A Break from Couponing and A Darn Good Breakfast Casserole (Original Post 12/26/09)

When I began faithfully couponing several months back, I was disappointed to learn that coupons were rare or nonexistent on Holiday weekends. Happily, I've recovered from that trauma and learned to plan my grocery shopping and menu planning around the Holidays. I may have to drop by the store to pick up some milk and bread, but I've got plenty of "stock" to get us through at least the next week. I plan on using some of the time that would have otherwise been spent searching grocery deals and doing the actual shopping to throw out my expired coupons, reorganize and plan my budget for the first few months of 2010.

I hope to also experiment this week with some of the new kitchen gadgets that I was given for Christmas! My mom loves that I've started cooking so much and gave me many fun things that I can't wait to use. My goal is to create some dishes without using a recipe. It won't be easy; I'm definitely a recipe kind of girl. But, I've found that I'm quite capable of throwing a few things together and coming up with some pretty successful combinations.

Take, for example, the breakfast casserole I put together early Christmas morning when we decided we were far too hungry to only eat cinnamon rolls. Here's the "recipe". Give it a try and tell me what you think. We LOVE it!



Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole

1 bag frozen cubed hash brown potatoes

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, pepper jack or colby/jack blend cheese

8 frozen Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage patties, cooked and cut into bite size pieces

5 slices thick cut bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

8 eggs, slightly beaten

3 cups milk

Salt, pepper and seasoning salt to taste



Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly grease 9" x 13" casserole dish.

Place potatoes in an even layer in bottom of dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper or seasoning salt.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Top with sausage and bacon pieces.

Combine eggs and milk. Season with additional salt and pepper or seasoning salt and pour over other ingredients.

Bake, uncovered for 45-55 minutes, or until eggs are set and knife inserted in middle of casserole comes out clean.

Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.