Is there anything more homey than a big ol’ broccoli casserole? Perhaps it’s a sign of my “settling down”, now that I’m married with two kids and live in the suburbs (when did this happen?) but I’ve rediscovered casseroles in the past year or so. You’ll almost never see one on a restaurant menu but so many of us grew up with them on our dinner tables at home. When that shallow 13 x 9″ dish comes out of the oven, with errant strands of cheese baked onto the sides, I just know I’m in for a treat.

I’d actually describe this casserole as “mac & cheese with broccoli”.  Steamed broccoli is tossed with spiral-y fusilli pasta in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce, topped with Parmesan and baked to bubbly deliciousness.  I’m pretty sure I found this recipe on the side of a package of broccoli florets, although unfortunately I forgot to save enough of the original package to know for sure. Two good things I do know: 1) it tastes great alongside ham and 2) even a two-year-old will eat it.

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It’s Part II of my “virtual” Mother’s Day brunch! To complement the brown sugary, melt-in-your-mouth Sour Cream Pecan Coffee Cake, I’ll be celebrating my mom and mom-in-law with a savory Sausage Breakfast Casserole. I know they’ll love it – both moms have prepared similar dishes for my husband and me when we’ve visited. It’s the kind of breakfast we look forward to when we’re together.

The hot sausage and pepper jack cheese give the casserole a little kick of heat without being overly spicy. With the custard soaked into cubes of country bread the dish is very much like a savory bread pudding, or strata. The mustard in the custard (I’ve been reading too much Dr. Seuss!) adds such incredible flavor yet it’s subtle enough that the non-mustard fan in our house still doesn’t know it was in there. I was intimidated at first by the idea of using ten eggs – it’s a few more than I’m used to in a single recipe – but I came around when I realized it worked out to fewer than two eggs per person.

A slice of this casserole is a meal in itself. But if you’re like me, you’ve always got a little room for cake too.

Happy Mother’s Day!

P.S. I’m submitting this to the Celebrating Mother’s Day blog event on Kopiaste.. to Greek Hospitality – the roundup of dishes will be posted on May 10.

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