Egg Casserole with Sausage and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Not much better than a weekend at the beach with some life long friends. Hard to believe its been over 40 years since we all met….the silver lining of growing older is having friends who feel like family.  I made the first part of this recipe  before I left  home on Friday and then completed the second step  of adding the  egg mixture Sunday morning and baked it for our breakfast.  Easy and delicious!

1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed ( I used turkey)

1/2 cup chopped shallots

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup artichoke hearts, quartered

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

4 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley (or part  basil)

8 large eggs

2 cups half and half

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese, Monterrey jack , or Italian cheese mixture

1/2 tsp salt.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 glass baking dish.  Saute sausage in medium non-stick pan over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with the back of a fork into small pieces.  Add shallots, garlic, artichoke hearts and mushrooms and saute 3 minutes.  Add sun-dried tomatoes and  2 Tbs. parsley/basil; stir one minute.  Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish.  (Can be made 1  or 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, half and half, 1 1/2 cups cheese and salt in a large bowl to blend well.  Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in the dish.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tbs. parsley over.  Bake until top of casserole is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. ( Mine took 45 minutes.) Let stand 5 minutes before serving.  Serves 8.

Note: Great to make the night before as the flavors really blend.  Just as good the second day. Lends itself to experimenting -add your favorite ingredients !  Could serve as breakfast, lunch or dinner; so it’s great to take to a friend. Reheats well.