Greenlight
12-10-2016, 10:33
I'm posting this in hopes that some AT hikers will be well fed this spring! It's a hostel size recipe that I hope someday to provide as trail magic after I complete my own thru. No reason it can't start getting some love before then. It is truly the kitchen sink of breakfast casseroles and my perfection of it this morning at the domicile produced such phenomena as eyes rolling back into heads and throaty "Oh my God" comments:
Greenlight’s Hiker Trash Breakfast Casserole
37371
This casserole will keep you hiking well into the day; you’ll still be stuffed at lunch. Don’t be a gram weenie when you put this apoctalicious dish together – each one should weigh at around ten pounds. It is constructed in layers:
Bottom: Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with vegetable oil. Fill the bottom of the pan with pancake batter (pre-bake for a few minutes in a 400 degree oven until it sets) and then soak it with pancake syrup. Once you get this part done, set it aside.
Next to bottom: This is the best place to put the meat. To make things easier, cut bacon into one-inch pieces and fry until it is golden brown. Don’t over-cook it. In addition either fry up a pan of breakfast sausage, or use pre-cooked sausage crumbles. Dump them all in together.
Middle layer: Scrambled eggs. Need I say more? Cook them until they’re just about ready set up, and pour it on top of the meat and pancake layers, then spread them evenly in the pan.
Next to top: You need this layer of sautee’d portabello mushrooms, diced green pepper and diced onion to add a potatoes O’Brien flavor to the top layer. If you and your hiker trash friends like veggies, make this layer thick, if not, keep it thin. Completely cover this layer with shredded cheddar cheese.
Top: Tater-tots. Lots of ‘em.
Bonus layer: If you’re still in the southern states, you have to add a layer of farmhouse gravy. Up north, not so much, but I find that it is literally the ingredient that ties the whole thing together. If you don’t know how to make gravy, yell for help and find someone who does. You either know how or you don’t. Don’t f&%k it up. Anyway, if you’re adding the gravy, pour it evenly over the tater tots. Not a lot, maybe two cups total. It’ll soak down into the cheese and veggie layer and the tots will still get crispy, don’t worry.
Put this in a 400 degree oven and bake, preferably on a middle rack, for half an hour. Then take it out and let it rest for ten minutes. It will continue to bake as it cools a bit.
If you use a disposable casserole pan like you can get at just about any grocery store or Wally World, clean up is easier. If you’ve got five or six hungry hikers this will be gone in five minutes. Adjust the number of casseroles you make by dividing the breakfast crowd by six. The pan is somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 calories, with a good mix of fats, carbs, and protein. If you want to make it healthier, garnish it with cilantro. J
Greenlight’s Hiker Trash Breakfast Casserole
37371
This casserole will keep you hiking well into the day; you’ll still be stuffed at lunch. Don’t be a gram weenie when you put this apoctalicious dish together – each one should weigh at around ten pounds. It is constructed in layers:
Bottom: Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with vegetable oil. Fill the bottom of the pan with pancake batter (pre-bake for a few minutes in a 400 degree oven until it sets) and then soak it with pancake syrup. Once you get this part done, set it aside.
Next to bottom: This is the best place to put the meat. To make things easier, cut bacon into one-inch pieces and fry until it is golden brown. Don’t over-cook it. In addition either fry up a pan of breakfast sausage, or use pre-cooked sausage crumbles. Dump them all in together.
Middle layer: Scrambled eggs. Need I say more? Cook them until they’re just about ready set up, and pour it on top of the meat and pancake layers, then spread them evenly in the pan.
Next to top: You need this layer of sautee’d portabello mushrooms, diced green pepper and diced onion to add a potatoes O’Brien flavor to the top layer. If you and your hiker trash friends like veggies, make this layer thick, if not, keep it thin. Completely cover this layer with shredded cheddar cheese.
Top: Tater-tots. Lots of ‘em.
Bonus layer: If you’re still in the southern states, you have to add a layer of farmhouse gravy. Up north, not so much, but I find that it is literally the ingredient that ties the whole thing together. If you don’t know how to make gravy, yell for help and find someone who does. You either know how or you don’t. Don’t f&%k it up. Anyway, if you’re adding the gravy, pour it evenly over the tater tots. Not a lot, maybe two cups total. It’ll soak down into the cheese and veggie layer and the tots will still get crispy, don’t worry.
Put this in a 400 degree oven and bake, preferably on a middle rack, for half an hour. Then take it out and let it rest for ten minutes. It will continue to bake as it cools a bit.
If you use a disposable casserole pan like you can get at just about any grocery store or Wally World, clean up is easier. If you’ve got five or six hungry hikers this will be gone in five minutes. Adjust the number of casseroles you make by dividing the breakfast crowd by six. The pan is somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 calories, with a good mix of fats, carbs, and protein. If you want to make it healthier, garnish it with cilantro. J