The Houston Marathon and a RIDICULOUS Breakfast

I love watching races.  Weird, right?  I don't know, from the VERY small handful of 5ks (NOT a marathon, this is not lost on me, don't worry) I've run I have so appreciated the people who came out to cheer, even if I didn't know them from Adam - I like to return the favor.  And people who run marathons are ballers.  Remember when I wanted to run two?  Yeah, nope.  Although honestly, after watching those runners killing it through 40ish degree temps (read: FREEZING in Houston) and being so inspired by their determination...I kind of want to run the Houston Half.  Or a half.  Anyone want to to do it with me?  I mean, I'd have to work out a tweaky knee but...Agh sorry, all of this is so beside the point.  Back to business:  I had three fabulous friends run the half this year, and although I missed two of them (Y'all.  I am sorry.  I was getting frostbite.) it was AMAZING to see one pal absolutely crush it.  And cheer my face off.  And then eat the most amazing breakfast - made by yours truly, natch - ever.  Ugh and then watch the Texans lose - I don't want to talk about it.

Mile 8 Cheer Warriors

So basically, Marathon Parties are the bomb.  What better excuse to have all of your friends over in the wee hours of the morning to make and decorate signs, drink mimosas, and scream cheer from your balcony (10 floors up) down to the street?  None.  I enticed everyone over, through road closures and miserable weather, with drinks and breakfast, but I ended up surprising even myself with what I pulled together.  (A pat on the back for me.)  I had settled on a breakfast casserole of some sort and thought I'd fry some bacon or some other easy edible, but as I perused Pinterest and took stock of what others were bringing (fruit salad, kolaches, champagne) I realized it might be nice to have something sweet to eat too.  Ding ding ding!  Overnight Nutella French Toast.  OBVIOUSLY.  Both dishes were a hit, too much of both dishes went in to my tummy, and both dishes have been permanently added to my breakfast repertoire.  And what with Valentines Day coming up, you might want to brush up on your breakfast in bed skills anyway - trust me, you can make these.  And you will love them.

Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Breakfast Casserole (serves 6-8)
Ingredients
1/2 - 1 lb sausage (I used Jimmy Dean)
1 package Crescent Rolls
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
5 eggs
1/4 c. milk (I used whole)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper


Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat breaking it up as it cooks - brown completely.  Unroll the Crescent Rolls and spread them out in the bottom of a pan (the original recipe calles for a 9x13, but full disclosure I used a Le Crueset Dutch Oven, so pretty much anything will work), and press all of the seams together to make one sheet of dough.  Spread the sausage over the dough (feel free to cook the sausage ahead of time, I made mine the night before which made assembling this casserole even more of a cinch) and sprinkle cheese on top.  In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, milk, oregano, salt and pepper together and, pour the mixture over the top of the casserole.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden and eggs are set.  I might have put more cheese on top of the eggs for extra gooeyness, so sue me.

Recipe adapted from Bran Appetit! via Pinterest

Overnight Nutella French Toast (serves 6-8)
Ingredients
6 eggs
2 c. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 loaf Challah bread, sliced in to 10 slices
Nutella
Butter

Preparation
Butter a 9x13 (or whatever) baking dish and pour 1/2 cup of maple syrup on the bottom.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla together until somewhat frothy (whatever this means...I just mixed until it was...somewhat frothy?) and set aside.  Shmear five slices of bread generously with Nutella and top with another slice to make five sandwiches.  Cut each in to quarters (on a diagonal really works best here, otherwise you end up with some teensy sammies).  Soak each quarter in custard mixture (read: eggs etc.) for one to two minutes, flipping to coat evenly.  Transfer to the prepped baking dish, and pour the rest of the custard over top.  Ok, so I ended up running out of custard before I was able to soak all of my bread.  NO WORRIES, just whip up some more - I made another half of a recipe to make it easy - and had plenty to soak / cover in the end.  Dot the top with butter (I forgot to do this, and it was still absolutely delish).  Refrigerate French toast over night, and in the morning bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.  The recipe I used said to bake at 365, but I was worried it wasn't going to cook through and 375 worked better for me, I think it depends on your oven.  Serve with extra maple syrup / butter if you'd like, but you really won't need it - it's just that good.

Recipe adapted from Baked Perfection via Pinterest

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