Biscuits & Gravy Casserole

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, several folk had posted biscuit and gravy casserole recipes and, seeing how biscuits and sausage gravy is one of Rich’s very favorite breakfast indulgences, I thought it’d be a perfect breakfast to wrap up a week of family visits and feasting.

I was looking for a make ahead casserole, and most many of the recipes I looked up were ‘make it and bake it’ kind of things, or they used packaged gravy, which was not gonna happen on my watch, so…

I took a bit from one recipe and mixed it with a bit from another, adjusted the seasonings so they suited my preferences, and came up with a pretty darned nifty (if I do say so myself) make ahead breakfast casserole.

INGREDIENTS
•1 lb pork sausage
•2 tsp veggie oil
•5 tbsp butter
•1/4 cup flour
•3 cups half and half
•1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
•1 to 2 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce (or your favorite hot sauce)
•1/4 tsp salt
•1 tsp black pepper
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 (8 oz) can biscuits
•6 eggs
•1/2 cup milk
•1 to 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

Bake the biscuits according to package directions, then set aside to cool.

Warm the oil over medium heat in a large skillet, then cook sausage for 8 minutes, or until crumbly and no longer pink. Add the butter and flour (do not drain any grease from the pan – according to Rich, that’s what makes the gravy taste so very good), stirring constantly until golden – about one minute.

Gradually whisk in the half and half, Worcestershire and Cajun Power Sauces, salt, and peppers.

Bring to a boil, whisking constantly; cook 2 minutes.

Apply butter to an 13×9 inch baking pan.

Split the biscuits in half and arrange the bottom halves in the baking pan.

Pour over half of the sausage gravy mixture, then add the biscuit tops and top that with the remaining sausage gravy.

Whisk the eggs together with the milk, a pinch of salt, and pepper; then pour over the sausage and biscuits.

Sprinkle with cheese to cover, then cover the pan tightly and stash in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, let the casserole come to room temperature while you preheat the oven to 350º.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.

Serve.

If I’d thought it through, I would’ve had a nice fresh fruit salad to go on the side, but this was a couple of days after The Big Feast, and I was kinda running on autopilot, so I offered ours with freshly ground black pepper and more Cajun Power sauce on the side and called it breakfast.

In truth, I didn’t miss the fruit salad…