The Covered Dish - Ozark Mountain Breakfast Casserole

Last week I stated that I would try and bring you my ‘skillet’ recipe with the spinach and bow tie pasta. I am still searching folks! I don’t know the year I wrote the dish, therefore I’m having trouble finding it.
I’m bringing back a recipe today that was written in 2009. When I was running the culinary school at Silver Dollar City the clients loved the combinations. You could even rename it to perhaps ‘Cowboy Country Breakfast’. One thing I have not done is to make this the night before and put it in the refrigerator until morning.

Here are a few comments I wrote to myself out to the side of the recipe:

The dish calls for 6 green onions. Three will work if you use the onion all the way out to the green tops. (When I grew up we had green onions coming out our ears, so we seldom used the green tops, now I do!)

When I wrote this dish Black Kettle seasoning was still being made. The company closed their business, so it is no longer available.
*Instead of ‘Black Kettle’ implement 1/2 teaspoon of Lawry’s seasoning salt and 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder.

It also appears I tried the recipe without the roma tomatoes and used 1 cup of very thick salsa.

If you’re out to bring something different to the breakfast table or evening meal this is a fun dish to serve. If you asked me what I would serve to accompany, it will depend upon whether it’s served for morning or evening. For an evening dinner I think I would go with cole slaw or a green salad and homemade wedge potatoes baked in the oven. For before 12 noon, I might take the sausage out of the casserole and serve a meat platter for company, along with a fruit bowl and a very lite bread or biscuit, small in size.

The choice of meat in this recipe is a personal call. I frequently used a spicy or hot sausage because it really wasn’t that ‘hot’ when it was broken up and added to the dish. Remember when you are entertaining that a breakfast meal can be a great deal less expensive than a dinner meal. The great thing about breakfast is the guests can enjoy themselves and still have a full day to shop, clean or do errands, etc.

This is indeed something different to enjoy. For cooks who keep a well-stocked pantry you should have everything you need at home except for the onions, tomatoes and cheese.

Ozark Mountain Breakfast Casserole

4 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1 (8.5 oz.) box Jiffy cornbread mix

1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

1/2 pound cooked sausage of choice

6 green onions, finely minced

4 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped

1 (4 oz.) can green chilies, do not drain

1 teaspoon black kettle seasoning spice *See notes above.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Gather an 8 x 8 baking dish

Beat the eggs, stir in milk and cornbread mix. Lightly stir in the remaining

Ingredients, folding gently. Pour into an 8 x 8 greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. It is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Options: Bacon instead of sausage. Rotel tomatoes instead of romas, just be sure and drain extremely well and use only 1/2 a can. Those who enjoy spicy dishes could add chopped jalapenos to the dish.
Garnish with a small dollop of sour cream and salsa.

Simply Yours,

The Covered Dish