Eggs Florentine Casserole

For me, one of the best perks of the weekend is making a big breakfast. There's something so satisfying about sleeping in late, and spending the morning making an amazing breakfast to enjoy. While we each have our standby favorites (me, French toast; Gabe, fried eggs), I'm always looking for new dishes to try.

Recently, I came across a casserole recipe from Ryan of This is Reverb (via Pioneer Woman) that really stood out to me. Not only did it look really tasty, it also had ingredients that I keep in my pantry all the time. And there are a lot of ways to customize this to your own liking.
















This time around, I added some vegetables (red and green peppers, onions) for some extra flavor. Feel free to play around with what you have in your refrigerator!

Ingredients
2-3 medium potatoes, julienned
1/2 pkg (8 oz) breakfast sausage
1/2 c. red and green peppers, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 eggs
handful of spinach, thinly sliced
2 oz. cheddar cheese (optional)
olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8" x 8" casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, crack eggs and whisk together until well beaten. Add cheese and spinach, making sure to fully coat. Set aside.

Heat butter and some olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add julienned potatoes, season with salt/pepper, and cook until browned and crispy. Spread evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish.

In the same skillet over medium heat, add onions and peppers. Season with salt/pepper and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Pour evenly over potatoes. I

n the same skillet once again, crumble breakfast sausage into small pieces and cook until browned. Spread evenly over top of the vegetables in the casserole dish. Pour the egg mixture on top of the sausage, making sure to coat all the sausage.

Bake in preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until eggs are set. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tabouleh

One of the nice benefits of moving from a rural town to a large city is the chance to experience new cultures and, with that, new dishes. You also meet many people who can give recommendations on the best places to eat and the best dishes to try, making it a little less scary to try things out. At my current place of work, there are several people of Middle Eastern descent. As a result, I've learned about and tried many delicious dishes including grape leaves, hummus, schwarma and tabouleh.

















Tabouleh is delicious just as a side dish on its own. But my favorite way to eat it is to dip a piece of pita bread first in hummus, then in the tabouleh. Delish!

Ingredients
1/2 c. burghol (found in the ethnic food aisle)
3 c. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh mint
4 spring onions, finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a small bowl, soak burghol in 2 c. cold water for 1/2 hour. Drain and press any additional water from the burghol.

Meanwhile, finely chop and combine the parsley, mint, onion and tomatoes. Add the burghol and mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and salt/pepper. Pour over the remaining ingredients and mix well. Add additional salt and pepper as needed.