Sausage and Cheese Souffle

Let me start out by saying if you are a souffle connoisseur, you will be mortally offended by this recipe. I chose to call it a souffle because it got puffy as it baked and stayed that way, but it is by no means the intricate, detailed, multi-step dish more commonly known as a souffle.

You know what it was, though? Tasty as all get-out!

As with the majority of my recipes, this one has very simple ingredients that I normally have on-hand. Smoked sausage, eggs, cheese (chipotle and Swiss), milk, and some seasonings. For this I chose just a bit of Olde Thompson's garlic-pepper grinder, and some of my favourite Great Lakes Blend from Spice Merchants.

After I coated my small glass casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, I quartered one of the two sausage pieces and chopped it, then spread it in the bottom of the dish. I then tore one piece each of the cheese into thin strips and laid them across the sausage.

I meant to stop there, but it didn't look like enough food. So I repeated the layers with the other sausage piece, and then decided to do two more of each kind of cheese, alternating layers to ensure they were sort of blended.

I then whisked the eggs, some milk, and the seasonings together until they were well-blended and frothy. You can do this ahead of time if you prefer not to have bubbles when you pour the egg mixture over the casserole, but I don't fuss about stuff like that. They eventually pop on their own.

After I poured the egg mixture over, I let the casserole sit while the oven preheated. Mostly because I forgot the preheat the oven, but I think it did help settle the air in the eggs down some.

Something like 35 minutes later, out came a beautifully puffed, golden brown souffle. Here's the difference between mine and most other recipes: You don't serve it right away. Normally a souffle will sink if you let it stand, but this one holds its shape as it sits. If you try to serve it immediately, the liquid won't have had a chance to absorb back into the solids, and you'll have an ungodly mess on your hands.

Yes, I know this because I tried to serve it right away. Live and learn!

If you're patient, you'll get a nice plate of eggy, cheesy, sausage-y goodness for dinner. It's worth waiting.

Sausage and Cheese Souffle

Serves 6

14 ounces smoked sausage, quartered lengthwise and then sliced

3 slices chipotle white cheddar cheese

3 slices Swiss cheese

6 large eggs

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 teaspoon garlic-pepper seasoning (I used Olde Thompson grinder)

1/2 teaspoon herb seasoning blend (I use Great Lakes Blend from Spice Merchants)

Preheat oven to 350F; lightly coat a 1 1/2 quart round glass casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Spread half of sausage in bottom of casserole dish. Tear one slice of each kind of cheese into strips and lay across sausage. Spread remaining sausage on top of cheese, then tear remaining two slices of each cheese into strips and lay across sausage, alternating types of cheese with each layer.

Whisk together remaining ingredients until well-beaten; pour over casserole. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until top is puffy and golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serving Size: 158g

Calories: 395

Calories from Fat: 281

Total Fat: 31.2g

Saturated Fat: 12.4g

Trans Fat: 0.2g

Cholesterol: 265mg

Sodium: 679mg

Total Carbohydrates: 1.8g

Sugars: 1.2g

Protein: 25.9g