Happy 2012!

Happy New Year, everyone!  Daniel and I aren't huge on going out on New Years, so we enjoyed a nice quiet evening at home in our sweats.  Yeah, we're 30 going on 90, haha. ;)

I wanted to make something special and different for this morning's New Years Day breakfast because we typically eat cereal or homemade waffles on rare occasion (yum!).  I found a recipe for a breakfast casserole and whipped it up last night.  Then, this morning I just had to pop it in the oven and let it bake for an hour.  It was delish!  I paired the casserole with fresh fruit and these delicious Brie and Apple Tarts (found from Pinterest!).  I served our orange juice in wine glasses and we had a fancy little brunch.  It was fun and a great start to the New Year.  (I was getting too into it and cut the napkins into hearts...)

After breakfast we relaxed then took a long walk with the dogs, then sadly put all our Christmas decorations away.  Once this was finished we went to the gym for Body Pump, then to my parents house for a traditional New Years Day meal.  My Mom had ham, greens, black eyed peas and sweet potato biscuits.  For dessert we had rum cake...it was another amazing meal and it was a good day.  Nothing like starting off the New Year feeling fresh and without the slightest hangover!!!

Breakfast Casserole:

Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1 pound pork sausage
• 1 small onion, diced
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 12 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Place the hash brown potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook and stir the sausage and onion until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink; drain. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and pour over the potatoes. Layer with half the Cheddar cheese, the sausage mixture, and the remaining Cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove cover; return casserole to the oven and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Individual Brie and Apple Tarts:

1 box (2 sheets) of puff pastry, thawed
1 green apple
1 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
1 Tbsp butter, divided
1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 medium wedge of brie
1 egg
flour (for rolling)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a good-sized slice of brie and 3 or 4 this slices of apple the middle of each of the 4 squares. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and brown sugar and top with a pat of butter. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

*The hubs and I thankfully have tomorrow off...one more day of vacation, horray!  Happy, Happy New Year to you.   I hope that this year brings you good health, happiness and bountiful blessings.