While trying to figure out what kind of brunch masterpiece I was going to impress everyone with, I decided that I should probably serve some real food, too. Since I was going to have my hands full with setup and baking, I went in search of a nice breakfast casserole that could be prepped ahead of time and feed a crowd.
I almost said to heck with it and made cheesy hashbrowns, but I’m glad I kept looking, because this recipe is a real keeper! Eggs, (veggie) sausage, cheese, and onions combine to make a wonderful breakfast treat that’s quick to put together and sure to please.
The coolest thing about this recipe is that you do all of the prep the night before, and then toss it into the oven in the morning. It was super convenient for a regular brunch with friends, but it’d be a fantastic time saver for a special occasion like Christmas morning or Easter brunch.
The original recipe called for sausage, but since we were hosting vegetarians, I used a vegetarian sausage and the meat eaters were none the wiser. If you like a little spice, I’d highly recommend adding some additional peppers, or do what we did and serve it with salsa fresca and hot sauce.
- 8 ounces spicy vegetarian breakfast sausage
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
- 14 eggs large
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 8 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack or Mexican cheese
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can 4.5oz chopped green chiles, undrained
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes halved
- 2 green onions sliced
- 1/8 cup black olives sliced
- chopped fresh cilantro
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Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat then whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and cook over medium, whisking constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in cheese, chiles, and salt.
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Cook sausage. Remove from pan and drain if necessary.
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Melt butter in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and cilantro, and saute. Add eggs, salt, and pepper, and cook, without stirring, until eggs begin to set, then bring a spatula across the bottom of the pan to distribute uncooked eggs. Continue to cook until eggs are thickened but still moist. Remove from heat, and gently fold in the sausage and 1 1/2 cups of the Cheese Sauce.
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Spoon 1/3 cup of the egg mixture down the center of each tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Repeat for all 8 tortillas. Pour remaining Cheese Sauce evenly over tortillas, then sprinkle evenly with pepper jack cheese. Refrigerate until 45 minutes before meal time (overnight is OK.)
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Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle with toppings, serve with hot sauce and salsa.