Eggs

Holiday Beef Recipe Week #2 – Texas Style Breakfast Casserole!

by Allie on December 9, 2011

in Breakfast,Eggs,Featured Stories,Give Aways and Reviews,Recipes,Reviews,Sausage and Bacon

It’s week two of the Texas Beef Council recipes for the holidays (or any time of the year for that matter!). Of all the recipe options that the Texas Beef Council is giving me, I am trying to pick the simplest and most down home recipes I can find and that’s why this week I chose the “Southwest Breakfast Casserole” which I changed to “Texan or Texas Style Breakfast Casserole.” My soul just won’t let me categorize Texas with the Southwest y’all. So wrong. Plus I had to change their recipe up a little bit to my liking, aka improve it Texas style.

This week we’re using beef sausage as the beef of choice for Texan Beef Casserole. In case you have trouble finding beef sausage at your local grocery store, I highly recommend my own beef sausage recipe to use instead.

Personally, I thought the recipe the council gave me was just a little over the top on fat content (probably because I ate at Long John Silvers earlier in the day), so I’ve trimmed the fat content way back. Instead of using half and half, my recipe calls for skim milk. Instead of using 4 cups of cheese, 3 cups will do just fine. My sausage uses 93% lean ground beef so if you can make your own you’ll cut down on fat even further. Although I’ve increased the amount of eggs by 50% (9 eggs instead of 6), I’ve also increased the amount of protein by doing so. I personally didn’t like the idea of using white bread as the base of my casserole (bland), so I used crushed Santitas corn chips instead; to cut even more fat out, try using prepared instant grits. I completely omitted the margarine/butter from the recipe.

Warning: Your casserole will be mild or spicy depending on what type of chilis you use!

Texas Style Breakfast Casserole

Half an 11 oz bag of Santitas corn chips, lightly crushed
1 lb. beef sausage
3 cups Fiesta blend shredded cheese
9 eggs
1 can or two cups chopped green chilis
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. prepared mustard
3 cups skim milk
bottled picante sauce or salsa

Method: Spray a medium hot pan with cooking oil, then brown sausage. Drain on paper towels.

Spread a thin layer of lightly crushed Santitas corn chips on a greased 9×13 casserole dish OR two 12 muffins tin OR two 8-9 inch pie plates OR one 12 muffins tin and one 8-9 inch pie plate. Spread beef sausage over corn chips. Spread chopped green chilis over beef sausage. Sprinkle with cheese.

In a medium bowl combine the eggs, skim milk, salt, pepper, and mustard. Beat until everything is incorporated (by hand 2 minutes). Pour over other ingredients (fill to tops of muffin tin).

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 40 minutes (muffin tins need only about 30 minutes). Cool five minutes to allow the eggs to set. Serve with picante sauce or salsa on the side.

During the next four weeks I (as well as nine other Texas Beef-loving Bloggers) will be featuring dishes from the Texas Beef Council to help you get cooking this Holiday season.

Be sure to join us on Tuesday evening, December 13 from 8p to 9p CST for the “Beef Tweet Exchange”! We’ll be featuring great tips and information to help you create the perfect holiday menu! Follow hostess @TexasHolly for all the details. We will be joined by experts from the Texas Beef Council – Chef Tiffany, Jason the Butcher and Nutrition Expert Lerin – who will be available to answer all your questions. Over 20 prizes will be awarded, including a Tom Perini Fully-Cooked Tenderloin Roast, a $100 gift card, and a variety of beef items like a “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” apron, a meat thermometer, a cutting board and steak seasonings! Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. All winners will be chosen at random from those using the #TxBeef hashtag during the event. Let us know that you’re planning to attend by tweeting @TxBeef! Hope to see you there!

Disclosure: I am participating in a four week campaign promoting Texas beef and am being compensated for my efforts. All opinions are my own. Recipes are courtesy the Texas Beef Council.

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Sausage Cheese Grits Casserole

by Allie on July 8, 2010

in Breakfast,Eggs,Recipes

One of my favorite dishes that brings back many fond food memories is a bowl full of creamy white grits. Too often as a child, I think anyway, my mother made oatmeal. Occasionally she’d mix breakfast up with a bowl of white rice or cream of wheat with milk, butter, and sugar. However, what I really looked forward to were the times she’d cook us grits.

In hour home, we ate grits two different ways: 1.) for breakfast with milk, sugar, and Country Crock mixed in, or 2.) for dinner with cheese and salt or more Country Crock and salt. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered that there was more to grits than Country Crock.

One day, I came across a recipe that blended the flavor of fresh country sausage, sharp cheddar cheese, whipped eggs, and grits all into one handsome casserole. I’ve been serving the dish to my family ever since.

Sausage Cheese Grits Casserole (printable recipe)

1 scant cup quick cooking grits
4 cups water
4 eggs
2 cups any yellow cheese, divided
1 cup milk
1 pound mild sausage (or your choice of flavor)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and minced finely (optional)

In a large pot set over medium high heat, add the sausage all at once and begin to brown. Once the sausage is about half-way cooked, drain to remove excess oil (do not rinse!) and then return to the pot and continue cooking until thoroughly browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Using the pot you just browned your sausage in (there should be a small amount of fat left), slowly add the water all at once and bring to a boil. Add grits and cook for about 4 1/2 minutes or until it begins to thicken. Remove pot from heat.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the four eggs. Add a small amount of grits to the eggs and then add the entire egg mixture to the grits. You want to be careful not to make strings of cooked eggs in the grits so it’s important to get the eggs about the same temperature as the grits before adding them to the pot.

Add the sausage, milk, and 1 1/2 cups of cheese to grits/egg mixture. Stir thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the entire mixture to a two quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 F for one hour. Cool for ten minutes, cut and serve with Southern hospitality.

NOTE: If you are using jalapenos in this recipe, add them when you add the sausage, cheese and eggs to the grits mixture. You can optionally top with sliced jalapenos on top. An easy method would be to use canned jalapenos. Chili peppers would be a milder choice.

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Scrambled Eggs with Pep

8 March 2010

A pepped up, yet simple, twist on traditional scrambled eggs, because let’s face it–regular scrambled eggs get boring after awhile. Slightly spicy, completely cheesy. I recommend you use fresh cilantro from your garden–you’ll instantly notice the difference. I plant whole coriander seeds just for this purpose. This is certainly a recipe I’ll be making over [...]

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