I actually love the sous vide egg bites at Starbucks. (Let me cease proper right here and admit that, sure, I generally go to Starbucks — large, soulless, monolithic megacorporation that it’s — as a result of, nicely, they’ve some reliably tasty issues and cheerful service. And now, with out even having to ask, I can get espresso in a ceramic mug they usually’ve introduced again the cream-and-sugar station. Huzzah!)
After I noticed an egg deal with just like Starbucks’ egg bites within the frozen part of a specialty grocery retailer, I snatched it proper up. I used to be assured that it might be yummy as a result of this retailer’s merchandise have hardly ever let me down however yeesh. It was revolting — spongy, overcooked and eggy to the purpose of sulfurous. I had taken just a few bites earlier than my gag reflex kicked in. I tossed the remaining into the backyard to molder into the soil or feed night-prowling animals.
However then I used to be hungry for a extremely good baked egg dish — perhaps not egg bites, however a breakfast casserole, one thing you’d savor because the centerpiece of a family-style brunch alongside croissants and recent fruit. The web is awash in hundreds, most likely hundreds of thousands, of hearty breakfast casseroles and it wasn’t tough to seek out one I favored. It was filled with all types of excellent stuff: sourdough bread on the underside topped with sausage, greens, eggs and cheddar cheese. I seen that you would substitute hash browns for the bread and that sounded much more breakfast-y to me, so I made a decision to present it a attempt. Naturally, I used the recipe as inspiration and enhanced it with additional greens and two sorts of cheese.
I couldn’t discover frozen diced hash browns at my native retailer however I discovered one thing so a lot better: mini Tater Tots. As quickly as I noticed them I knew there was no risk for my breakfast casserole aside from these cute little potato nuggets. They’re cute. I additionally doubled the spinach, mushrooms and garlic as a result of these are three of probably the most great flavors on the market. (OK, you bought me — I really tripled the garlic, however I listed solely 4 cloves within the accompanying recipe in order to not singe anybody’s delicate nasal lining.)
