Breakfast Thursday 16 January 2025

Potato and Sausage Casserole

I really liked the last time I made this, so again layer today with my tweaks noted by >>

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/potato_spinach_sausage_casserole/

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 3 medium sized potatoes), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
>>I used 8 ounces of frozen hash browns,

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

8 ounces fresh spinach, washed, dried, and stemmed
>> 8 oz frozen spinach, warmed up w/the potatoes

1/2 pound Italian sausage (we like 1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot Italian sausage), out of casing, broken into small pieces
>> half pound of hot

1 large red onion (about 3/4 pound), peeled and sliced thin

1 small clove garlic, minced
>>more garlic, low & slow saute w/the onions

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the baking dish

1/3 cup heavy cream
>>half&half

1 tablespoon cider vinegar
>> 1 1/2 tablespoon.

Dash nutmeg
>>cuz I put swiss cheese slices on top
1/2 teaspoon salt
>>pass


1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
>> 8 slices of thin swiss cheese

Method
Preheat the oven to 400°F:
Butter a 6x9 or 8x8 inch baking dish.
>> I will bake it when I get up around 7, I'm figuring 30 min bake time.


>>I pan fried the hash browns till they were partially cooked.
I mixed the frozen spinach I after 10 minutes w/the hash browns. Scooped everything out & set it aside

Cook the Italian sausage:
Wipe any remaining moisture out of the skillet. Add the Italian sausage to the pan and cook on medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Leave the fat in the pan.

Cook the red onions and garlic:
>>I have an electric fry pan, so I dropped the heat for low & slow carmalization ~8-10 min
You'll need 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan. So if the sausage has produced that much fat, great, if not, add more olive oil until you have 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan. Heat on medium high and add the thinly sliced red onions. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add the onions and garlic to the bowl with the sausage.

After everything was partially cooked, I mixed it all together. I laid the cheese slices over the top of the casserole.


It is easy 4-6 servings & the original recipe would be good for a weekend brunch or a dinner.
I'm a little tired of oatmeal & since is is cold cold cold here, I wanted something hot.


Drink is a pot of Yorkshire Gold loose leaf tea