Brat & Pepper Breakfast Scramble
Jeff and I sometimes like to joke that having a human child would be easier than taking care of our dog, Izzy. We’re joking, of course. But Izzy is definitely a handful.
She’s a rescue dog who came to us with a fully-formed anxiety disorder. Mental breakdowns ensue when even the slightest change to the status quo occurs, like a squirrel in the yard or a repair person in our house.
She has extreme separation anxiety, and she can diagnose the cues that we are getting ready to leave the house – putting on our shoes, me putting on makeup – and a heartbreaking please don’t leave meeeeeeee tantrum will occur then, too.
She also acts out in any number of ways, which are nearly impossible to predict. One day she might decide to eat a whole mess of chicken bones from the trash can when I look away for just a second, and the next day she’ll jump on the couch (without permission) with muddy paws.
She could tear a hole in the curtains and get herself trapped in a curtain noose.
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She might wake us up in the middle of the night to take her outside, then not go to the bathroom when she’s out there, deciding to bark at a chipmunk instead.
She also hates the bottom of all dog cages, and has chewed through several of them, and pushed the others out to sea in a fit of rage.
For putting up with all of this silliness, I always make sure Jeff takes a minute to celebrate Father’s Day. He may *just* be a father to a dog, but believe me, it’s work.
It seems like moms get all the breakfast in bed for Mother’s Day, and dads always get a grilled meal for Father’s Day, so why not give the dads a breakfast that combines the best of both worlds? Cue the idea of bratfest in bed.
I started by grilling up some juicy, flavorful brats (you could also use bacon in the oven). I quickly sauteed some peppers and onions, then created a unique egg scramble by folding in whisked eggs, cheddar cheese and the sliced, grilled brats. Jeff loved this easy breakfast scramble, and Izzy loved cuddling up next to him, hoping for a piece of sausage!
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Brat & Pepper Breakfast Scramble
Ingredients
- 4 Johnsonville® Brats
- 12 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- Pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat outdoor grill or grill pan for direct grilling. Grill brats according to package directions. Transfer to cutting board and let stand 5 minutes; then slice into 1/4-inch slices.
- Meanwhile, in medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and onion; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add sliced brats and egg mixture to skillet. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until eggs are cooked through, stirring and breaking up eggs with spatula frequently. Fold in cheese during last minute of cooking time. Serve immediately.
thanks for having the seemingly only simple brat recipe on the internet with ingredients i have on hand. i felt a regular 12″ skillet was a bit shallow, would use a deeper skillet next time if i had one. was hard to avoid spillage. i subbed a bit of the ched with gouda and swiss so i wouldn’t have to open a new package. this is tasty! also next time id just sprinkle cheese over finished dish because its hard for me to tell when egg is done if there is melted chz on it. this will last the rest of the week thanks so much.
You’re welcome, Alison. Love to hear that! Your dish sounds super tasty.
This recipe was fantastic! It tasted like if you were eating a breakfast made a baseball stadium – with the smell of the brat, onion, and peppers coming through the egg scramble.
Thanks for humoring me with yet another set of embarrassing photos, hon 🙂
Oh, but that face! how could you even be mad at her for more than a second? Ok…maybe a few minutes 😉 Ours is pretty well behaved, the worst offenses being a secretive nap on the couch if we forget to block it off or eating the dirt out of my plants when we leave her too long but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a good excuse to eat this “Father’s Day” scramble!
Oh my gosh, YES. The secretive naps on the couch! For some reason, that’s been Izzy’s shenanigan of choice lately. Like, you have a perfectly fluffy L.L. Bean dog bed in the living room, but you need to sneak a nap on the couch when I’m in the shower? But then, you’re so freakin’ cute, that I can’t even be mad at you. The perfect crime!
Your hubby is a trooper for letting you post his pic all up on the Interweb in bed. Love this breakfast scramble. There’s no doubt my hubs will love it too.
These poor, poor blog husbands. The crap they have to put up with 😉
As rascally as pups are it’s still impossible not to love every bit of them. Jeff and Izzy look mighty happy in bed there too with breakfast (of course if this was my dog he’d be on top of that bowl going where’s my share?). Brats, cheese, eggs and peppers it’s the perfect breakfast combination!
I know, these dogs are just so darn cute, it’s impossible to be mad at them! haha.
Rescue dogs are the best! They have already been abandoned once. They know what that is. Having a Forever Home is a whole new life to them! Sometimes they do not know how to behave, but they can learn! The one thing they do know is this is where I am going to spend the rest of my life! Warts and all! You will receive more joy from your Rescue dog than you know!
Oh, I agree, Sherry Ann! Izzy (literally) ran into our arms the day we adopted her and never looked back. When we first brought her home, she would try to escape out of the yard, and out the front door when we opened it for just a moment. But now, she doesn’t even try anymore. I think she’s realized that she’s pretty lucky, and has a pretty great life now 🙂
I love adding sausage to my breakfast scrambles. Can’t wait to try it with some hearty bratwursts! YuM!
Thanks so much, Shawn!
This sounds like a great idea for breakfast or lunch or dinner. I would choose to sub something for the peppers, because we no longer seem to be able to eat them.
Rescue dogs are difficult. My sister has a chocolate lab who was a rescue dog with all the attendant problems. But he’s calmed down considerably, with consistent love and discipline. I finally got to meet him several months ago, and he is a love (who still needs direction). Keep loving Izzy, reassuring her, and disciplining her, and I’m sure she will continue to respond.
Awww, chocolate labs always have a special place in my heart. They are almost always just the sweetest dogs. Izzy has definitely improved SO much over the years. We can actually leave her home alone now, not in her kennel, and she only gets up to mischief about once every ten times. Which I’ll take as a win 😉
I too have a rescue dog with many issues. The Vet has put her on Prozac and it has done wonders for her. She still has some issues but is 95% better. It is hard to see them so stressed.
We’ve tried a few different anti-anxiety meds on Izzy, but sadly they haven’t helped. All they’ve done is given her a better night’s sleep, so that she’s had more energy to have mental breakdowns over squirrels during the day. LOL! But she is getting a bit more relaxed as she gets older, thank goodness.
I recognize these photos that I edited!
Good job editing them 🙂
What a hearty and colorful breakfast!! Jeff looks like a happy man 🙂
Thanks Mary!
We are always looking for hearty new breakfast recipes at our house. This looks fabulous!
This one’s a winner in the hearty category. Thanks Lori!