Sausage Breakfast Casserole

As you will see when you scroll down, I woke up this morning and chose cardiac issues! Needless to say, this is a delicious casserole as a result. I used Elise Bauer's lovely recipe as a base, but made a few changes to make this work better with my family's tastes. Change what you like if you give this a try, I certainly did!

Cheesy Breakfast Casserole

(12 servings)

Ingredients

10 eggs

2 cups of shredded cheddar

1 cup of milk

1 cup of sour cream

1/2 cup of frozen broccoli (chopped)

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup of grated parmesan

6 green onions (chopped)

3 teaspoons of bouillon powder

Black pepper (to taste)

Garlic powder* (to taste)

Onion powder* (to taste)

Parsley (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

6 slices of bread**

150g / 5oz of farmer's sausage or kielbasa (sliced or cubed)

1 tablespoon of butter

*If I have an onion and some garlic cloves on hand, then my preference would be to chop them up and sauté them in a bit of butter or olive oil until the onion was tender, then allow them to cool a bit before adding them to the egg mixture. If you're wanting to save the time or dishes (or are out of onions like I was the first time I made this!), then the powders do just fine.

**We keep a loaf of sliced wheat or sourdough bread in the freezer for toast when we want some and don't love the heels, so I usually save the heels in a separate bag in the freezer and use them in recipes like this. Using all heels didn't noticeably change the texture of the casserole for us, but if you're worried about the texture (or don't have a bag of heels kicking around your freezer), then use whatever you think would be best!

Directions

1) Set your oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and while it's warming up mix the eggs, cheeses, milk, sour cream, broccoli, green onions, and seasonings in a large bowl.

2) Once you've mixed everything grease a 23cm x 33cm (9in x 13in) casserole dish and spread the bread evenly over the bottom, then slide the sausage slices or cubes between the pieces of bread before topping with slivers of the butter.

3) Carefully pour the egg mixture over the casserole dish, being sure to cover all the bread. (If a piece pops up here or there give it a downwards nudge to put it in its place - there's no place for individualism in this casserole!)

4) Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or as needed. (I usually watch for the top to brown a bit and slide a knife in the center to see if it comes out clean.)

5) Once the casserole's finished baking let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes to set, then serve as is or with whatever sides or garnishes you like, and enjoy!