs.

Add milk and remaining ingredients.

Stir well.  Toss in cooked sausage and pour all into 

a Pam sprayed 9x13 casserole dish.

Bake in a 350 oven for 45-60 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit at least 15 minutes.

The original recipe says to prepare the casserole the night before...

and bake the next morning.

That was actually what enticed us to make this for

an early Christmas morning breakfast to begin with!

We have since learned we can whip it up quickly

in the wee hours of Christmas morning

AFTER viewing Santa's bounty.

We toss it into the oven while everyone

oogles over their gifts and while we wait for it to cook,

James cuts open boxes, adds batteries to toys

and we both slurp down our coffee.

The deliciousness comes out of the oven about 45 minutes to an hour later.

We traditionally (as if the casserole was not enough),

heat up some flour tortillas, get out the Albert's Hot Sauce

and turn our servings of this casserole into a breakfast burrito...

along with a few slices of good naval oranges or clementines!

Mmmm...I can smell that orange peel NOW!

We can't wait to have this on Christmas morning...

we hope you will be enjoying something yummy as well!

Merry Christmas!

Free Recipe Friday...Spinach Anyone???

There's sooo much more to this recipe than just saying it's all about spinach.

It's Spinach Manicotti and it's pure delicious-ness! 

Greens of any kind have never been my first choice,

for any meal or side dish... 

so for me, the spinach in this recipe is a big deal! 

What I have had to do over the years is find ways

to make those vitamin rich greens into something I will eat...

and this one stands quite tall! 

My family on the other hand, really has no problem with greens whatsoever. 

Our youngest daughter has surprised me the most. 

She is a whopping 12 1/2 years old and loves all kinds of 'weird' things.  

The night I made this dish,

she actually requested a separate serving of plain spinach on the side! 

(She LOVES it, along with sardines, brussel sprouts, okra and broccoli!) 

This recipe came from our handy, dandy, treasured church cookbook. 

Aren't those the best!?

The official name for this deliciousness is

'Make-Ahead Spinach Manicotti'

(page 86, thank you Cindy Chessman!!!)

I remember wayyy back in the day

when we all were told we had to boil noodles

for such dishes as manicotti, lasagna, etc.,

before assembling...it just made me dread making them.

Then I stumbled upon this jewel of a recipe.

You can make it ahead! You don't have to boil the noodles!  Yay!

This recipe opened up a whole new realm for me.

I realized that if I could make this recipe ahead,

I could make lasagna ahead as well - without boiling the noodles!

No more buying the 'no boil' noodles...what a waste!

(Just make sure it's a bit more 'liquidy'

as the noodles will absorb a bit of liquid.)

So, let's get started......so you too, can enjoy this

ooey, gooey-ness, filled with yummy spinach...there, I said it!

MAKE-AHEAD SPINACH MANICOTTI

THE INGREDIENTS

1 - 15 oz. carton ricotta cheese

1 - 10 oz. pkg. frozen, chopped spinach

thawed and squeezed dry

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (we double this)

3/4 cup parmesan

1 egg

*seasoning have been adjusted to our tastes*

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

 2 cans (or jars) of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 - 8 oz. pkg manicotti shells

WHAT TO DO

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with vegetable spray
and pour a bit of spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom.

Set aside.  In a large bowl combine ricotta, spinach,

half of the mozzarella and parmesan,

the egg and the spices.  Mix well. 

Here's the fun part. 

If you can incooperate your family somehow in this process,

it would be great.  It can get a bit messy!

Fill, smoosh or stuff the uncooked manicotti shells

with your ricotta mixture.  I just use my hands.

You could put the mixture in a gallon freezer bag,

cut off a corner and squeeze it in the shells...

or use a pastry bag...but sometimes I'm just too cheap and so

I've just found it to be quicker and 'less mess'

to just grab a handful of the mixture

and push it in each end of the manicotti shell. 

Next, place each filled shell on top of the layer of sauce in your 9x13 pan.

Fill remaining shells and place into you casserole pan.

Pour remaining spaghetti/marinara sauce onto shells in pan.

Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

You can either cover and refrigerate overnight at this point,

as the cookbook recipe states

or go ahead and bake...which is what we usually do.

Just remember if you refrigerate it overnight

you will need to let it come to room temp a bit

before placing it into the oven.

Bake at 350 for appx 45 minutes.

Let it rest and cool down from it's lava hotness a bit.

Serve with a great salad and some crunchy bread! Yum!