Man-pleasing Breakfast Casserole

When we had eleven million people staying here for the 4th of July, I decided it would be a good idea to make casseroles for breakfast instead of catering to the individual morning whims of 15 different people.  So I made this casserole.

In spite of all the work I did on every. single. other. dish I lovingly prepared (lasagna! potato salad! cheesecake in the shape of an American flag! brownies!), this simple, easy casserole was the biggest hit of the holiday.  EVERYONE loved it.  And it's easy to see why once you have a gander at the ingredients:

You'll need:
One 2-pound bag of hash brown potatoes (the square ones, not the strips) (THAWED)
1 lb of breakfast sausage
1-2 onions
2 cups of cheese
1 dozen eggs
1/2 a stick of butter
Salt
Pepper

It's basically one big delicious MAN PIE.  Meat? check.  Potatoes? check.  Cheese?  check.  Hoity toity ingredient?  NONE.  Green vegetables?  NOT A ONE.  If there is a special man in your life and feeding him this recipe doesn't get you laid, I'll offer you a money back guarantee.  (You know, a refund of all the cash you send me when I post recipes!)

This is basically everything you want for breakfast all in one dish.  There are also about a million potential variations once you get the basic recipe down, so see the end of this post for some ideas.

First up, cut up half a stick of butter and throw it into your largest nonstick skillet.  Sadly this IS my largest skillet.

Trust me on the non-stick thing.  When I first made this recipe, I doubled it and put half in this skillet and half in a regular aluminum skillet and instead of browning, the potatoes formed this sticky paste on the bottom of the pan.  NOT GOOD. 

Next chop up an onion or two, depending on how big your onions are and how much you like onions.

I like onions A LOT.  And the biggest lies I ROUTINELY tell my children have to do with onions and whether or not they are present in our dinners.

This is about an onion and a half.  Walla walla sweet! 

Next get out your DEFROSTED bag of hash browns.  The original recipe actually called for six potatoes, peeled, boiled and cubed, but that takes forever.  And a bag of pre-chopped potatoes works just as well.

Dump it in your (non-stick!) skillet and begin to cook the mixture over high heat.

I don't even bother stirring it until at least five minutes has passed.

The goal is to cook the onions and brown the potatoes.  It takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes. [See how tiny my skillet is?!  I'm totally looking for some bigger ones.]

In the meantime, get out your sausage.

Can we stop for a moment so I can gush about how awesome it is that I found this sausage?!?  AT WAL-MART!  It's the delicious taste of Jimmy Dean!  But without all the evil cancer-causing chemicals!  Suh-wheet!  And they aren't lying either:

Okay, end commercial.  It's just SO SO hard to find tasty pork products that meet my strict "all natural" requirements of foods I purchase for my kids.

So start cooking that sausage while you very occasionally stir your potatoes.

Salt and pepper them to taste.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and then generously butter a 9 x 13 baking pan (or spray with cooking spray).

And then start to layer your casserole, potatoes first.

Then sausage.

Next grate two cups (or more!) of cheese and dump it on top of the sausage.

Then get out a dozen eggs.  I know!  It seems like a lot.  And it is!  When I first doubled this recipe it was TWO dozen eggs and that seemed excessive, but it wasn't.

Beat those puppies up.

And pour them over your casserole. 

It won't fill up your pan like a quiche, but don't worry.  This is about as deep as it needs to get.

Throw it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  It'll look like this when it's done:

It will also make all your eaters very happy!

MAN-PLEASING BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
One 2-pound bag of THAWED hash brown potatoes (the cubes, not the strips)
1 lb of breakfast sausage
1-2 onions
2 cups of cheese
1 dozen eggs
1/2 a stick of butter
Salt
Pepper

Combine chopped onions, potatoes and half a stick of butter in a large nonstick skillet and cook until brown, turning as infrequently as possible so as to avoid smushing the potatoes.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. EDITED TO ADD:  I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend using one of those disposable aluminum pans from the dollar store.  I used those the first few times I cooked this recipe and didn't have to bother with clean up.  The last time I made it?  Was five days ago and my best NON-STICK pan is still soaking.  I can't get it clean. 

