Today is recipe day!!! Easter brunch casserole recipe day! I know, I know. Brunch casserole, ... breakfast casserole. There are a hundred different recipes and they are all more or less the same. Well, I want you to read on and follow the steps in this recipe and see what you think. This is a little different than the usual breakfast/brunch casserole. Several years ago when my BFF Bev was visiting, we were planning on spending the day in St. Michael's. I made a breakfast casserole that morning and when I took it out of the oven it was not set. That kind of put me off on breakfast casseroles. Until I found this recipe. So tell me what you think.
Hash Brown Brunch Casserole
Ingredients:
8 frozen hash brown patties
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 green onions, thinly sliced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place hash brown patties in a single layer in a 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Bake 20 minutes or until browned, turning after 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Beat eggs in large bowl with wire whisk. Add milk, sour cream, garlic powder, mustard and pepper. Mix well. Stir in bacon, 1-1/2 cups of the cheese and onions. Pour into baking dish. Place browned hash brown patties in a row in the center of baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set and edges are golden brown.
Serves 12
We will start at the beginning. We need 8 hash brown patties for this recipe. The package contained 10, so I just browned the entire package and stored the extra two in the refrigerator. I used a large cookie sheet sprayed with butter flavored Pam cooking spray. We did 10 minutes on each side, then let them cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.
Next we cracked six eggs into a glass bowl. Use extra-large eggs. And farm fresh or cage-free if at all possible. As I have discussed here before, laying hens in factory farms are kept in deplorable conditions. Not only are their surroundings inhumane, but the eggs produced cannot be of high quality.
When cooking with eggs, I keep a bowl nearby to hold the shells. They are great for the compost pile.
I added the milk and whisked it into the beaten eggs with a hand whisk.
Then, the sour cream. One cup of sour cream is a substantial amount. I attempted to incorporate the sour cream into the egg mixture using the hand whisk. That did not work well. The sour cream was lumpy.
So I brought out my hand mixer and, using the whisk attachments, set about getting the mixture to a smooth and silky texture.
Here we are after using the electric hand mixer. That is perfection ladies and gentlemen.
Time for some seasoning. We start with one teaspoon of garlic powder. If the garlic powder in your cupboard is old and has become one solid mass, don't use it. Buy new. It really does make a difference in the final flavor of any dish.
Add one teaspoon of ground mustard.
And one-quarter teaspoon of black pepper.
At this point, add a hearty pinch of salt. Just sprinkle it over the top of the mixture.
Chop three green onions.
Now it's time to start gathering all our ingredients so we can assemble our delicious casserole. On the board we have our green onions, six slices of crisply cooked bacon, crumbled and one and a half cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
Spray your casserole dish with a non-stick spray of your choice. I like Pam Cooking Sprays. I used the butter flavored spray for this dish. Their olive oil spray would have worked equally as well. Be generous with the cooking spray. You want this dish to rise nicely and you want to be able to remove it from the pan without any sticking.
To the egg mixture add the crumbled bacon.
Add one and a half cups of cheddar cheese.
And the sliced green onions.
Blend it all together with a large slotted spoon. Do NOT use the electric hand mixer with the whisk attachment for this step. Don't use the electric hand mixer with any attachment!
Pour the egg mixture into the casserole dish and then place your browned hash brown patties along the center of the dish.
Sprinkle the remaining one half cup shredded cheddar cheese on top and place into the preheated 350 degree oven on the center rack for 40 to 50 minutes.
Ours was done at 48 minutes. And here is a look at it still on the oven rack. Isn't that beautiful. It was almost like a souffle the way it rose while cooking.
After about 10 minutes, it settled back into the casserole dish and was suitable to be presented on the brunch table.
I was pleased to see when cleaning up after brunch that there was only about half of the casserole left in the dish. That is a good sign.
This really is a spectacular breakfast/brunch casserole. I love that the hash browns are cooked in the egg mixture. It has a very distinct flavor that is different from any other breakfast casserole I have tasted. Could you add a few drops of Texas Pete to the mix? Sure! I may try that the next time I make it. But one thing is for sure. I will be making it again. I hope you will also.
Hash Brown Brunch Casserole
Ingredients:
8 frozen hash brown patties
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 green onions, thinly sliced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place hash brown patties in a single layer in a 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Bake 20 minutes or until browned, turning after 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Beat eggs in large bowl with wire whisk. Add milk, sour cream, garlic powder, mustard and pepper. Mix well. Stir in bacon, 1-1/2 cups of the cheese and onions. Pour into baking dish. Place browned hash brown patties in a row in the center of baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set and edges are golden brown.
Serves 12
We will start at the beginning. We need 8 hash brown patties for this recipe. The package contained 10, so I just browned the entire package and stored the extra two in the refrigerator. I used a large cookie sheet sprayed with butter flavored Pam cooking spray. We did 10 minutes on each side, then let them cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.
Next we cracked six eggs into a glass bowl. Use extra-large eggs. And farm fresh or cage-free if at all possible. As I have discussed here before, laying hens in factory farms are kept in deplorable conditions. Not only are their surroundings inhumane, but the eggs produced cannot be of high quality.
When cooking with eggs, I keep a bowl nearby to hold the shells. They are great for the compost pile.
I added the milk and whisked it into the beaten eggs with a hand whisk.
Then, the sour cream. One cup of sour cream is a substantial amount. I attempted to incorporate the sour cream into the egg mixture using the hand whisk. That did not work well. The sour cream was lumpy.
So I brought out my hand mixer and, using the whisk attachments, set about getting the mixture to a smooth and silky texture.
Here we are after using the electric hand mixer. That is perfection ladies and gentlemen.
Time for some seasoning. We start with one teaspoon of garlic powder. If the garlic powder in your cupboard is old and has become one solid mass, don't use it. Buy new. It really does make a difference in the final flavor of any dish.
Add one teaspoon of ground mustard.
And one-quarter teaspoon of black pepper.
At this point, add a hearty pinch of salt. Just sprinkle it over the top of the mixture.
Chop three green onions.
Now it's time to start gathering all our ingredients so we can assemble our delicious casserole. On the board we have our green onions, six slices of crisply cooked bacon, crumbled and one and a half cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
Spray your casserole dish with a non-stick spray of your choice. I like Pam Cooking Sprays. I used the butter flavored spray for this dish. Their olive oil spray would have worked equally as well. Be generous with the cooking spray. You want this dish to rise nicely and you want to be able to remove it from the pan without any sticking.
To the egg mixture add the crumbled bacon.
Add one and a half cups of cheddar cheese.
And the sliced green onions.
Blend it all together with a large slotted spoon. Do NOT use the electric hand mixer with the whisk attachment for this step. Don't use the electric hand mixer with any attachment!
Pour the egg mixture into the casserole dish and then place your browned hash brown patties along the center of the dish.
Sprinkle the remaining one half cup shredded cheddar cheese on top and place into the preheated 350 degree oven on the center rack for 40 to 50 minutes.
Ours was done at 48 minutes. And here is a look at it still on the oven rack. Isn't that beautiful. It was almost like a souffle the way it rose while cooking.
After about 10 minutes, it settled back into the casserole dish and was suitable to be presented on the brunch table.
I was pleased to see when cleaning up after brunch that there was only about half of the casserole left in the dish. That is a good sign.
This really is a spectacular breakfast/brunch casserole. I love that the hash browns are cooked in the egg mixture. It has a very distinct flavor that is different from any other breakfast casserole I have tasted. Could you add a few drops of Texas Pete to the mix? Sure! I may try that the next time I make it. But one thing is for sure. I will be making it again. I hope you will also.
