A new Breakfast Offering

At our monthly United Methodist Women's meeting and brunch it seemed we had been served every version of breakfast casserole with eggs, hash browns, sausage, etc. there could be. So when I saw this served at a Christmas quilting group, I knew it was one to try. This month it was my turn to be hostess for UMW, and I made this new recipe of Breakfast Strudel. It uses puff pastry so it is much easier than it looks! The flaky, buttery crust reminds me of the Kansas Maid butter braids that are so popular in our part of Kansas. 

The next best thing of this recipe is that it could be assembled the night or day before. For morning meetings this is a great time saver. Although this is an easy recipe, it does have several things to chop and measure. A couple of surprise ingredients had good purposes - the orange juice adds Vitamin C to help preserve the color and the sour cream gives a soft silky texture. Be sure to scramble the eggs just until set, a bit soft, so they don't get rubbery. 

The original recipe from bluemountpingraphics.com said this was 8 servings. It does make 2 strudels. We had 8 women at the meeting and this, along with blueberry muffins and mixed berries was an ample amount. I even had some to bring home. 

BREAKFAST STRUDEL

Ingredients: 

1 box (1.1 lb) puff pastry dough

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 cup frozen cubed hash brown potatoes

1 cup red or green bell peppers, seeded and diced

½ cup onion, diced

1 cup diced smoked ham

11 eggs

2 Tbs. minced fresh chives

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tbs. orange juice

1 egg

1 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2.    Thaw pastry according to package directions, about 30 minutes. 

3.    Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and onion, sauté 3 minutes, then add ham. 

4.    Whisk eggs and chives together. Add them to the pan and scramble until just set. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Removed from heat, stir in cream cheese and juice until blended. Refrigerate eggs while working with the pastry. 

5.    Unfold a pastry sheet on a work surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Roll pastry lengthwise to 12 x 10”, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper cut to fit a baking sheet. 

6.    Cut off two corners and notch the sides to create flaps. Fill with half the egg mixture and braid, starting with the notched end. Repeat with remaining pastry and egg filling. 

7.    Lift parchment and strudels onto baking sheet. Combine the remaining egg and water; brush over top of strudels. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake 20-30 minutes, or until golden. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing.