Overnight Breakfast Casserole (nightshade- and dairy-free)

Nancy and I are headed to Fort Harrison State Park this coming weekend.  Nancy's parents, siblings, and sibling spouses are sharing the old general's house, where each couple will have their own bedroom or suite and bathroom.  A lot of planning and coordination has gone into meals, which we will all eat together.  I've been impressed and touched by the efforts folks have made to adapt foods to my dietary needs, or at least make sure there is something I can eat at each meal.  I am making an egg casserole for Saturday morning breakfast.  Fortunately there will also be biscuits and gravy that others are providing. Anyway, tonight's dinner is trying out a nightshade-free breakfast casserole.  I made a half-recipe, and am also serving blueberry pancakes for this 'breakfast for dinner' meal.

I found this recipe at http://kristinerudolph.com/overnight-breakfast-casserole/.  It calls for making ones own sausage using ground pork.  I used ground turkey instead, but otherwise followed instructions for making the nightshade-free sausage.

Feedback from my food testers is that it is a bit too sweet, and needs some work.  I like it; so does Nancy.  Not sure what changes to make, tho I will probably cook the sausage in bacon fat instead of coconut oil.  Saturday breakfast casserole may be a big surprise for all!

Saturday's casserole turned out fine.  I cooked the vegetables in bacon grease, and I used 1/2 a yellow onion, 1 turnip, 1 sweet potato, 1 rutabaga, and 2 Granny Smith apples.  I cooked the vegetables and turkey sausage at home.  Then Friday night I put the vegetables in a 9x13 inch pan, spread 8 eggs whisked with salt and pepper over them, and distributed the sausage on top of that; then covered the pan and put it in the fridge overnight.  Next morning, I uncovered it, added the last 8 eggs whisked with salt and pepper, recovered it, and baked about 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees F.  I then took the cover off and continued to bake about 15 more minutes.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground pork, turkey, or chicken

1/2 Tbsp plus 1-1/2 tsp sea salt, divided (I used less salt than recipe called for)

3/4 tsp black pepper, divided

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried ginger

3 Tbsp water

2 medium turnips, peeled and shredded

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded

2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored, and shredded

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 Tbsp solid fat - bacon grease, lard, ghee, coconut oil (I used coconut oil)

16 eggs

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Add ground meat to medium size bowl.  In small bowl, mix/whisk together 1/2 Tbsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, sage, thyme, and ginger with 3 Tbsp cold water.  Add water and spices to meat and work spice blend into meat with hands until well-combined.  Cover and place in fridge.

Melt fat/coconut oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent, adding 1/2 tsp of salt as you cook.  Add shredded turnips, apples, and sweet potatoes and more salt. Cook until soft, about 15-20 minutes.  Stir regularly/frequently to keep mixture from burning.

Spread mixture evenly in 9x13 casserole pan.  In medium bowl, beat/whisk together 8 eggs.  Pour mixture over shredded vegetables.  Set aside.

Remove sausage from fridge.  Using the same skillet, brown sausage, taking care to break up chunks. Crumble cooked and slightly cooled sausage over egg and vegetable mixture, making sure to spread it out well.  Cover and store in refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Remove casserole from fridge and uncover.  While oven preheats, beat/whisk 8 eggs plus 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Pour egg mixture over sausage.  Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove cover and cook for 15 more minutes (or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

Serve.

Nutritional Information:  makes 16, 137 g servings; per serving = 151 calories, 8.2 g fat, 441 mg sodium, 185 mg cholesterol, 10.1 g carbs, 1.7 g dietary fiber, 13.5 g protein 

Vegetable mixture