Lori at Write Mind Open Heart defines a perfect moment as "noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between." Every Monday bloggers from all over the blogosphere pause to be mindful of the perfect moments that happen when we aren't even trying.
Last week was pretty rough on our little hobbit/ent faamily. When we got back from K-town, I ended up with a brutal head cold. I hadn't had a real cold in over a year, so this hit me pretty hard. Foggy head, dizzy, feverish... not to mention going through a ridiculous amount of kleenex. Then sweet little Ginny got some sort of tummy issue that caused some pretty serious projectile vomitting (she gets a gold medal for distance). And finally, my Beloved seems to have come down with a combination tummy-head cold thing that's making him not his usual happy-go-lucky entish self.
Ginny and I are both on the mend now, and seeing as it's a long weekend here on the frozen flatland, I decided I would do something that usually happens only two or three times a year... I made brunch!
Okay, so it was just a brunch casserole, but it happens so rarely that I had to brag about it! It's taken me a few rounds of experiments, but I've finally found the combination of ingredients that we really like. It's super easy.
Mrs. Gamgee's Brunch Casserole
6 large eggs
2 cups ricotta cheese (one container)
1 pound breakfast sausage, casings removed
1 med onion, diced
2 med tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped
3-4 cups frozen hashbrowns (diced or shredded)
1/4 butter, melted
Shredded cheese (cheddar, mozza, whatever)
Preheat oven to 350F. In a lightly greased 9x13 pan, spread out hashbrowns until bottom of pan is covered. Pour melted butter over hashbrowns evenly, and bake for 45 minutes (until golden brown). Brown and crumble the sausage, with the onion, and drain well. In a large bowl, combine eggs, ricotta, spinach, tomatoes and a handful of shredded cheese. Add in sausage and onions, and stir until just combined. Pour over hashbrowns, and sprinkle another handful of shredded cheese over the top. Bake for one hour. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
I wish I had a picture to share. I totally forgot to grab the camera. This recipe is totally flexible. You can use cottage cheese in place of ricotta (drain off most of the whey), and any veggies you like can be used. You can bake the potato crust and mix the egg/sausage part the night before, and then just pour it over the potatoes in the morning. Sooooo good! It's appalling how much of this my Beloved and I can eat. And the leftovers reheat really nicely in the microwave.
Feeling good enough to cook brunch is my perfect moment of the week. What's yours?
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I'm trying my hand at making my own pizza dough tonight. Wish me luck!
