Left-Over Wednesdays: Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole

This is a dish that I learned at Saks, Inc., when I was a working chef. We would usually throw in breakfast meat leftover from service and any veggies that needed to be used up. Feel free to add other veggies, meats, different cheeses! This type of dish is also known as a strata, because of the layers of ingredients.

1 loaf white sandwich bread

1 tube sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled

3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 bunch green onion, sliced thin

1 dozen large eggs, beaten

3-4 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Tear or cut bread into small pieces and place in 9X11 baking dish.

2. Layer sausage, and handful or two of cheese and vegetables on top of the bread.

3. Whisk eggs, milk and salt and pepper together in a separate bowl until well blended. Pour over bread, meat and vegetables. Press mixture down so that all bread is soaked and other ingredients are well-covered with egg mixture. Add additional milk if necessary.

4. Top with remaining cheese and bake approximately 1 hour, or until casserole is firm.

Left-Over Wednesdays: Breakfast Casserole

Well I am purposely staying away from a recipe that is Thanksgiving-y. See last week's recipe post if you need a side dish idea! (Don't worry April and Jaci...I'll get to the chili recipe soon! I won't forget!)
We had Anti-Thanksgiving Dinner last night at college group (not that we are against T'giving, just an "opposite" dinner). The meal that I could think of that is completely opposite of turkey and dressing would be sushi...but I wasn't going to make sushi for 25 college students...so we had breakfast for dinner! I served this casserole with cinnamon rolls and OJ.

Breakfast Casserole

Makes one 9X13 pan

This is also great to make the night before, especially if you are serving this for breakfast or brunch, then pop in the oven when you get up.

1 loaf white bread, cut into cubes or chunks
1 "tube" sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 dozen eggs
2 cups milk
Salt/pepper
3-4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onion, minced
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Place bread cubes in bottom of pan
2. Whisk eggs and milk together until fully combined. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Layer chopped tomatoes, green onions, sausage and a cup or so of cheese over the bread in pan.
4. Pour egg mixture over bread and ingredients. **NOTE: I usually don't measure the milk out to an exact amount, so you may need to add extra milk. The egg/milk mixture needs to cover the ingredients completely. Sometimes I add heavy cream too!
5. Top with remainder of cheese and bake in 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
6. Can be made "vegetarian" with no sausage, or add your own veggies (mushrooms, peppers, etc) for some variations. This is the version the college kids like!

Left-Over Wednesdays: Hashbrown Casserole...Just In Time for Thanksgiving!

Well this week's recipe is one I found online a couple of years ago from a copy-cat recipe site (one that copies famous recipes). This is supposed to be Cracker Barrel's Hashbrown Casserole recipe. I haven't done a side-by-side taste test, but I think it's pretty darn close! In fact, I have tweaked it a bit over the years and I personally like my version better....I'm just sayin'....
This makes a great addition to Thanksgiving Dinner!

Hashbrown Casserole

Makes one 9x13 pan

1 2-LB bag of frozen hashbrowns, shredded vareity
1 stick butter
1/2 cup white onion, chopped (*I like to saute the onion for just a few minutes if I have time-helps soften it)
1 can cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Melt butter in microwave
2. Combine soup, sour cream, onion and butter.
3. Place hashbrowns in a large bowl and toss with a couple handfuls of cheese. Pour soup mixture over hashbrowns and coat evenly
4. Place in 9x13 pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake in 375 degree oven for about an hour.