new favorite brunch casserole!

:-D  ...Cuz my old favorite, while delicious, is a pain in the rump to prepare....

Again, it's a personalization of a Dana Carpender creation  In her HoldTheToast blog-post called EGGS! she outlines an infinitely-variable egg casserole -- she's a big afficionado of those things.  Me, i tend to not have my appetite satisfied by eggs, even in the presence of bacon or sausage, but when a steak is added, obviously it's THAT which makes me feel full and fed.

But i do love me a simple breakfast that can be prepared in advance!  I never was a morning person, though i CAN function at dawn if i need to.  If i were living in more primitive conditions (as extrapolated by camping experience) i COULD rise with the sun and turn in with it too, but i enjoy my civilized habit of waking when i've had enough sleep, regardless of the hour, and slowly readying myself to face the world with the aid of coffee, interesting reading material, and COMPLETE LACK OF CONVERSATION.  ;-)  Call me spoiled....

While my guests were in town i thawed a pound of breakfast sausage, with the intention of preparing my daughter's recipe for stuffed jalapenos, but alas i was "enjoying" one of those periods when just running around drains me out;  i never made them, or contracted to have L or J do it for me.  Thus i had a pound of thawed Jimmy Dean's Natural to use up.

I fried it up and drained it well, and set it aside.  This morning, i remembered it and added a couple of tablespoons of Dijon mustard, about 1/4 c. of boxed Chianti and a little filtered water, and let the liquid simmer down to nothing.

Then i cracked 6 eggs into the food-processor and added about a cup of cottage cheese and a little salt, and beat the hell out of them.  Greased an 8x8 baking dish.  Poured in about half the egg mixture.  Sprinkled on the sausage, then about a cupful of grated cheddar.  Topped evenly with the rest of the eggs.  Placed in a preheated 350-degree oven.  Baked 45 minutes.  Served with salsa.

YUM.  My husband liked it, too.  We discussed possibilities, and decided that the innards of a Denver omelette would be our next try, with italian-sausage-and-peppers-and-mozzarella-with-marinara definitely on the must-do list.  Then maybe bacon with tomato and mushrooms like my favorite Spanish omelette recipe ... and also bacon-avocado-swiss with a creole sauce....  INFINITELY variable.

Making omelettes for more than two people at once is awfully time-consuming:  i think this will be the perfect alternative.  And compared with my sister's outstanding breakfast casserole, SIGNIFICANTLY less work.