Creating a Sabbath (and a Gluten-Free Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole)

Our culture does not value Sabbath Rest.  A few years ago my husband and I decided that even if our culture doesn't value it, we do!  And we take the Sabbath seriously now. 

For a mother with young children, there's really no total rest day, so it's really about making the day as easy as possible.  This starts on Saturday. (It took me years to fully comprehend that obvious truth.)

On Saturday:

*do enough laundry to get you through Sunday and Monday, at least!

*choose church clothes for everyone and make sure they're presentable

*make breakfast! for years I tried to throw together a breakfast on Sunday morning--often something "nice" like pancakes and sausage or eggs, but cooking on Sunday is just not restful for me, and then there are the dishes, and the rush to leave the house on time.......so my solution is my gluten-free Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole, which I make on Saturday night, bake on Sunday morning, and which is hearty enough to make my children survive until Sunday lunch (which is usually between 1:00-1:30 at our house).

*make sure there are sufficient leftovers for dinner tomorrow night

*grind the coffee and fill the electric kettle!

*set the table for breakfast 

*make sure all needed items for church are in a tote bag (Bibles, journal, water bottles, etc.)

On Sunday morning:

*coffee, coffee, coffee (especially if my husband and I have stayed up late--it's the one night a week he can stay up past about 9pm!)

*pop the casserole in the oven

*mix up a fast batch of chocolate gingerbread and pop that in the oven 

(husband usually makes tuna salad for the children for lunch at this point)

*relax

*enjoy a relaxed and delicious breakfast, with minimal cleanup (casserole container goes in fridge, gingerbread gets covered, dishes go in the dishwasher)

*shower, dress, get the children dressed, and go to church

On Sunday afternoon:

*serve kids tuna and potato chips and fruit--their junky Sunday tradition!  My husband and I usually have salads. Some people do a big Sunday midday dinner. I love that concept, but for me that's not relaxing during this stage of life. I'd rather have my nice breakfast!

*send the kids to quiet time in their rooms and then we settle in for a Sunday nap....so luxurious. My husband is a Real Napper but I only nap for about 20-30 minutes. 

*after nap, we putter around, maybe take a walk--sometimes I leave the house for a couple of hours, etc. 

*dinner: leftovers

*after dinner: in winter, we like to watch episodes of Planet Earth or Cosmos; in summer, catch lightning bugs, take walks, and talk; any time of year we like to play Skip-Bo!

*get to bed early-ish because Monday morning comes whether we're ready or not!

*                      *                     * 

Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole

On Saturday night, grease a 9x13 glass pan. 

Cook a pound of sausage (you could use bacon!).

Line the glass pan with a thin layer of frozen shredded potatoes, then top with sausage.  

Beat 12-14 eggs with a splash of milk (about half a cup, at most).  I like to add some Crazy Salt or Herbamere.  Pour this over the sausage/potatoes in pan. 

Grate enough cheese to lightly cover the egg.  My children love green onion cheese, so that's what I use! You can use any kind you like. 

Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator overnight.

On Sunday morning, put into the oven and bake at 350 degrees until the eggs are cooked. I think this takes about half an hour in my oven, which runs hot. 

We like this with a side of hot gingerbread topped with whipped cream or Greek yogurt (decadent), and for me--lots of coffee.  

Happy resting!