Yes, we know it’s not #womancrushwednesday ❤️, but can we all just pause for a moment to appreciate @chrissyteigen? Smart, hilarious, gorgeous AND she’s a whiz in the kitchen. We love her cookbooks. So definitely #womancrusheveryday. And this being #friyay, we wanted to give you the opportunity to prep one of our favorite Chrissy (we can call her Chrissy, in our heads we’re bffs!) recipe from her cookbook Cravings: Hungry For More, the stunning Everything Bagel Cream Cheese Breakfast Bake. Everything bagels, cheese galore, tomatoes, eggs, sausages, spinach, you could just dive into this bake and spend your weekend there. You wouldn’t even need a blanket, that’s how good it is. This is the perfect brunch food to feed a crowd!
Don’t take a step back when you see the ingredients list and don’t let the long list of instructions scare you away! The bake is totally worth it and most of the work is just throwing things together. We have a few hacks to make a few things easier than in the original recipe, so never fear.
Hack no. 1: Use precooked sausage links and save yourself 12 minutes. Boom.
Hack no. 2: Buy preshredded cheese everything.
Hack no. 3: Thaw the frozen spinach by placing it in a sieve and running warm water over it. Break icy clumps apart with your fingers. When defrosted, press the spinach down in the sieve to squeeze as much water as you can out. Then place in a kitchen towel and wring the rest of the water out as instructed in the recipe.
Ingredients
Serves 8
1 pound uncooked breakfast sausage links (optional, see Recipe Notes)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed
3 day-old everything bagels, halved and cut into big chunks
2 large tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
8 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 14 pieces
(Optional as not in the original recipe, but this comes g&b recommended: about 2 tbsp Everything Bagel Seasoning for an extra flavor kick.)
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, if using, and cook, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 12 minutes or according to package directions. Remove the sausage from the skillet, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces, place in a large bowl, and set aside. (g&b note: make sure it really is a very large bowl, there’s a lot of things going in there!)
Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden and translucent, about 9 minutes. Meanwhile, pile the thawed spinach into the center of a big clean kitchen towel and roll up the towel. Over a bowl or the sink, twist the ends toward each other and keep twisting until you wring out as much liquid as humanly possible. (Or make someone else do this.)
Transfer the spinach to the bowl with the sausage. Add the sautéed onion, bagel chunks, tomatoes, basil, Parmesan, 1 cup of the Gruyère, 1 cup of the cheddar, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Toss it all together with your hands or a spoon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, half-and-half, mustard, cayenne, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper until evenly combined.
Coat 9×13-inch baking dish with butter. Transfer the bagel mixture into the baking dish and arrange into an even layer. Pour the egg mixture over the top, pressing down on the bagels so they soak up the liquid. Nestle the cream cheese chunks in and all around the baking dish (they can be peeking out). Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 and up to 12 hours. (The longer you soak, the moister the inside will be.)
When ready to bake, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400°F. Uncover the breakfast bake. This next instruction is not in the original recipe but we would highly recommend it: Sprinkle an extra layer of Everything Bagel Seasoning over the bake before adding the cheese. Then sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Gruyère and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake until the top is golden-brown and the center is set, 50 minutes to 1 hour more.
Recipe from Cravings: Hungry for More. Copyright © 2018 by Chrissy Teigen.
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