Breakfast Egg Casserole

As so many recipes do, this one came to our kitchen from Adam's mom, which came from her friend, Penelope, which may have come from...?

​I've been making this recipe for field trips, classes that I teach, and Adam and I for a couple of years. By now, I'm not sure how similar it looks to the recipe origin. What makes this so great is that you too can make it your own. 

In this recipe we are using our own pork sausage with a seasoning we adapted from Charcuterie.

Spicy Italian Seasoning 
​
2 tbls fennel seeds (toasted)
1 tbls coriander seeds (toasted)
2 tbls salt
3 tbls smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground Mexican oregano
2 tbls red pepper flakes
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1. Toast and then grind fennel and coriander. I like to do this first because it makes the kitchen smell so wonderful. 
   
2. Mix in the rest of the spices. This is enough to season five pounds of pork sausage. Add 2 tbls to one pound of pork sausage. 

Egg Casserole
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1 lb Sausage
8 oz sliced mushrooms
18 oz frozen chopped spinach
8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
3.8 oz can sliced olives
​1 or 2 bell peppers, chopped
Halved cherry tomatoes
Scallions, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
10 eggs
Splash of cream
​Sour cream for dolloping

Instructions

1. Cook the sausage, then add mushrooms. 
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Defrost spinach in microwave and drain.
4. Whisk eggs, salt, and cream together. 
5. Assemble:
   1. Spinach on bottom
   2. Sausage and mushrooms
   3. Cheese, green onion, bell peppers, olives, tomatoes
   4. Pour in eggs and push ingredients down to help egg distribution. It will look like there is not enough eggs, but there is. 
6. Cook for one hour. 
7. Dollop with sour cream and sliced scallions.