Simple but takes time – garyskitchen.net

December 28, 2024

2024 Badass Black Eyed Peas

Is there anyone else out there besides me waking up on a Saturday morning thinking about making black eyed peas for good luck? I didn’t think so. When I searched my own blog I was a bit surprised on how many versions of Badass I have.

Badass Black Eyed Peas

Black Eyed Peas – Pandemic Version 2021

and Vegetarian Badass Black Eyed Peas – 2022

I decided to make a no bacon version. Ground chicken because I found a source for good ground chicken at a reasonable price (hint, Aldi).

The beans needs to simmer for several hours. Give the beans an overnight soak in filtered water and change the water several times. Drain. Everyone in the pool. I don’t cook the beans separately for this dish.

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, chili powder
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
1 qt low sodium chicken broth
2 T tomato paste and one 15 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb black eyed peas (dried, see soaking instructions)
1 lb ground chicken
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Change the soaking water at least twice. Drain the beans again and set aside. Take the pot to the stove.
Olive oil medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened about five minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute.
Add the chicken and brown, breaking up the clumps as you go.
Toss everything else into the pool. Spices, tomato paste, broth, and beans.
The black eyed peas (drained) with all ingredients needs enough chicken broth to barely cover everything. You may need more or less broth than one quart.
Bring to a boil then simmer for several hours with the pot partially covered.
Check the pot and stir occasionally. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum. Makes about 6-8 servings.

Odd Notes

This dish will taste better on day two. The chicken broth is a substitution for beef broth and results in a lighter dish.

The quantity of dried beans is no longer one pound because someone in the family (not me) claimed I put too much beans in my chili. This version has a ratio of beans to meat that hopefully meats her approval. Get it? Meats.

Texas Corn Bread of course.

Happy New Year! I hope this dish brings you much good luck in 2025 (and some tasty leftovers.

January 16, 2022February 14, 2022

Vegetarian Badass Black Eyed Peas – 2022

I make black eyed peas once a year for good luck and good leftovers. This year will be different. One of my goals for the year is to make black eyed peas more than once a year.

“What’s all the chopping I hear?”

“I’m making a vegetarian version of my world famous Badass Black Eyed Peas.”

“Hmm…”

This recipe makes four servings as I suspect I’ll be the only one eating it.

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
3 carrots, scraped and diced
1 large green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 T Mexican oregano
1 tsp apiece cumin, paprika
1-2 cups vegetable broth
1 15 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1 cup black eyed peas (dried)
Salt & pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a bowl large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the bowl with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then rinse the beans. Drain again.
In a medium size pot heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Saute the onion, and green pepper until softened about five minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute.
Add your spices, carrots and saute another minute until aromatic.
Pour the can of stewed tomatoes into the pot. Break up the tomatoes with your stirring spoon.
Add the beans and enough broth to barely cover the beans.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Partially cover the pot with a lid and let ‘er go for a couple of hours.
Check the pot and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.

Salt, pepper, and favorite hot sauce. Season to taste.

End Notes

Note the process starts the evening before if you’re using dried beans. You can always substitute two cans of black eyed peas, drained and rinsed. If you use canned beans, decrease the cooking time on the stove top to around 30 minutes.

I reduced the quantity of dried beans because I think I’ll be the only one eating these beans. There was sufficient salt in both the canned tomatoes and broth so I felt no need to add any more.

Texas Corn Bread or serve over rice.

This dish was inspired by Suzy at https://www.themediterraneandish.com/black-eyed-peas-recipe-greek/.

If you have celery hanging out in the fridge add some at the same step as the spices and carrots.

December 31, 2021

Badass Black Eyed Peas – 2021

I make black eyed peas once a year for good luck and good leftovers. Two years ago I finally captured the recipe in this blog format. Last year due to supply chain issues there was no ground turkey so I used cow. This year there was plenty of ground turkey but I used stewed tomatoes and beef broth. The beans should turn out tasty but the voice inside my head says,

“Self. You need to document the changes in the recipe .”

So I did. Here are the links to the earlier Badass posts.

