This past weekend, Molly and I had the privilege of attending The Northwestern Christian Writers Conference in St. Paul, MN. We had a wonderful time learning a lot about the publishing world, including social media, book publishing, and blogging. More importantly, we were challenged to listen to God’s still small voice and to seek to glorify him with all that we write. We were challenged to encourage people in this tough world with his love and his Word. It was truly wonderful!!
Liz Curtis Higgs and Susie Larson were two speakers that I found to be especially inspirational. Have you ever read their books or heard them speak? If you’re looking for encouraging and challenging books, check out those two authors.
A highlight of our little trip was that we got to stay with my old college friend (I say old because we met in 1998!), Jana.
Jana and I met on the very first day of student orientation at Northwestern College. We hit it off immediately, which was easy because Jana is bubbly, outgoing, and just plain fun. Plus, we were two farm girls who had just arrived in the city. Her dad ran a hopper-bottomed grain bin company, and I was probably one of the few students of our class that knew what hopper-bottomed meant! Our friendship grew through the years and we eventually were roommates and even travelled through Europe and South America together.
Today we are both stay-at-home moms who love our kids and love cooking and all things homemaking. I was so excited to stay with her and catch up. She greeted us with yummy snacks and great conversation. And then we got to help her make her famous egg casserole, which is uniquely savory and sweet. We talked and laughed while we chopped veggies and cracked eggs.
Jana developed this recipe because her kids wanted baked french toast and she and her husband wanted egg casserole with veggies and cheese. Jana, being practical, decided one day to make it all in one 9×13, using link sausages as the barrier to keep the two recipes apart! Genius!
The end result is fantastic! When we came upstairs on Saturday morning, the kitchen smelled of savory veggies AND cinnamon. Jana had set the table with maple syrup for the French toast half and salsa and sour cream for the egg casserole half. Those link sausages had done their job of keeping everything in its place.
Give this recipe a try! You’ll make everyone in your family happy, both the sweet and savory breakfast lovers!
Thank you, Jana, for this awesome recipe, your hospitality, and your precious friendship through all these years.
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times!
- 5 slices of bread with crusts removed
- 1 T butter at room temperature
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1 dozen eggs, cracked and whisked
- ½ C half and half
- 6 breakfast sausage links
- 2 cups chopped veggies (we used bell peppers, onions, and spinach)
- 1 t worcestershire sauce
- 1 t yellow mustard
- 1 C shredded cheese (cheddar or monterrey jack)
- Maple syrup, salsa, and sour cream for serving
- Spray an 11x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. (If you need to use a 9x13, increase the cooking time by 10-15 minutes).
- Arrange bread in one half of pan, covering the bottom. Butter the bread, and sprinkle the bread with cinnamon.
- Place the sausages in the middle. Place the chopped veggies on the other half of the pan. Sprinkle the cheese over the veggies. (Refer to picture above)
- In a large bowl, crack the eggs, whisk, and stir in the half and half.
- Pour half of the egg mixture over the buttered bread.
- Stir the mustard and worcestershire sauce into the remaining eggs.
- Pour the eggs mixture over the veggie side of the pan.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, preheat oven to 350. Bake for one hour.
- Serve with maple syrup for the french toast half and salsa/sour cream for the egg bake half.
My mom did something similar except she had frozen hash browns under the eggs. Try it. It’s pretty tasty.
Will have to try this with hash browns. Thanks for the tip!
What an incredible idea for a casserole! Jana is a genius!
And it’s fun to see pictures from the past. I listen to Life 88.5 in the Kansas City area, so hear about your college all the time. Sounds like a great place to go to school.
I love books by Liz Curtis Higgs! She is an amazing author. The breakfast casserole looks wonderful.
Yes! I loved her Bad Girls of the Bible study. It really made me realize that everyone of us has a flawed life, but God can still use us! She spoke of a book she wrote that tells the story of Dinah, and I’m going to read that next. Thanks for your comment.
Hi, Joan! Yes, I absolutely loved Northwestern. It is a beautiful campus surrounded by Lake Johanna, but more importantly, I learned so much about God’s Word there and made lifelong friends. Thanks for reading.