Breakfast Casserole~Using Hot Breakfast Sausage

Breakfast Casserole

prep time: 10 mins
cook time: 45 mins
total time: 55 mins

I think everyone has their own version of a breakfast casserole. It’s that dish you make when you need to clean out the fridge and make breakfast at the same time. I’m not going to lie though, sometimes we have it for lunch, supper, snack time, whatever! When you live on a farm with laying hens, you can find yourself with a surplus of eggs sometimes, and a recipe that is predominantly eggs can really come in handy!
Growing up, this was actually a special occasion dish. My Mom prepped it on Christmas Eve, and then she would bake it the next morning while we opened up presents. We looked forward to it for weeks, and if she ever made it another time throughout the year, we felt like it was automatically a special occasion! I think this is because she used bread instead of hash browns and let it soak over night, which in turn meant it needed quite a bit of time to get done. Fast forward to now, and we use hash browns instead which cuts down on prep time as well as cook time. Its also become a much more regular part of our meal rotation and is always a kid favorite! I highly suggest using Barrier Farms hot breakfast sausage in here, but good substitutes are mild sausage, turkey sausage, and bacon. Our hot sausage is just too good! Whenever people hear the name for the first time they assume its spicy, and IT’S NOT! It’s just packed with GOOD flavor! This recipe is designed around using this sausage, and because of that, we use no other seasonings besides a little salt. If you use anything, else keep that in mind! Lets get started...

Ingredients
6-7 Eggs
1-2 Bell peppers
1 Red onion
2-3 Cups of spinach
2 Cups of sharp cheddar cheese plus some extra
2 Cups of whole milk
Diced Hash browns
1 LB. Hot breakfast sausage
1/2 tsp. salt
And any other Veggie you want to throw in! Kale is good in it...my sister likes using carrots. Get creative, clean out your fridge, and go with it!

This recipe is so easy! It takes no time, AND it’s delicious, which makes it an automatic win in my book. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and go ahead and start browning your sausage. While the sausage is browning, chop up your onion and peppers(along with any other veggies you're using- this is just our favorite combo!) and set aside. I like to do a rough chop; they don't need to be chopped fine! Once your sausage is nearly done, go ahead and add in the spinach, onions, and peppers and let it cook down for a couple minutes. Drain the sausage before hand if there is too much grease left over. Next up, whisk your eggs, milk, salt, and 1 and a 1/2 cups of cheese all together in a bowl.

Next up, whisk your eggs, milk, salt, and 1 and a 1/2 cups of cheese all together in a bowl. Grease a 9x13 pan and cover the bottom with hash browns, the good ‘ole frozen kind, and then you're all ready to layer up!

Get your sausage mixture and layer all of it over the hash browns. Use a fork and mix these two layers up a bit. Next, pour the egg mixture over the top. I like to take a fork and go through the dish at this point to make sure the egg mixture has gotten around everything. Top with the extra cheese plus some if you need it, and then pop that bad boy into the oven! Its going to take about 30-45 mins to cook. I know thats a big difference in time, but its going to depend on how many eggs you used and the size! You're just baking it till the eggs are good and done and thats pretty easy to tell. You're done friend, ENJOY! It’s a crowd favorite, easy to make, and did we mention its packed with veggies and protein? Yes please!