Badass Black Eyed Peas and Black Eyed Peas – Pandemic Version 2021

4 slices center cut bacon
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, chili powder
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
1 qt no sodium beef broth
2 T tomato paste and one 15 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb black eyed peas (dried)
1 lb ground turkey 85/15
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Change the soaking water at least twice.
In a large stock pot fry the bacon in the olive oil until the strips are crisp and the fat is rendered.
Saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened about five minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute.
Add the turkey and brown, breaking up the clumps as you go.
Toss everything else into the pool. Spices, tomato paste, broth, and beans.
The black eyed peas should be drained and the chicken broth needs to barely cover all of the ingredients.
Bring to a boil then simmer for several hours with the pot partially covered.
Check the pot and stir occasionally. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum. Makes about 6-8 servings.

Odd Notes

This dish will taste better on day two. At the two hour mark I tested for seasoning and amped the beans up a bit. The beef broth works well and now I’m glad I wrote this down because in a year I will have forgotten this substitution.

This year I reduced the quantity of dried beans because someone in the family once told me I put too much beans in my chili. So the 2021 version is meatier than in past versions.

Texas Corn Bread of course.

Happy New Year! I hope this dish brings you much good luck in 2022.

February 7, 2021

Three Bean Chili Super Bowl LV

Before we get to this year’s chili recipe I’ve decided my Three Bean Chili Madness was a pain in the rump to make because I cooked the beans and meat/veggie mixture separately. This year’s version is more of “everyone in the pool” which truly becomes less of a pain in the rump. So here we go.

This chili cooks all day long but I didn’t use a slow cooker. I was hunkered down in the house and the chili got the stove top treatment. You could easily use a slow cooker but you would still need to brown the meat and veggies before everyone goes in the pool
The beans get an overnight soak and a quick rinse before adding to the pot. Don’t make the same mistake I made. I soaked six cups of dried beans and had way too much beans. So approximately 3-4 cups of soaked beans went into the chili while the remainder is being turned into Sopa de Frijol con Vegetal – Updated 11.10.20
This is a mild chili and you can add heat to your liking. Always easier to add the spice than to put too much in and figure out later how to tame the flame.

So now that you know this is not a pain in the rump recipe…

1 T extra virgin olive and 1 T grape seed oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
2 tsp garlic powder or several cloves fresh garlic, chopped (or both)
1 tsp each oregano, paprika, chili powder, cumin, dried cilantro
1 can (15 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) no sodium chicken broth1 small can mild green chilies
3 T tomato paste
1 C each dry Mayocoba beans, pinto beans, and cranberry beans
1 lb ground turkey 85/15
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a bowl large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the bowl with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then rinse beans. Drain again and set aside.
In a large stock pot heat the oils and saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened. Add the chopped garlic and saute for another minute.
Add the meat and brown.
Time to toss everyone else into the pool. Spices, tomatoes, paste, chilies, broth, beans.
Simmer for several hours. Stir occasionally. Add more water or broth if the chili gets too thick. Adjust your seasonings.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum.

More odd tips

Don’t add salt until the end. The Mayocobo beans will break apart and make this chili creamy and thick (unless you add more broth or water). The recipe will make approximately eight servings. I used chicken broth and as the chili cooked down and got too thick I added vegetable broth. Note you can use either fresh or dried garlic. I used both. You can never have too much garlic.

Don’t forget to make Texas Corn Bread because if you forget it, you’ll regret it.

January 1, 2021January 16, 2022

Black Eyed Peas – Pandemic Version 2020

Aliens wearing headlamps skinning up a mountain somewhere Aspen CO

I make black eyed peas once a year for New Year’s Day. For good luck and good leftovers.

I was at the grocery store yesterday and a lot of the shelves were bare. New Years plus an upcoming Oklahoma ice storm with predictions of up to 8 inches of snow sent a lot of people to the stores to clean out the shelves. I didn’t realize at the time that this year there would be no Badass Black Eyed Peas for the New Year. Not a single package of ground turkey. The only ground beef in the meat section were 10 pound rolls. I was fortunate to find some 80/20 in the butcher case. This too was almost gone. I forgot the bacon. The celery looked bad (but I knew I had one stalk left at the house). This year’s black eyed peas was definitely a Pandemic Pantry version.

Before we get to this year’s throw together recipe here are a few odd tips and tricks for this year’s version.

The beans still need to simmer for several hours.
The beans get an overnight soak in filtered water and you will change the water several times before preparation
Everyone in the pool? No, not this year.
Unlike other chili recipes this recipe has hints of chili. But due to limited ingredients this year’s black eyed peas will be more chili-like.

So now that you know this isn’t Badass here’s what I had to do.

