Confession. I'm boring when it comes to breakfast. I eat the same thing every day...honey whole wheat bread. Sometimes I mix it up by making toast, or eating sunflower whole wheat, or even nine grain! (Yes, that's how exciting my mornings are.) And Dustin gets stuck with a bowl of cereal. He doesn't mind. It's the one normal meal he's guaranteed each day, never knowing what dinner will throw his way. I guess I'm allowed to be lame in the A.M. since I rarely repeat a dinner dish.
My dull breakfast routine started when when I realized that if I ate lighter fare in the morning, my stomach would feel better the rest of the day. (I was once diagnosed with IBS, an ambiguous label for "we don't know why your colon is so spastic", and have struggled to find a solution to my stomach woes for years.) So bread and fruit and yogurt are my staples.
Funny thing is, breakfast is my favorite meal. Or rather, breakfast is my favorite category of foods. It's definitely because of the carbs- the pancakes, waffles, muffins, donuts, bagels, french toast, syrups, jellies, jams, and honey. All amazing. All technically desserts, but that's for another post. Instead of never ever eating these things, when I do crave breakfast foods, I serve them for supper. Who doesn't love pancakes, eggs, and bacon at night? And that's what happened with this dish. While it might be a breakfast casserole by name, it makes a delightful dinner!
This isn't a light dish. But it's wholesome and hearty. Crusty whole grain bread is ideal for soaking up the creamy custard. Turkey sausage could be substituted for pork, but let's be honest, it never tastes the same. I'd rather eat the real deal once and a while. Pick your favorite crisp juicy apples and piquant sharp cheddar (the sharper the cheese the farther the flavor goes). I thought this was a breeze to throw together and definitely worth the minimal prep. I had a hard time not pulling out what little we had left over (note that I halved the recipe- we're not that gluttonous!) and devouring it first thing the next morning. Oh, wait. I did.
INGREDIENTS
6 cups crusty whole wheat bread, cubed (I used whole wheat sourdough)
4 medium shallots, sliced
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
3 apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I used a mix of golden delicious and fuji)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb. mild Italian pork sausage
4 eggs, whisked
4 cups half and half
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the bread cubes on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
2. Meanwhile, saute the sliced shallots in the olive oil in a skillet until translucent and starting to brown. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook until no longer pink, breaking up into pieces with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
3. Whisk together the eggs and half-and-half in a bowl with the salt and a few grinds of black pepper, and set aside.
4. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish. In the bottom of the baking dish, spread half of the sausage/shallot mixture, half of the cubed apples, and half of the cheddar cheese. Top with the toasted bread cubes. On top of the bread cubes, layer the remaining sausage/shallot mixture and the remaining cubed apples. Pour the half-and-half mixture over the dish, pressing the bread cubes down gently so they all get moistened. Top with the remaining grated cheddar.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown on top and set.
Serves 8.
(Adapted from Feel Good Eats )
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