Mexicaning it up in the Morning

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to be productive and make breakfast. My parents are visiting so I had more mouths to sample my cooking than just Frank (who always says he'd rather sleep in than have a big breakfast).

I remembered that I had some leftover hashbrowns in the freezer. I considered serving hash browns, sausage and eggs. But that's so many pans! I wondered, is there such a thing as a breakfast casserole with hash browns? I thought I had made one before but I couldn't remember how it worked.

Curious, I got out of bed and headed to the information superhighway for answers.

I found some breakfast casserole that called for sausage, eggs and hashbrowns and some other hum-drum ingredients. While this recipe was lame, it did give me a good starting point for what would eventually be known as:

Elsa's Mexi-Morning Casserole!

You see, Mexicaning things up isn't exclusive to lunch or dinner. You can absolutely get muy creativo in la manana.

My inspiration was this cilantro I had on hand for another recipe. When I saw that I thought, "Let's Mexican this bad boy" (or something to that effect; it was early). I started pulling out all the Mexican stuff--the salsa, the peppers, the onion. Oh, if only I had had some avocado!

So I whipped up my Mexi-Morning Casserole before everyone even woke up. Here's what people are saying (and by people, I mean my parents, Frank and Leo):

"This is really good. And I'm not just saying that."

"This is delicious. I think I'll make it for my book club brunch."

"I like it! I'm gonna have seconds!"

"Belly Button."


Now, I made it with vegetarian sausage but you can certainly use any sort of sausage you like. And since it was early I forgot to add spices but it may be good with cumin or crushed red pepper too.

And with that, I give you:

Elsa’s Mexi-Morning Casserole

4 Vegetarian Sausage Patties
6 eggs
2 cups salsa
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
12 oz. hash browns, frozen
½ cup diced green peppers
¼ cup diced onions
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375. Thaw hash browns either in pan or in microwave. Heat sausage in microwave according to package instructions. Chop into small bites. Set aside. In large bowl beat eggs and milk together then add peppers, onions, cilantro, sausage and salsa. Put hash browns on the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 inch pan, pour egg mixture on top and cover with cheese. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

It went so fast, this was the only picture I could get!