Breakfast/Brunch Casseroles...

[Katy]

I'm hosting our book club this month and it's a brunch. As the hostess, I need to provide something of substance (LOL). As a busy gal, I'm thinking a casserole might be the way to go.

Any recipes for a yummy (easy-ish) breakfast casserole? Bonus points if it's low in WW points.

TIA!

PS - I did search and while I found breakfast ideas, I didn't find breakfast casserole ideas (but I can merge if someone finds that something is already out there)

[Adaya]

I don't know if this one is most likely not low in WW points, but I like it b/c it doesn't have eggs which I'm allergic to. This is soooo delish!


SAUSAGE AND POTATO BREAKFAST CASSEROLE


1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
1 McCormick’s package of dry ingredients for Country Style Gravy

Brown sausage, pour off any accumulated fat & add the gravy mix with 1 ½ cups milk.
Let that come to a boil and thicken.


1 1-pound package of “Simply Potatoes” – fresh potatoes – “not frozen” in the egg/dairy section
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 ¼ cups grated Pepper Jack Cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange potatoes in prepared dish. Top with 1/3 green onions, 1 cup cheese, 1/3 of green onions, sausage mixture and remaining ¼ cup cheese.

Bake casserole until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining green onions and serve.

Serves 6.

eta: I'm sure you could do this with turkey sausage for fewer calories and fat. Also, I've doubled the recipe and with the sausage, I used 1 pound of hot sausage and 1 pound of sage sausage for a bit of extra flavor.

[maxandmolly]

I don't think I have it printed anymore, darnit, but we had one at my old job.
You cooked sausage in a skillet, crumbled. Then in the casserole dish you put bread on the bottom, then the sausage, then your pour uncooked scrambled eggs on it, then a bunch of cheese. And you can let it sit overnight without the cheese, too, then shove it in the oven in the morning.
And cook at for......a long time.
Seriously, I need to find that recipe, because it was a MAJOR hit a couple years ago for our annual special mom-actually-cooks-breakfast Christmas breakfast....especially with mom, since she didn't have to cook it.

[Sare79]

My mom used to make this every Christmas morning:

Christmas Morning Wifesaver
Make the day before and pop in the oven in the morning. Serves 8.
Ingredients:
16 slices white bread, crusts removed
16 slices Canadian back bacon or ham
16 slices sharp cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2-1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 cups milk
dash Tabasco
1/2 cup butter
Special K or crushed Corn Flakes

Instructions:
Set 8 pieces of bread into a 9" x 13" (23 x 33 cm) buttered, glass baking dish. Cover bread with slices of back bacon. Lay slices of cheddar cheese on top of bacon and then cover with remaining slices of bread to make it like a sandwich. In a bowl, beat eggs and pepper. To the egg mixture add dry mustard, onion, green pepper, Worcestershire sauce, milk and Tabasco. Pour over the sandwiches, cover and let stand in fridge overnight. In morning, melt butter, pour over top. Cover with Special K or crushed Corn Flakes. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour at 350 deg.F (180 deg.C). Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

* My mom used to change it up a bit- low fat cheese, multigrain bread, skim milk.

Or what about a frittata? My WW leader used to make them all the time!

[lil_nance]

I've made the Sausage and Potato one Adaya posted a few times. It's yummy.

[Cr8nme]

Okay My Aunt makes this all the time for her church...

In a deep casserole dish layer
In the bottom of the dish 1 box of stuffing(any kind you like)
next layer in your browned meat (sausage or bacon...if bacon make sure you chop it)
Next 1 dozen egg beaten
then on top a ton of cheese (of however much you choose)
she lets this sit over night and then pops it in the oven on 350 and watches it it is usually around 20-25 minutes

[girlygirl]

My favorite is this recipe from Epicurious.com:

SAUSAGE AND EGG CASSEROLE WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND MOZZARELLA

A satisfying, easy dish that's also versatile: Accompany with sliced melon and some assorted pastries for brunch, or with a green salad and warm focaccia for dinner.

