Maresa Spangler’s Famous Holiday Breakfast Casserole

Y’all, my best friend Derek (also a recipe contributor here ) has asked me to share his friends tried and true breakfast casserole.  Just reading the ingredients has set my mouth to watering and stomach growling.  I like the fact that you can make this up ahead of time like my Christmas Breakfast Casserole.  Saves so much time when you are expecting guests for breakfast or brunch.

Derek says he has made this himself, yet he provided no picture.  So hopefully, he or Maresa will provide one for us, or I’ll just break down and force myself to make this great sounding dish this weekend. (update: heres a picture now)  Either way, I am sure y’all are going to love it.  So here is her recipe straight out of Richmond Virginia’s Times Dispatch.

 

You can make this up to two days before baking it. I use the spicy sausage. This makes a great hostess gift. Put recipe and cooking instructions in card and a pretty decorative baking dish becomes part of the gift.

1 package breakfast sausage (use “spicy” or “sage” for a different taste)
1 large onion (chopped)
½ green bell pepper (coarsely chopped)
½ red bell pepper (coarsely chopped)
6 slices white loaf bread torn into chunks
6 eggs
1½ cups low-fat milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Crumble sausage into large nonstick frying pan and begin cooking. Add onion and continue cooking. Add peppers and continue cooking, stirring frequently. When onions are translucent, remove from heat and drain grease. Set aside.

Grease a 2x8x11 casserole dish that goes from fridge to oven. Place the bread cubes into the dish, “lining” it on the sides and bottom.

Add the sausage mixture and spread evenly over the bread.

Whisk eggs and milk together and pour evenly over mixture.

Take fork and press down on top all over to make sure that the sausage/egg/milk mixture gets down to the bread.

Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Refrigerate overnight if possible.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly brown and puffy and the eggs have cooked through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

  • Speaking of holiday food traditions, reader Maresa Spangler clipped a recipe from The Times-Dispatch in December 1998 headlined: “Feeding a Crowd for Breakfast?”
  • “I cut it out and still have the original yellowed newsprint! Every time I make this, I am asked for the recipe so I have taken it on as ‘my own.'”
  • Spangler’s make-ahead breakfast casserole came from “Desperation Dinners” columnists Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross.
  • “Thought you might like to see it and perhaps reprint as family descends on everyone this time of year!”
  • Here is Spangler’s tweaked recipe, with thanks to Mills and Ross, who said it makes about 12 servings of 225 calories each.

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