Brown one pound of breakfast sausage.  Grate two cups of cheese.  Beat one dozen eggs.

Layer your casserole as follows: potatoes, sausage, cheese then eggs.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until set.

Can be prepared the night before and refrigerated until morning.  I would just wait to add the eggs until the following day and then maybe extend your baking time to adjust for the cold ingredients.

POSSIBLY YUMMIER VARIATIONS (not guaranteed to get you laid, though.  Sorry)
Apple chicken sausage with rosemary and white cheddar.
Spicy mexican sausage with pepper jack cheese (and maybe even black beans), served with warm tortillas, sour cream and salsa.
Italian sausage with mozarella, mushrooms, green peppers and sundried tomatoes.
Bacon(!) with cheddar.
Turkey sausage with fontina cheese and fresh spinach.
Italian sausage, fresh basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.

The options are endless...  ENJOY!

Comments

[BethanyWD]

Wow, that DOES like delicious. I'm going to try it with the black beans and salsa this weekend.

[Rachael]

Mmm... casserole. It's almost like a breakfast version of tater tot casserole, except my husband could actually eat this (he can't have mushroom soup anymore b/c he's gluten free). I'll have to try it out!

[Brenda]

I make a similar casserole in the crockpot. You put it all in the night before and it cooks while you sleep! Yummmm!

[laura]

yummy! i can not wait to try this! and the best part is my 2 picky eater kids will EAT THIS! thank you.

[Beth]

I just had a heart attack on your blog, and my kids want it.

[1hot&tiredmama]

That looks delish! Can you put it together the night before and stick it in the fridge and just bake it the next morning?

I am so glad to know about that all-natural sausage!

[Sarah]

This sounds so delicious! I think I'll make it for dinner though, my guy isn't much into breakfast (as in eating in the morning, not breakfast food). Thanks for the recipe!

[Molly]

I love breakfast cassaroles. You are so right, they are the perfect large crowd pleasing breakfast. My husbands birthday is coming up and we are having a big party with lots of friends staying the weekend, I'm definitly going to try your recipe. Thanks :)

[seeeeeeestor]

*It's basically one big delicious MAN PIE. Meat? check. Potatoes? check. Cheese? check. Hoity toity ingredient? NONE. Green vegetables? NOT A ONE.*

HAHA so definitely NOT lesbian cuisine!! When trying to impress a girl with my culinary skills i definitely rev up the green veggies and hoity toities!

[Henny Penny]

It's in the oven right now. My husband wanted me to put jalepenos in it.

[jenB]

My heart just stopped.

[CP]

In the oven cooking right now. I'm allergic to onions but put 1/2 onion in anyway as the rest of my family will eat and love this.

I never really did get the potatoes to brown. I always have that problem and have decided you really need a griddle to let them flatten out into a single layer. Oh well, it all still looks yummy!

[Julie]

OMG. I'm going to try that. The apple chicken sausage and Mexican variations sound delish too.

Thanks!

[Jess]

Yum! I'm so making that for my dad. He doesn't care much for casseroles, but he'll like that, I'm sure. I'm thinking of using turkey sausage and egg whites for my man, tho, he'll appreciate that!

Thanks!

[Michele]

Oh yum Amanda! Thanks for sharing this!

[G~]

MmmmMM!! Looks way yummy!

I LOVE the pix you include. They make things FUN!! :)

[Emily]

I am going to try this for Christmas morning. I wanted somthing filling and good but don't want to be cooking breakfast all morning long. I will make most of it the day before and add the eggs in the AM. I will let you know how it goes. I am sure it is going to be wonderful. Thanks for the recipie!!!