1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sauté sausage in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of fork into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons parsley; stir 1 minute. Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and salt in large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley over. Bake until top of casserole is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Bon Appétit
April 2002

[Cr8nme]

A couple more really great ones....
Sausage Casserole
1 pound sage flavored breakfast sausage
3 cups shredded potatoes, drained and pressed
1/4 cup butter, melted
12 ounces mild Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup onion, shredded
1 (16 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
6 jumbo eggs
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch square baking dish.
Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
In the prepared baking dish, stir together the shredded potatoes and butter. Line the bottom and sides of the baking dish with the mixture. In a bowl, mix the sausage, Cheddar cheese, onion, cottage cheese, and eggs. Pour over the potato mixture.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the casserole comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes

[Cr8nme]

Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole
1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
8 ounces cooked, diced ham
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Serve immediately.

[SunnyAB]

MMMM... these all sound good! especially that last one Cr8nme! Have you ever tried making it the night before, like that other recipe?

[Cr8nme]

Sunny I have sorta put it together in the casserole dish I put the ham and potatoes etc but the soup and wet ingredients I mix together then pour in right before I put in the oven. I especially like this one because I don't eat eggs. So the other one I make for everyone else ;)

[Missy2U]

Katy - here's Karen's French Toast Casserole. (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12289&highlight=French+Toast) Since she posted it, I've made it a couple times - and ho boy is it good. :D

Also, here's Breakfast Sausage Casserole - I got it from Allrecipes, and even my son likes it.

Breakfast Sausage Casserole
8 to 10 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 (12 ounce) package fresh breakfast sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled
* 4 cups cubed day-old bread
* 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
* 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans Evaporated Milk
* 10 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
* ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. GREASE 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Place bread in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine evaporated milk, eggs, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper in medium bowl. Pour evenly over bread and cheese. Sprinkle with sausage. Cover; refrigerate overnight.
2. PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees F.
3. BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Cover with foil if top browns too quickly.

Finally, here are two "pancake" type recipes from my family.

DUFFY PANCAKES

½ C Flour
½ C Milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Pinch of nutmeg
Appx. ½ T Butter or margarine
Powdered sugar
Lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, combine flour, milk, eggs and nutmeg. Beat lightly. Leave a little lumpy.

Melt butter or margarine in a 12” skillet with eat proof handle in oven. When butter is melted, pour in batter. Bake in oven approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with sugar and return briefly to oven. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve with jam, jelly, or marmalade.


SWEDISH PANCAKES

Small Recipe – makes 4 large skillet sized pancakes
3 eggs, beaten
1 C flour
2 C milk
1 T sugar
¼ t salt

Beat eggs, add flour, milk and other ingredients. Cook in butter on medium high heat in large Teflon skillet or spray with Pam. When top is almost set and bottom is slightly brown, turn pancake and cook on other side very briefly, - perhaps 30 seconds. Keep them warm covered on a plate set over a pot of boiling water.

[mrstim]

6 cups cheese
2/3 cup flour
1 can ham
8 eggs
2 cups milk

Mix cheese and flour together, then spread half into the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Crumble and sprinkle ham on top of the cheese mixture. Cover with other half of cheese. Beat eggs, add milk, pour mixture over the cheese/ham and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can also add peppers and onions to this on top of the ham if you'd like - it's YUMMY!
.

[Katy]

6 cups cheese
2/3 cup flour
1 can ham
8 eggs
2 cups milk

Mix cheese and flour together, then spread half into the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Crumble and sprinkle ham on top of the cheese mixture. Cover with other half of cheese. Beat eggs, add milk, pour mixture over the cheese/ham and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can also add peppers and onions to this on top of the ham if you'd like - it's YUMMY!
.That sure sounds like a LOT of cheese (says the girl that loves cheese)

[Pineknot]

Sunny,

I've made Cr8's casserole (without ham, never thought about that, great idea though) a couple of days ahead and just left it in the fridge. Put it straight from the fridge into the oven. It takes about 2hrs to cook that way.

This casserole is from Paula Deen and it is SOOO good. Course, you had to know it was good if it was from Paula Deen.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_26774_PRINT-RECIPE-3X5-CARD,00.html

[nicole]

I made this for Christmas one year and it was fantastic! From All Recipes:

Christmas Breakfast Sausage Casserole (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Christmas-Breakfast-Sausage-Casserole/Detail.aspx)

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Ready In: 9 Hours 50 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings

"This special sausage and cheese breakfast casserole will become a holiday tradition!"

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten 2 cups milk
6 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes
8 ounces mild Cheddar cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:
1. Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk. Add the sausage, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Cover, and bake 45 to 60 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until set.

[SunnyAB]

Thanks so much for that Pineknot! I am ALL about getting the 'hard' stuff done and out of the way ahead of time, and just enyoying the day - but still having tasty good food! yum! :D

[Katy]

For some reason, I've decided to give this one from allrecipes.com a whirl (I think I was wanting the hashbrowns AND the eggs - plus, last time I cut up bread for some baked french toast I nearly sliced my finger off).

EGG & HASHBROWN PIE (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Egg-and-Hash-Brown-Pie/Detail.aspx)

INGREDIENTS

* 6 slices bacon
* 5 eggs
* 1/2 cup milk
* 3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
* 1/3 cup chopped green onions
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. Stir in the bacon, hash browns, green onions, and 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar cheese on top, and continue baking for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, and let sit 5 minutes before serving.


* I used turkey sausage and added some mixed diced peppers, some diced onions and some mushrooms (big enough that the can be removed by the diner). I also fried up and sliced the sausage, sauteed the veggies and browned the hashbrowns all tonight. I figure it will be one less thing to do tomorrow morning and the kitchen will be much easier to clean before folks arrive.

* I'll edit to add my thoughts after we eat :cool:

[AlisonCO]

BUMP

I have a question...I am making a casserole with eggs and hash browns for Christmas morning and need to know if you put the hash browns in frozen, thawed (in the fridge?) or cook them first?

Actually the recipe I have looks like the one that Katy posted above and the recipe says "thawed" but Katy, you mentioned that you cooked them the night before.

Also can I assemble the whole thing the day before, or should I just prep everything like Katy did?

Thanks - I am not much of a casserole maker hence all of the questions:)

[Katy]

I cooked up the hash browns just because I figured they'd be soggy enough soaking in the egg mixture. Plus, it doesn't really take all that long to brown them up a bit (I didn't go crazy cooking it).

Some recipes, like the french toast or bread pudding ones need to be soaking for a 6-8 hour window. The egg ones without bread don't really need the soaking. Since I was going to have enough time to get up, get ready and cook before my guests arrived, I decided to prep it all the night before.

Hope it helps.

[AlisonCO]

Yes, thank you! I think that I will just do what you did and prep the potatoes and veggies the night before.

[jimmysgirl424]

I'm going to post the recipe given to me by MIL that DH loves. Its the sausage and egg casserole, but not made with bread slices:


Cheesy Sausage & Egg Bake

3 extra large eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 roll of Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 roll of sausage (any kind; maple, hot, sage, sweet, regular)
2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided.
1 tbs. Franks Red Hot Sauce or other hot sauce, optional.
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray. Unroll crescent rolls and place in bottom of pan, pressing gently to all four corners.
In frying pan, brown sausage and drain. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with milk and hot sauce (if using), season to taste with salt & pepper. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of cheese into bottom of baking pan. Add sausage. Pour milk & egg mixture over sausage. Top with remaining cheese (I usually use a BIG package of cheese as we love it!) Bake for half an hour. Cut into squares and serve.

[Bloomwood]

DH remembered having this at a work brunch 3+ years ago and suggested I find the recipe for xmas breakfast. I'll let you know how it goes!

Overnight Corn Flake Breakfast Pie

(This recipe yields 6 servings) Printable Version

* 1/2 cup corn flakes cereal -- crunched up
* 8 slices bacon -- cooked and crumbled (save 1 Tbsp of the drippings)
* 5 eggs
* 2 and 1/2 cups frozen hasbrown potatoes
* 1 and 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
* 1/2 cup cottage cheese
* 1/3 cup milk
* 1 green onion -- chopped
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 4 drops liquid pepper sauce (or Tobasco)

Mix crunched-up corn flakes with 1 Tbsp bacon drippings and set aside.

In medium bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 9-inch pan. Sprinkle corn flake mixture on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove pan from refrigerator. Uncover and bake at 350º F about 50 minutes or until a tester inserted near center comes out clean.


In 1907, an ad campaigns for Kellogg's Corn Flakes offered a free box of cereal to every woman who would wink at her grocer.


Mr Breakfast would like to thank CornFlake for this recipe.