Sausage Hash Brown Casserole

 I recently hosted a brunch for some kiddos, but I figured the adults attending probably wanted something a little heartier than character shaped pancakes.  Go figure.  I got this recipe from a friend at work (thanks Laine) and put it all together the night before, then baked it up in the morning.  It was a hit...and completely gone except for one little sliver, which I took a picture of in bad lighting right before I devoured it.  So...here's a good one to add to the breakfast rotation.

Sausage Hash Brown Casserole

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Ingredients:  1 lb hot pork sausage (I just used my favorite seasoned breakfast sausage), 3 cups frozen has browns (thawed), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 12 oz shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend for a little kick), 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper, 12 eggs (beaten), 2 cups milk.
Instructions:  Cook sausage and drain.  Place thawed hash browns  at the bottom of a lightly greased 9x12 baking dish (since I was putting mine in the fridge over night, I didn't even bother with thawing the has browns).  Sprinkle with salt.  Layer sausage, cheese, and green peppers.  Combine the egg and mil and pour it over the top of your green peppers (I placed mine in the fridge over night at this point).  Bake at 350 for at least 50 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes longer-I just wiggled the pan a little to see if the eggs were done baking in the middle.

On-A-Stick: (Light) Popcorn Balls On-A-Stick

I decided to try out a Weight Watcher recipe I've been holding in a file for awhile.  I adapted it to the supplies I had on hand, but these gals still turned out to be tasty, and a lot lighter than a traditional popcorn ball. 

To make a light vesion of popcorn balls, take 1 bag of 100 calorie buttered popcorn, cook according to directions.  Remover kernals, and add to a 8x8 baking dish. 

Melt 6 pieces of caramel in the microwave (you can also toss in 1 T of chocolate, I didn't-they used 5 pieces WW candy that is a caramel/chocolate mix, I only had caramel pieces on hand).  Stir and add 1 t. of milk. 

Pour over the popcorn and mix.  It won't mix too well, there will be some chunks, you'll be mixing several more times, so it should be fine. 

Place this mix in a bowl, and toss 5 large marshmallows on top. 

 Bake at 350 for 5 minutes.  Pull out.  Let cool for one minute, and then mix it all together, and form 4 balls (about 1 c. each), the original recipe recommended spraying your hands down with cooking spray, it did get pretty sticky, but still doable.  Place these back in the dish, and bake another 5 minutes.  Pull out, insert stick, and cool.  These held together really well, and taste great.  These would be really cute at a circus party, or fall holidays....I have another date with this idea in the fall.