The Best Breakfast Casserole
Do you know what I love? Waking up on Christmas morning and not worrying about what to make for breakfast. Hosting a brunch and casually enjoying my coffee before my guests arrive. If you’re not a morning person, like me, you’ll love this effortless but impressive make-ahead breakfast casserole. If you ARE a morning person (*bowing in admiration*), well… you’ll love this effortless but impressive make-ahead breakfast casserole.
I’ve made quite a few breakfast casseroles and this one comes out on top. It’s quick, easy, and the maple sausage….OH MY…! I used a package of Trader Joe’s Maple Bourbon Pork Sausage and it MADE the dish. Any maple flavored sausage will work great; the maple sweetness and touch of saltiness are a perfect complement.
Christmas morning is coming. Are you ready? (You don’t have to answer!) Trust me, put this breakfast casserole together the night before so you can focus on other, more important, things on Christmas morning…
This is literally the BEST breakfast casserole ever! Toasty sourdough, maple sausage, eggs, and gooey cheese! Assemble the night before, pop in the oven, YUM!
Ingredients
- 1 pound maple pork sausage
- 10 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups 1-inch cubed bread (sourdough is fantastic, but you can use any type of bread)
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons softened butter (to grease casserole dish)
Instructions
PREPARE:
Generously butter a 9 x 13 x 2 inch casserole dish.
Optional-- you can toast the bread cubes at 350 degrees until lightly toasted (about 20 minutes). Toast the bread while you're cooking the sausage. This will shrink the bread, so if you do toast the bread I recommend adding an additional cup of non-toasted bread to the dish when you assemble it. Toasting the bread adds great texture to the casserole!
If you use sausage links, ensure you remove the sausage casings. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up the sausage until it is cooked and not pink.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt until thoroughly combined.
ASSEMBLE:
Evenly distribute half the bread into the buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle with half the shredded cheese, half the black pepper, half the red bell pepper, and half the cooked sausage. Repeat the layers.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the casserole. Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Uncover the casserole. I typically press the casserole with my hands to push the egg mixture back to the top and "re-hydrate" the top layer a bit.
Bake the casserole uncovered for 60 minutes until the eggs have set. If the top starts to brown quickly, you can loosely cover with foil.
Let the casserole cool just a few minutes and then serve...because you won't want to wait any longer after smelling this wonderful casserole cooking in your home!
https://www.travelynneats.com/2018/12/23/breakfast-casserole/Baked Eggs with Roasted Acorn Squash & Kale
If you know me, like really know me… you know I’m an introvert (that was possibly an understatement). So, even though my California soul longs to be out, flip flops on, frolicking around on the beach with my homies,… this winter thing kinda suits my need to turn inside, go into my gal cave, stay in my jammies all day, sip my coffee slowly, get mesmerized by the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree, savor the sweetness of solitude, and just RECHARGE. So, while I resist winter with every fiber of my being, December is actually a soothing time of year for me. Beyond the obvious that is the holiday season, there is a subtle settling into a transition that transcends the autumnal shift.
Today, I woke up, rolled around in bed for two hours longer than intended, and calmly recognized it was going to be (and needed to be) one of those jammies-all-day kind of days. I threw on my big ‘ole fluffy robe, shuffled downstairs, peeked into the kitchen and knew that baked eggs in a cast iron skillet had to happen on this lingering, lazy morning.
When I discovered I had an acorn squash, one onion, kale, a carton of eggs, dried cranberries, pecans, and vegetable broth already on hand… Well, I had a moment. That sweet feeling when you delightfully discover something you weren’t expecting. Seriously, it was special. Let me mention some other ingredients: the spices. I, like you, have a cupboard stuffed full of every imaginable spice (and, oddly, I never seem to have the spices needed for a new recipe… another life mystery). But, there are two spices I keep right near the stove: Herbes de Provence and a bottle of ground Spiced Chipotle Smoked Red Jalapeños. I found it at Whole Foods. I adore it. It adds a smoky, spicy, unique flavor.
Breakfast, brunch.. this dish is a ‘good morning to you’ all day long…
- 1 large acorn squash (about 4 cups of squash), cut in 1/2 inch slices
- 1 teaspoon each of Kosher salt & ground black pepper, and 2 tablespoons olive oil (for the squash)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil (for sautéing the onions)
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch slices)
- 4 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
- 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
- 1 bunch curly kale cut into thin ribbons (about 5 packed cups); try to remove the big stems...
- 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pecan pieces
- 4 to 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup freshly shaved Pecorino Romano and/or Asiago cheese
- Heat the oven to 410 degrees.
- While the oven is pre-heating, thoroughly wash the acorn squash and cut into 1/2 inch slices. I typically start cutting from the end and then when I reach the center with the seeds, I scoop them out. I'll often slice a side off the acorn squash so I can lay it flat and then cut the slices a little easier. You can leave the rind on or cut it away from the "flesh." I opt to leave it on because the roasting makes it tender and it gives a great texture to the dish.
- Lay the acorn squash slices flat on a large sheet pan, drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of ground pepper. Roast the squash slices for 20-25 minutes in the 410 degree oven. Halfway through the roasting, flip the squash slices over on the pan with a spatula.
- Meanwhile, while the squash is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat (a cast iron skillet works beautifully, since you'll be broiling the eggs at the end--in the oven--in your gorgeous, big skillet). Sauté the onion slices for 20-25 minutes (about the same time the squash is roasting). Season the onions with salt & pepper to taste and 1 teaspoon of Herbes de Provence. Watch the onions so they don't burn; if they start to get too dark, turn the heat down to medium so they can caramelize a bit. After 15 minutes, add the roughly chopped garlic cloves.
- After the onions have caramelized, add the thinly sliced kale to the skillet (about 2 cups at a time). After you add the first 2 cups of kale, pour 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth and let the kale cook until it just softens. Stir a bit and then add 2 more cups of kale, 1/4 cup of broth, 1/4 teaspoon of the chipotle powder, and simmer until the kale softens. Add the cranberries and pecan pieces, simmer and stir for 2 minutes. Add the final cup of kale and stir the onions, kale, cranberries and pecans in the skillet and let it simmer for a few minutes on medium heat.
- Remove the roasted squash from the oven. Cancel the bake setting and turn on the broiler in the oven. Move the rack in the oven (with an oven mitt!) so it is about 6 inches under the broiler. Take the roasted squash slices and place them in the skillet. You can "cut" the slices into smaller chunks with your spatula in the skillet, but be careful not to stir the mixture too aggressively or the squash will break apart and get mushy.
- Take the back of a spoon and press 4 - 6 wells into the squash/kale/onion mixture. Crack an egg into each of the wells and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half the shaved cheese on top of the eggs and squash mixture. Carefully, place the skillet in the oven and broil for 4-5 minutes until the egg whites have set, but the yolks are still runny. Keep an eye on the eggs, they will go from 'just set' to cooked yolks very quickly. When you remove the skillet from the oven, sprinkle the other half of the shaved cheese on top of the dish.
- Serve immediately with buttered toast or toasted pita bread.
