Consider this casserole.
It has everything to make for a truly fine breakfast: eggs, cheese, a bit of cream, cooked sausage with onion and peppers.
Of course, all that egg and sausage and cheese and (bit of) cream and onion and peppers might could be a bit much on one’s diet, what with all the bread and/or potatoes holding it all together.
Except…
Wait! What? Any and/or all of the bread and/or potatoes normally expected in a breakfast casserole (well, around about these parts, anyway) has been replaced with spaghetti squash?!?
Yep, and I am here to tell you, it made for a darned good breakfast (casserole) for dinner. So good, in fact, that Rich went back for seconds, and he is not a fan of spaghetti squash.
Thanks to my friend Gayle, who shared the recipe on facebook from satisfyingeats.com. I stayed mostly true to the original recipe, but added quite a bit of extra seasoning to suit our tastes. The result was, for us, a nicely spiced casserole that I don’t believe would cause most folk any problems in the hotness department.
INGREDIENTS
•1 Spaghetti squash
•1 lb breakfast sausage
•1 tbsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce (or your own fave hot sauce, to taste)
•14 oz bag fire roasted peppers and onion
•8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
•4 large eggs, lightly beaten
•1/4 cup sour cream or heavy cream
•1 tsp sea salt
•1 tsp dried parsley
•1 tsp dried chives
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/2 tsp garlic powder
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
•Extra 1 cup of shredded cheese
•Sour cream
•Additional hot sauce
Heat your oven to 425º, then cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon.
Season the cut side of the squash with salt, then arrange, cut side up, in a baking dish and brush with olive oil. Season with a bit of black pepper, then place in the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Cover tightly with foil and continue to bake for another 35 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
Remove from the oven and run a fork through the squash flesh to pull it away from the skin in spaghetti like strands. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Reset the oven to 400º.
While the shredded squash is cooling, heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the breakfast sausage, broken or torn into chunks.
Cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking up more as you go, for eight minutes, then add the onion, peppers, and Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce, continuing to cook and break up the sausage until the sausage is nicely browned, the onion and peppers are tender, and most cooking juices have been reduced – about 15 more minutes.
Transfer to a colander to drain well, then add to the spaghetti squash in the large mixing bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs with the cream, then add the sea salt, parsley, chives, black, Aleppo pepper, and red pepper flakes, the garlic powder, and a bit more of your hot sauce of choice – I added another teaspoon of the Cajun Power.
Once blended, stir in the eight ounces (two cups) of cheese and pour over the sausage and squash mixture in the bowl.
Toss to combine, then turn out into a buttered 13×9 baking pan and top with the remaining cup of cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, until the center of the casserole is set and the edges browned and just a bit crispy.
Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for ten minutes before serving.
I kept our breakfast (casserole) for dinner simple, just serving that and a bit of my favorite coleslaw on the side, and a bit of sour cream, freshly cracked black pepper, and additional hot sauce for each of us to add as we chose.
So, yeh. A LOTTA cheese. AND eggs. AND cream (heavy – sheesh! – which I used ’cause I had it in the fridge; try it with half and half and I’ll bet it’ll be just fine); BUT…
spaghetti squash, which is low in calories, has no fat, and THREE TIMES more dietary fiber than it does carbohydrates; has gotta count for something.
Especially for breakfast (casserole).