Saturday Eats - An Abby Lab Post

Abby the Lab here.  Mom rarely eats packaged frozen food (but for veggies) but she's had a couple really long days with work, travel, and checking on Grandpa so she grabbed one of those frozen meals while Dad was on the road.

It was a  Stouffer's one.  She thought this would be good, a whole plate of turkey with fluffy stuffing with chunks of celery and onion. She likes their mac and cheese. We LOVE stuffing.  It looked decent for a frozen dinner and the box was sure big. It's Stouffer's, right?

Wrong.

Mom says it looks like the cat threw up on her plate, probably after it ate the reconstituted potato flakes mixed with Fresno, California tap water.

That's not going to cut it for Weekend Brunch.

Stuff and Puff Breakfast Casserole.

It's kind of a cross between a souffle and strata but boy was it good!

Whisk in a bowl.

5 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream

In a pan, saute until warm, a couple of cups of cooked ham (or your favorite protein) with a couple teaspoons of butter and about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Penzey's Ozark seasoning (or A favorite blended seasoning such as Old Bay).

Chop two cups of diced veggies (Mom used chopped frozen broccoli which she nuked just long enough to thaw and a Tablespoon of finely chopped leftover fresh red pepper.)

Mix ham with veggies and egg/milk mixture. Stir in (straight from the box)

1 box Sage "stove top" style stuffing mix.

Stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cups cheddar. Bake at 375 f. in a deep casserole dish for one hour covered . Remove lid, sprinkle with about another half cup cheese and bake 5 minutes longer, until cheese is melted.

Mom has made it as well with breakfast sausage, mushrooms and onion, cornbread stuffing and smoked cheddar and that was really good to.

Is it done yet?

Pair it with some popovers. If you've never had a popover, you will want to go out and buy your own deep pan to make them once you do.  Hollowed from the steam that makes them rise so tall, they are crisp/tender on the outside and soft and eggy on the inside.  They are a treat.  (Mom uses the recipe from the Moosewood Kitchen cookbook - you can find that recipe online). Pair one of those with your casserole and some fruit you have a brunch that is not only filling, it's recognizable as actual food. (You'd think Mom would  know better to buy something in a box that wasn't dog treats).

 - Your Saturday food critic Abby Lab