Happy Mother's Day, 2009

As I am not yet in the Moms' Club (fingers crossed for next year), I spent the morning of this sunshiny, breezy Mother's Day preparing brunch for my mum and my mother-in-law. There were seven of us here: my mum, my brother and his girlfriend, my in-laws, and Mr. ThrowingSpoons.

Brunch consisted of:

• Sausage and peppers brunch casserole (recipe below)
  
• Cantaloupe, strawberry, and blueberry fruit salad (my current favorite combo)
  
• Lemony pasta salad (we had a vegan in our midst - made this for her)
  
• Bagels and cream cheese (and Tofutti)
  
• Juice and coffee

I skipped making dessert, for the sole reason that, it being such a gorgeous day, it seemed a shame not to indulge in a trip to Kimball Farm for ice cream. Heh. Coffee Heath Bar with chocolate jimmies, please!

My sister-in-law, Tracy, gave me this recipe. It can be prepared up to a day ahead. Refrigerate, covered, overnight; uncover to bake, and add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.

Sausage and Peppers Brunch Casserole

8 frozen hash brown patties, thawed

1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

6 ounces low-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened

3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)

12 eggs

1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350F.

Spray 9x13" baking dish with vegetable oil spray, and line bottom with a single layer of hash browns. Set aside.

Dice red peppers, and set aside.

Chop onion. In 12" skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes, or until sausage is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain, and set aside.

Whisk softened cream cheese and milk until completely smooth. Add eggs, parsley, and black pepper; whisk until smooth.

Spoon sausage/onion mixture evenly over hash browns, and sprinkle with red peppers. Pour egg mixture over peppers. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until center of egg mixture is set. Remove from oven; let stand ten minutes. Cut into squares to serve.

(P.S. My brother just popped onto IM, and is still raving about this dish. Hee.)