Sunday Brunch - Sausage Gravy with Cheesy Eggs and Hash Browns

I love Sunday.  I lounge in bed and then I lounge on the sofa and then I cook some food.  I lounge some more.  I write lesson plans and grade papers and then I cook some more.  It's a beautiful thing.  We've had a really relaxed weekend so far and today is looking good for relaxation as well!  I had a horrible cold all week and am finally starting to feel better.  I started the weekend lounging on the sofa, writing recipes (or ideas for recipes) and writing the grocery list.  Call me a nerd but I dig that!!!!  I hear names of recipes or see pictures or think of recipes I've tried in the past and then run with it.

I don't start the recipe with steps or procedure; just the ingredients.  I add that later.  That's how today's recipe came about.

We love Biscuits and Gravy but I am not a fan of a strong breakfast sausage.  I prefer a mild sausage.  I'm going to tell you a little secret about me - [Insert stage whisper here] I'm not much of a baker.  It's so scientific and precise.  Shrug.  Not my forte.  I like to toss in a little of this and a dash of that.  Not so precise...  So, my biscuits aren't the flaky loveliness I'd like them to be so I improvised.  I cooked a bag of hash browns according to the package instructions instead.

Sausage Gravy

1 tube Mild Country Breakfast Sausage (you can use any sausage you like)
1/2 small onion
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons margarine (or butter)
3 cups milk

Cook the sausage on medium heat until done.  Add the onion.  Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes (or until onion reaches desired doneness).  Sprinkle with flour.  Let it sit like that for a minute.  Stir.  Add the margarine.  Stir until melted and cook for another minute or two - you don't want that raw flour flavor.  Blech.  Add the milk.  Cook over medium high heat until bubbly.  Lower heat to medium or medium low until thickened.  Ladle over hash browns or biscuits.

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

6 whole eggs
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
splash milk
salt and pepper to taste

Scramble the eggs with a fork (I feel like I get a better scramble with a fork than a whisk but that's just my weirdness).  Add the milk, salt, and pepper.  Mix in the cheese.  Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray.  Pour in the eggs.  I use a spatula to make "holes" (scrape?) the egg mixture and let the wet egg mix fill in the holes until the eggs are done.  I do not like well done eggs nor do I like runny eggs.  My mother-in-law and I had an in-depth conversation about just that last weekend while we were making breakfast burritos (recipe to follow soon, I promise - It was another GREAT Sunday Brunch!).  Once the eggs are almost the doneness you prefer, remove from the heat.  They will continue to cook a little as you assemble the bowls.

Put a layer of potatoes in the bowl.  Ladle some of the gravy over the potatoes.  Top with eggs.  Sprinkle with pepper to taste.  I use salt while I'm cooking so I don't typically add salt to a finished dish.

This is really filling!  I only ate half of it.  The rest is in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow if I can beat the boys to the fridge.

I truly love Sundays in our house.  It's time to get off the sofa and hop in the shower - Papers won't grade themselves!  If only I can pull myself away from Football (which I don't even watch but there's something about Fall and the sound of Football on a lazy Sunday....)