Debbie's Breakfast Casserole.

As of today, it is officially college football season! LET'S GO........HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

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That being said, its only appropriate that I share my favorite tailgating breakfast (...slash breakfast for any occasion). I am naming this deliciously simple recipe after my wonderful mother, who so kindly prepares this breakfast casserole for my brothers and I on game weekends!

This easy breakfast casserole is extremely inexpensive - all the ingredients only cost about $9 - and did I mention its a great base for drinking?!! It's so easy to prepare the night before and pop it in the oven/reheat it on the grill in the morning so it's ready when everyone wakes up/arrives at the tailgate.

What you need....

• 1 package southwestern hash browns*


• 1 lb regular or turkey sausage


• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese


• 1 dozen eggs


• 1/2 of a medium Onion, diced (optional, but I always add it)

How to make it...

Place hash browns in a 9x13 greased pan.

*I use the Simply Potatoes brand found in the refrigerator section (near the eggs in most grocery stores). If you are using frozen hash browns, place hash browns in a 9x13 greased pan and cook in 350 degree oven for 30 min or until all the water is absorbed and they are turning brown.  Otherwise, you can skip this step.

Cook the sausage in a saute pan until browned. Add the onion and cook until they have softened. (You can obviously add whatever other veggies you'd like to this casserole, but I like to keep it simple.)


Spread crumbled sausage and onions on top of the hash browns. Layer cheese over sausage. Whip together eggs with a little milk (not a lot otherwise your casserole will be soupy...speaking from experience here) and pour over casserole.



Bake at 350 for 30 mins or until browned.



If you're feeling REALLY lazy, you can buy Jimmy Dean fully cooked sausage crumbles, skip the onions, and you'll have a breakfast casserole in no time.  With or without onions, pre-made or freshly prepared, it is going to be delicious (and I have about a dozen friends who can vouch for this statement). K, byeeeee!

Egg Muffins.

My brother and I are very devoted Virginia Tech football fans. We hardly (if ever) miss home games. We always tailgate in the same spot, with the same people, year after year. Soooo I guess you could say we're pretty good at tailgating? (We are.)

The best tailgates start with booze and breakfast (my interpretation of kegs and eggs - who wants to limit themselves to just beer and eggs? There needs to be a little room for creativity). Personally, I like to kick my day off with a nice, cold bottle of Andre (keeping it classy). On the other hand, consuming a pre-noon beer has become a time-honored tradition for my brother and his friends (they take this very seriously).

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Obviously we have the booze part covered, but we often forget the breakfast portion of this formula. When I came across a recipe for Egg Muffins, I knew it would be a perfect breakfast for our tailgates. They are really easy to make...

What you need:

• 1 pound Italian Sausage


• 8 large eggs


• 1/4 cup milk


• 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil


• 1/2 tsp baking powder


• salt & pepper to taste


• Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed

How to make them:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.


2. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat.


3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder.  Season with salt and pepper.


4. Lightly spray a 12-cupcake pan. Spoon out the sausage evenly into each cupcake.


5. Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli.


6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.


7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Oh, and when you make them, don't forget to take them with you to your tailgate....

Because I forgot to take them to our tailgate...so once again we failed to include the breakfast part. Woopsie. K, byeee!

Pizza Muffins.

As I explained in my Fake Pizza post, I. love. pizza. In every form. Consequently, it should come as no surprise to you that I am sharing another pizza recipe, namely, Mini Pizza Muffins.  I made these during football season and they were a perfect tailgate dish. I figured it would be a good idea to share the recipe before the super bowl, as they would make a great addition to any super bowl junk food spread.

There are about a million different variations of this recipe out there, but I really liked how mine turned out (and so did all the drunk kids at the tailgate), so I'm just going to share my version...

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour


• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder


• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning


• pinch of red pepper flakes (or a handful, whatever floats your boat)


• 3/4 cup milk


• 1 egg, lightly beaten


• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used mini cheese cubes)


• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


• 1 cup mini pepperonis (or whatever your favorite topping may be)


• 1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan.


2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes; add in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni (or whatever toping you're using).


3. Stir the batter (obviously until its all mixed together nicely) and divide among the mini-muffin cups.


4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden.


5. Oh and don't forget to microwave the pizza sauce. Then serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

You'll have to excuse the quality of these photos. When I made these little guys I didn't have a food blog. I took the photos for my own enjoyment (and to show my mom...look mom, I'm so domesticated!!).



Pretty pictures or not, believe me when I say they were good...and you should make them. K, byeeee.