1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, chili powder
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin

1 14 oz can tomatoes with chilies
1 qt no sodium chicken broth (or more, see odd tips)
2 T tomato paste
1 lb black eyed peas
1 lb ground beef 80/20
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Change the soaking water at least twice.
Turn burner up to high and heat up a large stock pot. When the pot is hot brown the beef and break up well. Don’t add any oil to the pot because you’ll have plenty of fat in the 80/20.
When the meat is browned take off the burner and drain well.
Bring the pot back to the burner and turn heat up to medium. Add the onion, celery, green pepper, garlic and saute until softened about five minutes.
Add the spices and saute another five minutes.
Drain the beans (it’s OK if there’s a little water left).
Now toss everything else into the pool. Tomato paste, broth, tomatoes with chilies and the beans.
The chicken broth needs to barely cover all of the ingredients.
Bring to a boil then simmer for several hours with the pot partially covered.
Check the pot and stir occasionally. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum. Makes about 10-12 servings.

More odd tips

Don’t add salt until the beans are cooked through and soft. There is plenty of salt in the chili powder and broth so salt last. As you adjust the seasonings you may want to add more chili powder and/or oregano. I tend to use garlic powder (my less than top secret favorite flavor enhancer). I also added dried cilantro. I would have used beef broth but I didn’t have any. As the dish thickens add more broth (I had an open container of organic vegetable broth so this is what I used).

This dish might taste better on day two but I haven’t even tasted it on day one yet.

Texas Corn Bread of course.

December 13, 2020December 13, 2020

Pandemic Pantry One Bean Chili

See Three Bean Chili Madness for my odd tips and tricks for making chili. Or not. Up to you.

It’s snowing today so clearly chili had to be made. I made a trip to the grocery store yesterday but didn’t have chili on the brain so I was missing some ingredients. I know I had two green peppers in the fridge but somehow I used them both yesterday. No worries because part of the Pandemic Pantry mindset is to use whatever is on hand, improvise, and try not to waste any food. So if you don’t have two cups of leftover sauteed onions and peppers sitting in the fridge, it’s OK. Use a fresh pepper. No stewed tomatoes? No problem, use what you have on the shelf. Sub ground beef for ground turkey. Let your provisions and imagination be your guide.

1 T extra virgin olive or grapeseed oil
1 /2 medium sweet onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cups leftover sauteed onions and green pepper from last night’s dinner of faux fajitas OR 1 large green pepper
2 tsp garlic powder OR 2 cloves fresh garlic chopped
1 tsp each oregano, paprika, chili powder, cumin
1 can (15 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 cup low sodium beef broth

1 small can mild green chilies
3 T tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 pound dried pinto beans
1 lb ground turkey
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight OR use the quick soak method of bringing to a boil, cover and let sit for one hour.
Drain then add fresh water to the beans. Bring to a boil, add your soup recipe seasonings, then lower the heat down to a simmer. The seasoning for the beans is based off my Sopa de Frijol con Vegetal soup recipe. Leave out the tomatoes until later. (No salt and no chili powder yet).
Allow the beans to simmer for several hours.
In a different large stock pot heat the oil and saute the onion, celery, and green pepper (if using fresh) until softened. Add the garlic (fresh or powder) and saute for another minute.
Add the meat and brown.
Add red wine and cook off the alcohol.
Add the stewed tomatoes and break up the tomato chunks into smaller chunks. Add tomato paste, stir well and simmer until mixture thickens.
Time to toss everyone else into the pool. Spices, tomatoes, chilies, broth, cooked beans.
Simmer for several hours. Stir occasionally. Add more broth if the chili gets too thick.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum.

More odd tips

Don’t add salt until the beans are cooked through and soft. If your chili powder has salt in it I would add after the beans have softened. The recipe will make approximately eight servings. You need Texas Corn Bread with this or ANY chili. I’m not kidding. As always this chili is mild because you can always add the heat but if you make the chili too spicy to begin with…good luck. I had some kidney beans but decided not to put them in this chili.

This recipe is not in the book pictured. But I always flip through the book to see what other cooks put in their chili. Besides, I love the cover.

Mid-afternoon seasoning adjustments

You’ll need more than one cup of broth. I’ll end up using between one and two cups to get the consistency where I want it to be. I might change the OR for garlic powder and fresh garlic to AND. Added more onion powder, chili power, dried cilantro, salt and pepper. The beans are soft and will get softer because I’m letting the chili go another two hours on the stove.

