November 9, 2010

mini breakfast loaves

Michael loves sausage breakfast casserole. I mean really. One time I asked him, "Do you love me more than breakfast casserole?" We play this game sometimes.

He paused. Then said, "Yes. I do."

Umm... the pause?! He then said, "I really really love breakfast casserole!"

That's a statement that was later canceled out when he said, "But if I had to give it up to be with you, I would."

I'm not sure what kind of weird world it would be if Michael had to choose between me and breakfast casserole. Luckily for him, he gets both! And for his birthday this year, I made my babe-ay some sausage breakfast casserole.




I knew that we would never eat a whole 13x9 pan of the yummy stuff. I wanted something that he could freeze individually, and take out to heat up whenever he wanted to eat one. I thought about making the casserole in muffin pans. Then I found my Mom's mini loaf pans. Perfect.

If you don't have a mini loaf pan, this looks like a good one: Baker's Secret 116472302 Basics Nonstick Petite Loaf Pan.



It starts off with some eggs. 10 eggs, actually. I know this sounds like a lot, but I made 16 mini breakfast loaves. If you're using the mini loaf pans, you will need all 10 eggs. If you decide to use muffin pans or a 13x9 casserole dish, you will need to alter the recipe a bit.



Brown up some breakfast sausage. I used Jimmy Dean honey maple something something. Delicious! But you could use turkey sausage, ham, or make this meat-less. Using a sweet breakfast sausage really adds a great flavor though.



Tear the sourdough bread loaf into chunks and put them in the bottom of a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. The sausage goes on top of the bread, then shredded cheese on top of the sausage. I used Monterey Jack because Michael likes that. Cheddar would work great too!



Combine the eggs and milk. I put the mixture in a pourable measuring cup to make things easier.



It should look like this when it's done. The bread will soak up some of the egg mixture.

Bake it at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Keep checking it to make sure the eggs are cooking nicely.




When you take a mini breakfast loaf out of the pan and bite into it... oh my gosh. YUM. It's flavorful from the sausage. It's cheesy with a nice crunch from the bread.

It's filling too! We each ate 2 of these before our bike trip that day and were energized until lunchtime. Michael had 12 mini loaves left over. I put 2 loaves in individual plastic baggies and put them in his freezer. Now whenever he wants breakfast, he can heat up a bag. He loves it and has been enjoying it all week.

Here's the recipe!

Mini Breakfast Loaves

1 pound breakfast sausage
1 small loaf sourdough bread
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
10 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
salt and pepper, to taste
Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini loaf pans with Cooking Spray.

Brown breakfast sausage in a medium skillet. Tear bread into 1-inch chunks or smaller. Put bread into the bottom of each mini loaf, spreading evenly. Divide breakfast sausage evenly between the mini loaves, on top of the bread. Sprinkle cheese on top of the sausage.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into each mini loaf, dividing it evenly. Make sure each loaf is almost full, but not quite.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until eggs are cooked through and cheese is melted.

9 comments:

  1. Thank you for this recipe!!! It will be perfect for my husbands morning shift!!

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  2. I LOVE this! It's perrrfect for my kids! Plus, raising chickens, we have a lot of eggs and this is a great way to freeze up some breakfast for a quick grab on the go! Thanks!

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  3. I've had these for breakfast every day this week so far, and I have just enough to finish off the week. Thank you, my love :)

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  4. Hey Jenna, how do you reheat up these little loaves?

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  5. Robert! Just heat them up in the microwave for a minute or so, on a microwavable plate or just leave them in the bag. Easy easy!

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