Sausage & Kale Mock Lasagna Casserole

So yeah, I suck.  I'm averaging only slightly more than 1 recipe per week in the month of February.  Sorry guys.  I'm in a bit of a rut.


I found this recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen.  Since I'm on a bit of a kale kick lately, I thought it would be a good way to use up a good portion of the gigantic bag that we picked up at the grocery store.  It's definitely a winner.


You'll need:


2 medium-sized bunches of kale (I used ~3/4 of a big bag that I bought at the grocery store)
1 tsp salt (for water to cook kale)
2 tsp olive oil
19.5 oz. tube of Italian sausage
1 jar tomato sauce
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp ground fennel
parmesan cheese, shredded
2 cups reduced fat mozzarella cheese, grated


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray a 9x12 inch casserole dish (or a pan of comparable size) with cooking spray.  


Add the salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.  If necessary, trim the stems from the kale and cut into ribbons.  When the water begins boiling, add the kale and lower the heat.  Boil for 5-6 minutes.  The kale will turn a beautiful bright green.  Drain the kale into a colander and let it sit there and continue to drain while you deal with the rest of the ingredients.  You might want to squeeze it between some paper towels before using to squeeze out some of the remaining water.


While the kale cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook and crumble the sausage until it is browned and totally cooked through.  Then add the pasta sauce, dried basil, and ground fennel.  Let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, or until it reduces a bit.


In the casserole dish, layer half of the kale and sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top.  Then add half of he pasta/sausage, and 1 cup of mozzarella.

I did it out of order, but you know... it all works out in the end.

Repeat with another layer of kale, sauce, and cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15-20.  The casserole will be bubbling by this point.

Let the casserole sit for about 5 minutes after baking before digging in.

This was excellent.  Before we were even finished eating, Sean asked if I would make it again sometime.  I plan on doing so this week.  It's a relatively guilt free way to get your lasagna fix.  I'd highly recommend it!  Enjoy!

Breakfast Casserole with Sausage and Egg

Hello everyone!  I hope that you had a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.  Ours was rushed (as always), but very nice.  It was so good to go back to Pittsburgh for a few days and spend time with our families and some friends.


I'll keep this one short and sweet, since I have quite a bit of work to catch up on following our long weekend.  I make this breakfast casserole every time we have visitors come for the weekend.  It's incredibly versatile, and simple to make.  The best part?  You can make it the night before.  It's great; just pull it out of the fridge while the oven preheats, stick it in the oven, and voila!  You have breakfast.  No slaving over the stove while your guests are having fun elsewhere without you.


My mom makes something very similar to this on Christmas morning, which is where I got the inspiration for this.  I'm sure there's a recipe somewhere, but I don't have it.


You'll need:


16 oz. breakfast sausage (1 tube)
1 loaf good French or wheat bread (you probably won't use the whole loaf)
10 eggs, beaten
splash of milk
salt and pepper
shredded cheddar cheese


Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until crumbled and browned.  Set aside for a few minutes. 

Grease the heck out of a 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray or butter.  Trust me on this one.  If you want to be able to clean this pan in a reasonable amount of time, you will need to grease it (Sean can back me up on this one).  Cut your bread into 1 inch cubes and place evenly in the greased pan.  Or alternately, just rip it up, like I do.

Beat your eggs and a splash of milk in a medium-large bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Evenly layer the cooked sausage on top of the bread.  Pour the egg mixture over the casserole.

Top the whole casserole with shredded cheddar (as much as you'd like; not pictured here).  If you'll be baking it straight away, place your uncovered casserole in a preheated oven (350 degrees F) for 30-45 minutes. 


If you plan to make this ahead, cover the dish and place it in the fridge overnight.  The next morning, remove the casserole from the fridge and allow it to start coming back up to room temperature while the oven preheats to 350.  Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes, or until the eggs are done (casserole should be firm and spring back when touched in the middle, and nothing should be runny).


Scoop some up and enjoy!

You can customize this dish any way you'd like.  It's good with different flavors of sausage, and with some vegetables thrown in.  It's also good topped with some salsa or maple syrup.