Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

In case you didn't catch it, my friend MamaMentor left a recipe on the comments of my breakfast casserole. Looks like a yummy one. Who doesn't like potato chips as a topping? YUM!

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MamaMentor says: Here's my favorite breakfast casserole. We have it on Christmas and Easter and other special occasions!

Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

Butter a 9x13 pan, then line it with trimmed slices of bread. Layer with ham or cooked sausage, then grated cheese, then more bread.

Mix in blender and pour over:

6 eggs
1 green pepper, chopped
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3 cups milk
½ onion, chopped
Red and/or black pepper to taste

Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350˚. Meanwhile, melt 1 stick margarine and pour over casserole. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake 1 hour at 350˚. Makes 12 servings.

This casserole varies widely in character depending on your choice of meat, bread and cheese. Using good wholegrain bread makes it much heartier. You can use any kind of cheese, but we normally use sharp cheddar because we want it to taste cheesy!

Stuffed French Toast

Sometimes we just have to spoil ourselves for dinner. Yes, dinner. We're a breakfast-at-dinner family for sure. My daughter likes Malt-O-Meal for lunch on the weekends. LOL This is a recipe I modified from a breakfast cookbook.

Stuffed French Toast

Filling:
8 oz. brick cream cheese
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. maple syrup (or white sugar)
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Orange Zest (optional)
Cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Combine these ingredients, then stir in (if desired) chopped, roasted nuts (any kind you like) or shredded, toasted coconut.



The Bread:
Use regular, sliced bread. Butter one side of each. Make a sandwich, buttered side out, by spreading the filling mixture between two slices of bread.

If you're feeling ambitious, slice a whole loaf at about 1" thick to make 8 slices, then create a pocket in them for the filling. Butter both sides and stuff with equal measures of filling.

Dipping Mixture:
1 C. whole milk or half & half
3 large eggs
1/4 C. flour
3 Tbsp. white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. vanilla
pinch of salt



Soak each sandwich (or stuffed slice) in the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides until saturated, but not falling apart.

In a skillet, melt a pat of butter with a splash of vegetable oil. At medium-low heat, cook as many slices as you can fit without crowding each other, until golden brown on both sides. (Be careful when flipping the sandwiches; they can slide apart pretty quickly.)

Transfer the French toast to a baking sheet, and bake in a 400 degree oven til puffy and crisp on the outside. (About 6-10 minutes.) Serve fresh from the oven with maple syrup or your sugary breakfast topping of choice.

The Versatile Pancake

My kids love a hot breakfast, and I love being able to make it for them on the fly. We used to spend $8-10 on frozen waffles every two weeks, but I soon realized that a $3 box of baking mix will make enough pancakes to last almost an entire month.

So I make a huge batch, adding to the dry mix such goodies as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, brown sugar, pancake syrup, jam, etc. (Not all at once, mind you!)

No need to measure the water or milk either. Just add enough so the consistency is wetter than you probably think it should be. You want it to be able to pour easily, not plop it. (Rather like good, wet mud.) If you add too much water, just add in a little more baking mix. Use a small ladle to make measuring easy.



Keep the heat at medium since you're going to be cooking for awhile. Remove the pan from the heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray between pan-fulls.

I flip dozens of flapjacks in one session, cooling them on racks. The cooled pancakes can be layered with paper towels in a plastic bag and frozen.


(No, that isn't mold, for this batch, I shook sprinkles on the cakes after ladling them into the pan. They melted when I flipped them. But hey, they still taste the same!)

Lay the bags flat in the freezer at first, but once they reach Frisbee rigidity, they can be stacked like cards (or Frisbees for that matter) or however you'd like so you can reserve space in your freezer.

To warm them up, wrap loosely in a paper towel and microwave for 30-45 seconds or, better yet, to keep them crispy on the outside, place them in a toaster oven at just above medium high heat and press the button for toast.

Impromptu Caramel Apple Topping
Bite-sized apple chunks, peeled
Caramel sauce
Butter

Melt a pat of butter in a pan. Add apples and cook til tender. Add enough caramel sauce to coat the apples and then some. Serve over pancakes or waffles or...ice cream!

PERSONAL NOTE: My kids love the fruit cups from Chick-fil-A, but they aren't crazy about the apple chunks. I save these and use them the next day for pancake topping. A couple extra containers of caramel sauce from McDonald's apple dippers work great for this recipe. (I know, we probably eat out WAY too much!)