November 27, 2020November 27, 2020

Random Thoughts the Day After Thanksgiving 2020

Friday 11/27

Remember the Mantra: never get too high, never get too low. The Truth Machine this morning stared back at me with the number 179. Yes, we had a very good Thanksgiving how did you know? Too much sugar, too many calories, too much of a good time. But remember the mantra. I’m convinced my number will come down again. Maybe not today or tomorrow but the number will come back down.

A random encounter at the grocery store may have changed my Thanksgiving turkey buying habits forever. As I was mindlessly staring at the frozen birds another shopper came over, excused himself and reached for what appeared to be a very small turkey breast. He already had one in his other hand so I just had to ask,

“What is that?”

“Boneless breast. My wife doesn’t want any other type of turkey for Thanksgiving and told me to get two.”

I picked up one of these from the freezer section and examined it. I’d never seen a boneless turkey breast roast before. Bone in yes, boneless no. What the hell why not? I bought one only to be told by MY wife when I got home to go get another one so we can have leftovers. Which I did. The only picture I snapped was the pre-roasting picture. I didn’t take a picture when the turkey came out of the oven because the turkey skin didn’t brown but the veggies in the pan did.

Uncooked and not recommended to be consumed without cooking first.

Defrost for two days in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the outer wrapping, pat dry with paper towels and do not remove the string webbing holding the breast meat together in a roast shape.
In a roasting pan scatter chunks of onion, celery and carrots (peeled or unpeeled, up to you).
Season the veggies well. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and parsley ( I couldn’t find any rosemary or that would have gone into the mix). Sprinkle the veggies with some olive oil.
Place the roasting rack in the pan, spreading the veggies enough so that the rack sits firmly in the pan. Position your breasts so that they don’t fall through the rack.
Rub olive oil (or melted butter, your choice) on the breasts. Season well. I used the same seasonings as in Step #5 with the addition of onion powder. No rosemary unfortunately.
Tent the pan with aluminum foil and roast for 1.5 hours. Remove the foil at this point and continue roasting for another 30 minutes. (broil for five minutes if you want to try and get the skin brown for pictures).
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 15 minutes, foil tent back on to keep the meat warm. Using a pair of kitchen scissors carefully cut and remove the string webbing.
Slice and serve.

Each boneless breast is approximately 3 pounds and will provide 4-6 servings. Since our Pandemic Inspired gathering was 4 adults and 2 Tiny Humans we had plenty of turkey for leftovers. Two of the four adults are dark meat aficionados and we sacrificed our personal preferences for ease of preparation. Everyone was quite pleased with how the boneless roasts delivered very moist and flavorful turkey.

January 1, 2020September 22, 2020

Badass Black Eyed Peas

chili madness

I make black eyed peas once a year for New Year’s Day. For good luck and good leftovers. Every year I always say to myself,

“Self. You need to write the recipe down.”

And each and every year I forget. This year however is different. A friend asked for the recipe. So I actually sat my butt down into my chair and started writing. I think my 2020 version of this recipe is better than in years gone by. But I can’t be absolutely certain because I never wrote down any other versions of this annual bean concoction. What I am certain of is the 2020 version is Badass.

Before we get to the recipe there’s a few odd tips and tricks you need to know.

The beans needs to simmer for several hours.
The beans get an overnight soak in filtered water and you will change the water several times.
Everyone in the pool. I don’t cook the beans separately for this dish.
Unlike other chili recipes this recipe has hints of chili. Don’t try to make this a chili because it’s not chili.

So now that you know not to call these beans a chili here’s how to make it Badass.

4 slices center cut bacon
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, chili powder
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
1 qt low sodium chicken broth
3 T tomato paste
1 lb black eyed peas
1 lb ground turkey 85/15
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Change the soaking water at least twice.
In a large stock pot fry the bacon in the olive oil until the strips are crisp and the fat is rendered.
Saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened about five minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute.
Add the turkey and brown, breaking up the clumps as you go.
Toss everything else into the pool. Spices, tomato paste, broth, and beans.
The black eyed peas should be drained and the chicken broth needs to barely cover all of the ingredients.
Bring to a boil then simmer for several hours with the pot partially covered.
Check the pot and stir occasionally. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum. Makes about 10-12 servings.

More odd tips

This dish tastes better on day two.

Texas Corn Bread of course.

This recipe is not in the book pictured above. But I like the cover and I’m hoping the author gets the hint.

For my vegan and vegetarian readers this dish is neither vegan nor vegetarian. Feel free to make your own veggie version with a nice organic vegetable or mushroom broth.

