Egg and Hash Brown Breakfast Pie

This is so good. I guess you could call it a hash brown casserole but i think breakfast pie is much more fun. Who said that having pie for breakfast was a bad idea? No one! And if they did they are WRONG! There is a complete breakfast in each slice of this flavorful and satisfying pie and the leftovers are just as awesome (if not better- I love leftovers)!

So it wouldn’t really be a “pie” without a crust, right? I suppose a flaky pastry crust would be delicious but then we’d really be in quiche territory and this is a whole different monster. A very delicious and friendly monster. This creation employs a hash brown crust to keep the eggs, sausage, mushrooms, chilies, onions, cheese and tomatoes in check. You could certainly use frozen and thawed shredded hash browns but I really like to make my own and season them how I like (paprika, garlic powder, a bit of thyme, salt and pepper). I have already done a post on making skillet hash browns so I used a similar technique to start this “crust”. I shredded washed and peeled russet potatoes using my food processor because I’ve found it’s worth a few extra minutes of cleaning time to get the food processor out as opposed to the laborious and dangerous chore of doing it on a box grater- I have definitely hurt myself doing this before! I should have thought to add some shredded onion to the crust as I do in my skillet hash browns but I didn’t (until after) but I have included it in the following recipe because I will be doing that for sure next time! A critical step in making this crust is to make sure you wring out as much water as possible from your potatoes before tossing them with oil and seasonings and pressing them into a deep dish pie pan. If you neglect this step it will never crisp up and will likely not hold together very well when you go to cut it. Also, make sure your crust is golden brown before you stop “blind-baking” it because it really won’t crisp up anymore after you add the filling because there is a lot of moisture in it.

Another difference between this and a quiche, other than the crust, is that the filling is very dense. It is not a bunch of eggs beaten with dairy and allowed to bake to puffy perfection. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I love quiche, but in this pie the eggs are really a binding agent for all the yummies floating around in it. You can customize the filling depending on what you like. I was inspired to make this recipe by one on allrecipes.com called “Egg and Hash Brown Casserole” and they suggest using sausage, mushrooms and topping the whole thing with tomato slices. I kept these components but departed by adding in a 4 oz. can of diced green chilies, sharp cheddar cheese and sauteed onions. In the original recipe they also say to add the mushrooms raw to the egg mixture but I will take every opportunity I can to add flavor so I gave them a quick saute with the sausage when it was just about done browning. Nom nom. I added most of the cheese to the filling but then about halfway through cooking time (about 15 minutes) I sprinkled the remaining cheese, tomato slices and chopped fresh parsley onto and allowed it to finish cooking. The tomatoes cooked down beautifully and the cheese was nice and bubbly. This breakfast pie will be a repeat for me in the future for sure and it is such a great vehicle for using up leftover ingredients in your fridge! If I didn’t think it would have been overkill, I would’ve added some sauteed brussel sprouts to this (since I have like 1/2 of them left in the fridge). They will surely find their way into an omelet soon.

***PRINTABLE RECIPE (EGG AND HASH BROWN BREAKFAST PIE PDF)***

Egg and Hash Brown Breakfast Pie

(Adapted from “Egg and Hash brown Casserole” on allrecipe.com)

Ingredients:

20 ounces of washed, peeled and shredded russet potatoes (4-5 medium potatoes)
1 large onion: half shredded with a food processor or box grater and half diced
1/3 cup vegetable, canola or grape-seed oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
½ tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder, divided
¼ tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. of country style sausage (bulk- or use raw sausage links removed from casings)
1 cup of sliced button mushrooms
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup half and half
1 ½ cup cheese: your choice, I used a combination of sharp cheddar and Jarlsburg- divided
4 ounces diced green chilies
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, divided

Directions:

Preheat your oven to hot 425°F with rack in the center position
Wring out the shredded potatoes and shredded onion (half the onion) using a tea towel thoroughly, removing as much liquid as possible
Toss the dried potatoes and onions with the oil in a medium bowl
Mix in the paprika, ½ tsp. garlic powder, dried thyme, ½ tbsp. of salt and ½ tsp. ground black pepper (or to taste)
Press the potatoes into a deep dish 9 or 10-inch pie plate with your hands, pressing them firmly and evenly across the bottom and up the sides

Bake the potato crust for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown
Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until nearly browned, breaking up with a potato masher or wooden spoon
Add the sliced mushrooms and remaining half onion, diced, to the sausage and cook until softened and sausage is fully browned. Set aside to cool slightly and drain off excess grease, if necessary
In a medium bowl combine the eggs, half and half, ½ tsp. garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste, 1 cup of the cheese, diced green chilies, half of the parsley and the slightly cooled meat and vegetable mixture. Stir to combine

Pour filling into the baked hash brown crust
Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes
Remove from oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and parsley and arrange the tomato slices over the top