Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

I found this casserole on Pinterest and it sounded great – just prepare the night before, then wake up to an already cooked breakfast!  I deviated a bit too much from the original recipe, and I wouldn’t recommend doing that.  I’m sure if you followed the instructions, it would be great, but mine didn’t hold together very well.  It still tasted alright, but definitely wasn't the prettiest of dishes.  

We only had 7 eggs, so I halved the milk, cheese, and potatoes.  I think my mistake was not halving the veggies as well – the extra tomato, onion, and pepper made it a bit too liquidy. 

The original recipe used a package of Potatoes O’Brien (potatoes with onions and peppers).  We instead used fresh onions and peppers with shredded potatoes.  I thought that having fresh vegetables would be a good thing, but it just didn’t give it the right consistency. 

I’d also recommend cooking it in a larger crock pot so it doesn’t turn out so thick.

I’m sharing the original recipe below – if anyone tries this out, let me know how it goes!

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole (adapted from Fav Family Recipes)

Ingredients:

• 12-15 breakfast sausage links
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 package (2 lbs) potatoes o’brien
• 1 tomato
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper, to taste

 Directions:

1. Brown sausage until cooked through and cut into pieces (I had sausage patties instead of links...)

 

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with milk, then season with salt and pepper.

 

3. Stir in the sausage, potatoes o’brien, tomato, and cheese (mine above shows the fresh veggies.  I also reserved a handful of cheese to put on top).

4. Spray a crock pot with cooking spray and pour the mixture in. Top with remaining cheese.

 

5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

I enjoyed mine with a Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte (in a beautiful mug my ceramicist cousin Ashley made!)

The Revolution Ice Cream Company – Brandon, FL

One of my favorite places for ice cream is The Revolution Ice Cream Company in Brandon.  If you didn’t know about it, you may just drive right past it since it’s tucked in the corner of an ordinary shopping plaza.   

The interior is cozy and eclectic – none of the chairs match and most of the furnishings seem to have been found at thrift stores or IKEA.  The main counter is decorated with paint sample swatches, one of the coffee tables is covered in graffiti, and vibrant paintings by local artists hang on the walls.  There is a huge map with pins showing their customers hometowns around the world (surprisingly, it looks like they’ve had visitors from every continent but Antarctica!).

Their flavors set them apart from other local ice cream shops – they create one-of-a-kind concoctions with unusual ingredients.  Some of their creative flavors include Curried Sky (vanilla bean base with curried toasted coconut), Drunken Brownies (Chardonnay Caramel base loaded with brownie bits), and Porky's Delight (Vanilla base bloated with bacon AND bacon brittle). 

One of the samples I tried today was the Kraken – an alcoholic flavor with spiced rum, coffee liquor, and Guinness.  They actually require an ID for that one – and I can see why!  It tasted like a mudslide – I’d be worried driving home after that one.  But it was delicious!

I ended up getting scoops of the Chai Pumpkin Pie (Pumpkin Ice Cream with a chai kick and graham cracker crumbles) and the Chocolate Shock (chocolate ice cream loaded with fudge, chocolate chips and brownie bits).  Lance also got the Chocolate Shock, but paired it with the What’s up Nutter Fudger (Chocolate base with crunchy peanut butter and peanut butter wafers). 

I am a big fan of chai, so I knew that my first choice would be a winner.  I did like the Chocolate Shock, but I wish there were a few more chunks of goodies mixed in the ice cream. 

Last year they won Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay award for “Best Ben-and-Jerry’s-Better-Watch-Out Ice Cream Shop”.  With the flavor creativity, I’d say the award is well deserved, but I think Ben & Jerry’s still has them beat for chunkiness.  Apparently Ben Cohen (co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s) has a condition called amnesia, which is a complete loss of smell.  Since taste & smell are so closely related, he liked having more texture in his ice cream to feel satisfied.

Anyone wanting to try something unique should head over to Revolution – you won’t be disappointed! You can follow them here on Facebook to see their latest flavor experiments. 

The Revolution Ice Cream Company is located at 220 W Brandon Blvd #104, Brandon, FL 33511 and is open 12pm – 10pm Monday through Saturday and 1pm – 9pm on Sunday.