January 19, 2019January 21, 2019

Three Bean Chili Madness

chili madness

Before we get to the recipe there’s a few odd tips and tricks you need to know.

This chili cooks all day long but I didn’t use a slow cooker. It was a cold day and I was hunkered down in the house.
The beans get an overnight soak and are cooked separately first for several hours.
You make beans first then add the beans to the meats.
Unlike other chili recipes this is very mild. You add your own heat at serving time.

So now that you know this is a pain in the rump recipe (time wise) here we go.

1 T extra virgin olive or grapeseed oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp each oregano, paprika, chili powder, cumin, dried cilantro
1 can (15 oz) no salt diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) low sodium chicken broth

1 small can mild green chilies
3 T tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 C each dry Mayocoba beans, pinto beans, and light red kidney beans
1 lb grass fed ground beef 80/20
1 lb ground turkey
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Bring to a boil, add your soup recipe seasonings, then lower the heat down to a simmer. The seasoning for the beans is based off my Sopa de Frijol con Vegetal soup recipe. Substitute the three bean mix for the 100% pintos and leave out the tomatoes until later. (No salt and the chili powder is also a no salt variety).
Allow the beans to simmer for several hours.
In a different large stock pot heat the oil and saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened.
Add the meats and brown.
Add red wine and cook off the alcohol.
Time to toss everyone else into the pool. Spices, tomatoes, chilies, broth, beans.
Simmer for several hours. Stir occasionally. Add more water or broth if the chili gets too thick.
Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
Yum.

More odd tips

Don’t add salt until the beans are cooked through and soft. The Mayocobo beans will break apart and make this chili creamy and thick (unless you add more broth or water). The recipe will make approximately eight servings. I used chicken broth instead of beef broth because I thought I had beef broth in the cupboard, looked and did not find it. I found the beef broth the next day. The package was sideways and I didn’t see it. I used both ground beef and ground turkey because I didn’t buy enough ground beef and the meat to bean ratio was wrong. I had ground turkey so I used it. And that’s how this recipe turned into a beef and bird chili.

This recipe is not in the book pictured. Lucky you.

December 10, 2017June 16, 2019

Xmas Breakfast Casserole

“Why don’t you make that breakfast casserole you used to make?”

“What’s wrong with your Breakfast Casserole?”

“Not enough eggs.”

“Can’t you just put more eggs in it? Besides I have no idea where that recipe is.”

“It’s on your blog.”

Well, it’s here now. Here’s another fine example of something I made at some point in the past but the recipe went AWOL. So here we go (again) and this recipe is as original as any you’ll find online. Overnight breakfast casseroles are all pretty much the same. Some use potatoes, some don’t. I saw one recipe that used croutons instead of bread. Mushrooms and spinach seemed pretty popular. Use what you have on hand and let your palate be your guide.

Xmas Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Serves 12 or more depending upon portion size

Ingredients

2 pounds pork breakfast sausage (if you’re in Oklahoma I used half Blue and Gold and half JC Potter)
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
4 cups white bread (Pep Farm Hearty Farmhouse white, crusts on) cubed
14 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard
12 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (medium, Wisconsin sharp, and NY sharp)
1/4 cup butter melted
1/2 small red pepper, small dice
3-4 green onions, tops only, diced

Instructions

The night before:

Cook the sausage in a large skillet and drain the fat.
Add onion and saute until the onions are translucent.
Allow sausage/onion mixture to cool.
Coat the bottom of a 15″ x 10″ baking dish with melted butter.
Spread the bread cubes on the bottom of the dish.
Add the cooled sausage/onion mixture.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and dry mustard.
Spread the shredded cheeses over the sausage mix.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the sausage and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning:

Take the casserole out of the refrigerator and allow to sit for at least an hour. It can be cool to the touch but not cold.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes until the top turns golden brown and the casserole is bubbling on the sides.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Sprinkle the red pepper and green onions on top.
Yum.

Post Xmas Brunch Observations

You’ll note this recipe does not call for any salt or pepper. You won’t need salt or pepper in the dish. Allow your guests to season as they please. Trust me on this. This dish is quite rich and full of flavor even the salsa and ketchup on the counter never got used. We made Xmas Breakfast Potatoes on the side. This casserole freezes well for quick and hearty meals when you don’t feel like cereal or toast. Make sure you’re feeding a crowd because otherwise you’ll have a lot of leftovers.