Christmas morning casserole – good for any weekend or holiday

The Bob requested his favorite breakfast for Christmas morning, and it was so easy to throw together the night before, I couldn't refuse. This is almost a standard recipe, but I vary the meat, the cheese and even the bread depending on what I have or what Bob asks for. I have made it with ham, his mom makes it with little sausage links. This time he wanted it with fresh sausage, so I was happy to oblige. After all, it's Christmas, right?


The night before:
1. Crumble and fry 1 lb bulk pork sausage. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, a few crushed red pepper flakes and a little dried rosemary. If you have sage, that would be good, too... I was out. Cool this completely.
2. In a big bowl or pitcher break 6 eggs and whisk together with 3 cups half-and-half, salt and pepper and a grating of nutmeg if you have it.
3. Spray a 3 qt. casserole with non-stick spray. Cut about 8 slices of bread (I used wheat) into 1" cubes. Take half the bread and spread in the bottom of the dish. Layer 1/2 the meat on the bread. Top that with about 6 oz. processed cheese (I used Velveeta) cut into chunks. Then pour about 1/2 your egg mixture over, making sure to soak the bread evenly. Make another layer of bread, meat and another 6 oz. of cheese, then pour the rest of the egg mixture over all. The dish will be pretty full. Cover this with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning:
1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Melt a stick of butter.
2. For fresh breadcrumbs, take about 2 slices of bread and blitz them dry in a food processor. If you don't want to make your own, you can use unflavored, dried bread crumbs from the grocery. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the bread crumbs and drizzle the butter over all.
3. Bake for 1 hour, until the casserole is puffy and golden on top.

The Bob always wants a sweet bread to go alongside, so I make cinnamon rolls to go with this. It's very rich.

My big gift from The Bob this year was a new digital camera! So, the photo you see here is the casserole as it came out of the oven. I am excited to be able to share more real-life photos of how my recipes or crafts turn out!

Have fun with this recipe!