So, it seems like “trending recipes” are all the rage. Not on this food blog!!! Seriously! Who are the people that conjur up these new trends? People without a normal life? Chefs, magazine editors, researchers, and fulltime bloggers must spend hundreds of hours trying to determine what the new craze will be.
I see dozens of recipes posted, pinned, and shared online, but I seriously doubt many – or any – of them make it to the family dinner table. I’m sorry to be such a fuddy-dud, but as much as I love to cook and create new, delicious, healthy meals, life is about relationships. Not trends. And classics are always current.
And now, I’ll climb off my soapbox……
In the past, I have made many versions of egg bake – look in any cookbook, and you will find so many variations that your head will spin. But there is one that I return to time and time again. My mother has made this recipe for decades. Except for changes to make it gluten free, it remains basically the same.
Perfect for a weekend brunch, bridal shower, or even “breakfast-for-dinner”, this is a classic. And when serving a classic, familiar and well-loved things need to surround the meal – like these dishes.
My great-aunt Emma was my hero. She and her bachelor brother, Uncle Harold, took over the family farm in Helmar, IL. She was an incredible pianist, an excellent cook, outspoken-yet-gentle, and had a beautiful relationship with her Lord.
Some time during the 1940’s, Aunt Emma bought a set of Spode’s Pink Tower dishes. There must have been place settings for 12. After her death, many of Aunt Emma’s nieces and nephews were able to get a few pieces of this set, and I have borrowed these from my mother. SOME day I would love to find out where all the remaining pieces of this set are – scattered around the world among Mathre descendents.
Pink is not my favourite colour, but anything from Aunt Emma that is pink ranks as worthy. 😄
About 12 slices of gluten free bread is where this recipe begins. If you purchase bread, a full loaf of “liveGfree” white bread from Aldi is perfect in this recipe. Cube the bread and put them into a well-grease 9×13″ pan.
Brown some breakfast sausage, type Jimmy Dean, and drain on paper towels. If you prefer making your own pork sausage – which is super easy and the tasty results are worth the extra minute of measuring spices – follow the recipe on this egg bake post.
Crumble that over the bread. Sprinkle minced onion, plenty of pepper, and a little salt over that. Then sprinkle grated cheese evenly. We love cheese, so I use 2 cups. Monterey Jack, Cheddar, it doesn’t matter.
Mix together eggs and mustard, and pour over the bread. Cover this up and refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.
While preheating the oven, stir together cream of mushroom soup and milk to equal at least 4 cups. Pour that on top. Again, there’s a store-bought version of gluten free mushroom soup by Pacific Foods that can save time.
Bake for an hour, until the top is bubbly and browning. Then let it stand for 10 minutes before cutting. This will serve a crowd, but leftovers are wonderful. It even freezes really well.
Serve with a dish of fresh citrus salad, and you have a perfect brunch!
Print
Classic Egg Bake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16-20 1x
Description
Make ahead classic for brunch or breakfast-as-supper
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast sausage, browned and crumbled
- 12 slices bread, or one loaf liveGfree white bread from Aldi
- 2 Tbsp minced onion
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups grated cheese
- 14 eggs
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 cups cream of mushroom soup base, or 2 boxes Pacific Foods mushroom soup
- 1–2 cups milk or half&half
Instructions
- Brown sausage and drain on paper towels
- Cube bread and spread in the bottom of a greased 9×13″ pan
- Crumble sausage on top of bread
- Sprinkle minced onion, salt and pepper, and cheddar cheese over the bread and sausage
- Stir together eggs and mustard, pour over the bread
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Stir together mushroom soup and milk (equalling at least 4 cups), and pour over
- Bake for 1 hour. Allow to stand at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Am anxious to try this recipe. Have only 1 good egg bake that I really like.