recipe | breakfast lasagna

Do your arteries hate me yet?

No?

Good.

So basically, what I'm hearing here, is that you want more recipes with meat and cheese.

Just want to make sure we're all on the same page here.

Anyway, you all know my food lust can be easily narrowed down into relatively few categories:

lasagnas

risottos

and wine.

(food group status, yes)

So when I asked the boys if they were up for playing guinea pigs to my harebrained idea to make a Breakfast Lasagna they were all on board.

It worked out nicely because they are usually hungry enough to eat anything I put in front of them and I will seize any chance there is to crack an egg over something.

If I were to cut to the chase here, I could tell you that the boys' reactions ranged from Mike practically cursing my existence for having not made this before and Jared stopping everyone mid-bite to proclaim:

"The bible was wrong. THIS is what was growing on that tree in the Garden of Eden.... And when Adam took a bite his only response was, "worth it".

There may have been a bit more food-induced blaspheming but that was what stood out.

And then Michull dubbed this dish "Brasagna" and the rest in history.

Breakfast Lasagna

(makes roughly two hearty pans of happiness)

ingredients (all rather approximate):

for sausage gravy:

I used this recipe by Paula Deen, but nixed the bacon as I was already using bacon in the recipe later. Also, I used chicken breakfast sausage and it was amazing

add in a dash or two of tabasco to taste

for lasagna:

1 package no-boil lasagna noodles

1-2 lb. thick cut bacon ( I prefer applewood smoked)

1 bag spinach

1 bag pre-shredded hashbrowns (obviously you could shred your potatoes here, I was just lazy)

2 bags shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar & pepper jack  - there was a good amount left over, but who's upset about having leftover cheese?)

1 tub whipped cream cheese (it's easier to mix)

1 tub ricotta cheese

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 eggs

1 tomato, sliced 

garlic salt & black pepper to taste

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lay out bacon on a baking sheet and bake until almost crispy. Usually about 20 minutes, but keep an eye on it, baking times and oven temps vary. Once done, set aside. 

2. Make sausage gravy per instructions (I bet there are some AMAZING family recipes for this out there - feel free to share - hint, hint). Set aside, but keep warm. This will be used in lieu of the traditional red sauce used in lasagnas.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and ricotta. Set aside.

4. In a skillet, saute spinach with onions and garlic. Add into cream cheese/ricotta mixture. 

5. In same skillet, cook hashbrowns to preference. Add to spinach mixture. Set bowl aside. 

6. In a bowl, mix your shredded cheeses (if using two different kinds, if not skip ahead!)

7. Get ready to build your lasagna! In a large pan (you all know what a lasagna pan looks like, right?) dribble in a thin layer of sausage gravy and lay down a layer of noodles. Add a layer of the spinach/hashbrown mix, layer a few strips of bacon, a layer of gravy and a layer of cheese. From here on out it's basically a "lather, rinse, repeat" situation. Build up to the limits of the pan, leaving a little space for bubble cheese. Make sure your top later is shredded cheese. Let sit for about 30 minutes to absorb all the goodness into the noodles.

8. On top, lay out slices of tomato leaving about two inches between slices. In those gaps, create small dips in the cheese. This is where you will crack the eggs on top.

9. Bake at 350 until eggs are just set (or to your desired level of runny-ness... I like runny egg yolks, but not runny whites so I watch it like a hawk).

Once done (when eggs are set and cheese is good and melty/bubbly) let sit for a few minutes and then serve! 

I didn't think about it at the time, but a few pieces of crusty bread would be delicious to sop up the yolky-gravy goodness left on the plate. 

Or you can just take Jared's lead and lick the plate clean.

Your call. 

And don't forget to check out Kate's guest post!!!