Greenlee Family Breakfast Casserole

 Once the thrill of opening Christmas presents and running around the house with new gifts is over, the one thing you want is something filling that will keep you satisfied until Christmas dinner. 

You need something savory, something customizable and something that makes your mouth water when you see and smell it. 

My family has always been obsessed with breakfast. So of course we have a recipe we make every year on Christmas morning. A breakfast casserole. 

My family got the idea from a pin from Pinterest. The recipe is called Cheesy Bacon Potato Breakfast Casserole from Simply Delicious. 

The dish is simple. All you need to do is prepare the ingredients and then combine them in a sprayed pan. I use a spatula to whisk everything together. I personally like to put all of the liquid ingredients together and then the cheeses and spices. Additionally, I prefer to line the bowl with melted butter. I find that using butter makes the eggs fluffier. We also turn the oven on broil for about 5-10 minutes so that the top layer of cheese becomes crispy.

It is the perfect blend of fresh cheddar cheese, chopped sausage and shredded hash browns enclosed in scrambled eggs. The hash browns add a bit of chewiness and the sausage adds seasoning and spice to enhance the dish.

 The eggs combined with the milk and whipping cream allows the eggs to be fluffy, light, and silky. If you add the seasoning in, the dish is complete. 

This dish is also unique as the ingredients can easily be changed out. For instance, in the photo, I was craving sausage and my family had bought a large amount of meat the night before. The hash browns can also be swapped for brioche bread. 

Also, the more cheese used, the better. My parents like to buy a blend of different cheeses like Asiago, Parmesan and mozzarella. We always add more cheese than the recipe calls for. It’s significantly better when you lift a piece from the pan and bits of cheese are oozing out of it.  That’s why I think this dish is a fan favorite because it’s so easy to make and so easy to customize. 

This dish can also last for days if divided correctly. My mom likes to make a giant casserole on Christmas so we can eat a fraction of it that day and then bag the rest and place it in the fridge for later.  

When my family and I make this, we make it the night before, leave it in the fridge overnight and then put it in the oven first thing in the morning so that it’s ready to be devoured when we’re done opening presents.

Ingredients 

3 large potatoes peeled and cubed

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 streaky bacon chopped

1 onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

5 eggs

½ cup milk

¾ cup heavy/whipping cream

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. 

Toss the potatoes with olive oil and salt and transfer to a baking sheet. Allow to bake until crisp and golden (approximately 30 minutes) then remove from the oven. 

In the meantime, fry the onion and bacon until the bacon is crisp. Add the garlic and cook for another 20 seconds then remove from the heat. 

Place the potatoes, bacon and onion mixture and half of the cheese into a casserole dish. 

Whisk the eggs, milk, cream and seasoning together and pour over the potatoes and bacon. Top with the remaining cheese and place in the oven. 

Allow to bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes then slice and serve.