Sausage & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Spring has definitely come to the Black Hills!

But before we get to that, let me share this great recipe I tried for our church's annual Easter brunch. It's kind of a breakfast sandwich-gone-casserole, and Josh, my son-in-law, gave it two thumbs up.

One great thing about this recipe is that the casserole doesn't need to be refrigerated overnight. Perfect for those holiday weekends when you're short on refrigerator space!

Sausage & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

ingredients:
note - I made this in an 11 x 17 baking dish. If you are using a 9 x 13 dish, use the smaller amounts of the ingredients in parentheses.

8 (5) eggs
1/2 (1/4) cup milk
6 (4) green onions
13 (8) large refrigerated breakfast biscuits (aka "Pillsbury Grands")
1 1/2 (1) cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 pound sausage, browned (optional for non-meat lovers)

Whisk the eggs and milk together in a large mixing bowl.

Cut each biscuit into six pieces. I find that my pizza cutter works great!

Put the biscuit pieces in the egg mixture and let them soak for 10-15 minutes while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.

Clean and slice the green onions and add them to the mixing bowl.

Brown your sausage (I did this part the night before), measure your cheese, and mix everything together. Pour it into your baking dish. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top.

Bake at 350° for about 25-30 minutes, or until done (center is solid when you jiggle it).

Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve.

Delicious! And so easy! A definite plus on a busy morning. :)

So here's what else is happening around here.

My dear husband and I are back into our "get up in the Hills and hike every chance we can" routine. On Saturday we did a couple miles on the French Creek trail in Custer State Park.

French Creek is where gold was first discovered in the Black Hills back in 1874, but we didn't find any on our hike. :)

But we did discover one fun thing about this creek - it disappears. At one point in the trail it will look like this...

...but a few yards later...

We found the spot where the creek disappears. It just goes underground! The water follows an underground passage just below this dry stream bed. There is water here sometimes, but only when there has been a lot of rain.

Another piece of great news this spring is that the pine beetle is finally under control.

The pine beetle can devastate a forest, leaving it like this -

And when a fire comes, like it did in the Argyle area last year, it leaves the forest looking like this -

But for several years now, rangers and loggers have been cutting the beetle killed trees and breaking the life cycle by giving the beetles nowhere to go. We see piles of cut logs like these all over the forest -

So now the new, healthy forest can grow, and it's a beautiful sight.

And speaking of new growth!

This little one was brand new - maybe a day or two old! But the next one was a bit older. See the horn buds?

The cows and calves stay together in huge herds, but the bulls either stay alone or in groups of two or three.

Look at that shaggy coat! The birds love to line their nests with the buffalo hair!

And finally, I have to share this with you:

A new bird sighting to add to my life list. A burrowing owl!

We saw two of them, and I was thrilled!

So yes, Spring is definitely here!

What signs of spring are you seeing around your place? or are you already looking for signs of summer?


Oh! Before I forget, the e-book editions of Hannah's Choice and Mattie's Pledge are on sale at your favorite on-line retailer! Stop by my website for the links: www.JanDrexler.com

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com