Sausage Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

I am not a morning person.

I'm actually just about the complete opposite of a morning person.

{unless morning means 1-3am}

I hit my stride around 11pm and can accomplish greatness in the late night hours. In contrast, I accomplish little in the morning and what I do... well, I often redo it later in the day when I am better focused.

{shall we now pause and ponder what this means for a minister who has Sunday morning duties?}

Since I'm up late, I tend to sleep late when I can. So on my days off, I'm rarely never up in time for breakfast. And on work days, I am racing out the door and am lucky to grab a cup of coffee!

But I love breakfast food (um, bacon! hello?!) so we often just have it for dinner and call it a day. However, recently my in laws came for a visit and not only are they morning people (just like my husband...) but there were big plans to build a fence so an early start was necessary.

And this is how I, Aimee, found myself up early on a Saturday making a real live breakfast. And since this was such a special occasion, I had to dig out a new recipe to try. I told my father in law that if it was awful, Mickey D's was right up the road...

Thankfully, there was no need to make a run for the yellow arches  because this recipe rocked! It was pretty much all the best parts of breakfast smushed into a tart pan and baked. Eggs, cheese, sausage, and hashbrowns. What else do you need? I served it alongside some fresh fruit and it was the perfect way to start a Saturday. Even if it was early :)

I snapped a quick picture before serving so just pretend it's garnished and styled. Heh. 

This is what it looks like, straight from the oven. Fork worthy, right?

Sausage Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

3 cups frozen hash browns, thawed

3 tablespoons butter, melted

16 ounces ground pork sausage

6 eggs, beaten

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9" tart pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the hash browns and melted butter. Season with salt and pepper. Press mixture into tart pan to form a crust. Bake for approx 20 minutes, or until golden.

Meanwhile, in a skillet brown sausage, breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink. Drain well.

In another large bowl, combine the beaten eggs, cheese, cream, parsley, cooked sausage, and some salt and pepper. 

Pour the egg/sausage mixture on top of the baked hash brown crust. Bake for approx 25 minutes or until set.

Source: slightly adapted from Bellalimento