Breakfast Casserole

As you've likely noticed, I'm somewhat behind on my posting AGAIN! The time is just constantly getting away from me--it seems like it was just January and I was feeling as if this semester would drag by for my husband, but here we are and he's getting ready to take his finals next week! It's been somewhat challenging coordinating our schedules, between his schooling and our jobs, but despite my lack of posts, I have actually been trying new recipes here and there! I have several recipes that I need to just sit down and post very shortly, but in the meantime, I thought I'd at least get started with this. I'm guessing there are many of you who had ham for dinner last night and this is a great way to utilize your leftovers! I first tried this casserole the weekend of my kids' birthday party...back around my last post! We had my kids' party on Saturday and then had a brunch in honor of my parents' birthdays on Sunday. I took one bite of this casserole and LOVED it! I've tried other breakfast casseroles in the past and "liked" them, but never found one that I was overly crazy about. One thing I've found with the majority of breakfast casserole recipes is that they call for white bread and at least in my experience, I've found that it gets very soggy and there's nothing I despise much more than soggy bread! My sister made this casserole again for a brunch in honor of my grandmother's 80th birthday, a couple of weeks ago, and as soon as I took that first bite, I was already trying to think of a perfect opportunity to make it again. The recipe actually calls for ham, which is how I had it the first two times. I made it for brunch yesterday morning and used bacon instead, since my husband does not care for ham. (He hadn't tried it the first two times, because of the ham and I knew he'd like it if I made that one little substitution!) To be completely honest, I preferred the ham. It's not that the bacon wasn't "good", but I just seemed to enjoy the ham more. Had I not been making this casserole primarily for my husband and I, I would have even liked to have added some veggies--maybe some mushrooms, green peppers and onions. (There's NO way my husband would have eaten it, though, had I gone that route!) The recipe calls for hash brown patties as the base and a fair amount of cheese, so it's pretty rich in and of itself. I would definitely recommend it for a brunch or even for a breakfast potluck :) It's SO very easy to assemble and can even be prepped the night before!

Breakfast Casserole

8 frozen hash brown patties
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 pound diced/cubed fully cooked ham
8 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Directions:

Place hash brown patties in a single layer in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and ham.

In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt and mustard. Pour over ham.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until edges are golden brown and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Source: Sarah O'Brien (originally from Taste of Home)