Hash Brown Egg Brunch

First frost Tuesday. The garden is mostly done. Worked at the construction company in Lexington this week. The body holds. Most days.

Connie at the vet clinic, four shifts this week. Her back is tired. She does not say so. I see it. Mama is 86. She is the toughest person I have ever known. She still cooks every day in the company house in Evarts.

Venison stew Sunday. From the freezer. Slow simmer.

Travis called Tuesday. The landscaping company is busy. He sounds tired in a good way. Amber called Sunday. Things are good. James sends his regards.

The week held. The mountains were the mountains.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

The venison stew had done its work Sunday — slow-simmered, warm all the way through — and by the time Monday morning came around, after the wood-splitting and the dump run and sitting with Old Roy while he cried over soup beans, I wanted something that would hold us the same way. Connie’s back was tired. Mine too. A hash brown egg brunch is what you make when the week has already asked a lot and you need the morning to answer back with something solid. You build it the night before if you’re smart, and it’s ready when you are.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 (30 oz) bag frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
8 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup cooked breakfast sausage or diced ham
3/4 cup diced green onions (about 5 stalks)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

Preheat. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish well with butter or cooking spray.
Build the crust. Combine thawed hash browns, melted butter, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Toss until evenly coated, then press the mixture firmly and evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the prepared baking dish.
Par-bake the crust. Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden and the bottom sets. Remove from oven.
Mix the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth and fully combined.
Layer and pour. Scatter the cooked sausage or ham, green onions, and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar evenly over the par-baked crust. Pour the egg mixture over the top, then finish with the remaining 1 cup of cheddar.
Bake. Return the dish to the oven and bake uncovered for 35–40 minutes, until the eggs are fully set in the center and the cheese is golden and bubbling. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
Rest and serve. Let the casserole rest for 5–10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm, directly from the dish.

Nutrition (per serving)

Hash Brown Egg Brunch — The Kind of Morning That Holds You Together