Good Morning Casserole

Get your breakfast all in one casserole! Typically, I make this casserole for dinner and the leftovers (if there are any) are breakfast the next day. This casserole works great as an after-holiday breakfast. It will put some of that yummy leftover ham to good use. Otherwise, I just find my favorite deli ham and tear up several slices. This casserole reheats well. We have one in the fridge, ready to be reheated, at the start of every week. Dad likes to take this casserole a step further and put a scoop of it on his favorite morning bread with a slather of black raspberry jelly for a yummy (though slightly messy) breakfast sandwich. There are several other ingredients that you could add or substitute into this casserole. Think of it as an omelette and go nuts! Mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, salsa, etc. If you have a big family to feed, this recipe can easily be expanded to serve 12 by using a 3-quart casserole dish and doubling all the ingredients. Happy eating!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 1 casserole

Ingredients

• 5  large eggs, beaten
• 3  cups  uncooked hash browns, thawed
• 1  cup  precooked ham, cubed
• 1⁄4 cup  precooked bacon, crumbled (optional) or 1⁄2 cup  precooked breakfast sausage, chopped (optional)
• 1⁄2 cup  shredded cheddar cheese
• 1⁄2 cup  shredded monterey jack cheese
• 4  slices American cheese (optional)
• 1 1⁄2 cups skim milk
• 1⁄4 cup onion, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup butter, melted
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  celery salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Place rack at the top of oven with enough head room for a 9"x9" casserole dish. Grease the sides of a 9"x9" square casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Add melted butter, hash browns, and chopped onion to dish. Mix until hash browns and onions are well-coated. Distribute mixture evenly over bottom of dish.
3. Broil hash brown mixture for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove the hot dish from the oven and set aside.
4. Move rack to center of oven. Set oven to 350ºF.
5. (Optional) Unwrap American cheese slices and place side-by-side in two rows on top of the hash brown mixture. (This will make the final casserole gooier in the middle.).
6. Sprinkle the ham and bacon pieces evenly over hash browns. Sprinkle the cheddar and jack cheeses evenly over the meat.
7. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, salt, onion powder, black pepper, and celery salt. Stir until combined.
8. Slowly pour egg mixture over casserole dish contents to distribute the mixture evenly and minimize shifting of other ingredients.
9. Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes or until top of casserole begins to brown and a knife inserted toward the center comes out clean.
10. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
11. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.