Monday, December 27, 2010

In-the-Background Breakfast Bake




Every family has their own breed of Breakfast Casserole - and this one has been ours for over 30 years now.  This is not rocket science, but is just the ticket for those mornings (like Christmas/New Years’/Easter, etc...) when you don’t want to tear yourself away from your company to slave over a hot breakfast.

Although this takes some advance, night-before preparation - it’s a good investment that allows you to enjoy uninterrupted time with family and guests on busy holidays.  It isn’t everyone’s favorite - as some of my family don’t thrive on (what they call) “mushy bread casseroles” - but by the time we finish unwrapping gifts on Christmas everyone’s standing in line for a healthy portion.


I have found a few ideas that help make this even better.  First - use one or two-day-old french bread instead of standard bread.  It has more staying power as it bakes.  Second - beat the condensed soup with your handmixer before adding the eggs next, and then finally the milk last.  You won’t end up with lumps that way.   Third - have you ever tried steaming your sausage links instead of frying them?  It saves on messy splatters, and it also saves time.  The sausage begins sizzling with the lid on, which eventually browns AND gently steams the links to perfection.  I then use a pair of kitchen shears to cut them into bite-size portions easily.
Depending on how moist you like this dish - you can also remove the foil during the last ten minutes of baking to allow it to brown.  We like ours covered, but the browning makes it more attractive.  

Every Christmas morning, we bring combine the fruit from everyone’s stockings which we then peel/cut/slice onto a serving platter.  Cinnamon rolls really round out our brunch - and this favorite breakfast casserole has proven it has staying power throughout Christmas day.

You might enjoy serving this for your upcoming New Years' Day brunch.  After staying up all night celebrating, think how nice it would be to just turn pop this in the oven and go back to bed for an hour or more...  Happy New Year!

The link for the recipe can be found at:

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