Rise and Dine! Baked Egg Casserole

January is all about new beginnings and healthy goals; to me, the basis of achieving most goals starts with a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast! With that in mind, I decided this month’s Friday feature would be breakfast recipes!

First up is a lovely egg casserole. I originally had it at my good friend Lauren’s post-Halloween brunch, and the recipe is actually via her roommate/BFF Megs. I made it for Christmas Day brunch and loved it all over again.

Ingredients

5 ounces turkey breakfast sausage (I used pre-cooked turkey sausage from the refrigerated section; if you use uncooked sausage, remove the casings, and brown it before using in the casserole)

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 large eggs

4 large egg whites

2 1/2 cups skim milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

10 slices white bread, crusts removed

This Is How We Do It

Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Crumble sausage with a fork and transfer to a bowl.

Add oil, onion and bell pepper to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.

Add sausage and cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to brown, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk eggs and egg whites in a large bowl until blended; then whisk in milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Add in the mozzarella cheese.

Arrange bread in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread and top with the cooked veggies and sausage. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.

Cover and refrigerate for at least five hours or overnight. When it’s time to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the casserole, uncovered, until set and puffed, 40 to 50 minutes.

Serve hot!

Love, love, love!

I really like sausage, but I kind of forget about it when it comes to buying groceries, so this was a nice treat. And I just love savory breakfasts in general. When I made it, it didn’t come out as deep as I remembered, and the five adults and three kids at breakfast finished it easily. You may want to double the recipe if you are entertaining; if you are just making breakfast for you and your roomie, you can always half it and bake it in a smaller dish so you don’t waste any.

Because you make it ahead of time, it’s great to prepare if you have overnight guests…or just if you have a fun night out planned and want to have something yummy and healthy to wake up to the next morning!

Tagged as: breakfast, eggs, healthy recipes