Perfect for a Holiday breakfast…

I actually made this casserole for dinner the other night and served it with a salad. It was simple and delicious and I am going to make it again for our Christmas breakfast. You can do most of the prep work the night before and quickly assemble it before baking the next morning.

I got the recipe from my friend Loretta and made a couple of changes to suit my family’s tastes. It starts with a layer of frozen hash brown potatoes. Look for a brand that doesn’t have any added junk. I got mine at Trader Joe’s. I made it with broccoli, mushrooms and Canadian bacon, but there is no end to the different combinations of goodies that you could use in this. I think it would be great with spinach or cooked sausage also.

There is a cup of cottage cheese mixed in with the egg and I think it gives it a really nice texture without adding too much fat. A layer of shredded gruyere cheese on top adds great flavor!

Savory  Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 – 8 ounce package of mushrooms, either sliced or quartered
• 10 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1  1/2 cup of cottage cheese
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• non-stick cooking spray
• 1 package of frozen hash brown potatoes, not thawed (my package was 28 ounces)
• 3 cups of raw broccoli, chopped into small florets
• 8 ounces of diced ham or Canadian bacon. Sub cooked sausage or bacon if you prefer!
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded gruyere cheese
• 1/4 cup of parmesan or romano cheese
• creme fraiche to garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 350

In a large saute pan heat olive oil over medium heat and cook onion for about 10 minutes or until tender. Add the mushrooms and cook until they have released all of their juices. Turn heat up if necessary to make sure all of the excess liquid has cooked off, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and cottage cheese. Add the green onions, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Layer the frozen hash browns evenly in the bottom of the dish. Next layer the cooked onion and mushroom mixture, then the broccoli and the diced ham. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the top. Sprinkle the shredded gruyere and romano cheeses over the top.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until the eggs have set in the middle and the top is golden brown. Depending on your oven, you may need an extra 10 minutes or so. You can also give it a minute or two under the broiler to give the top a nice golden color. 

Serve garnished with creme fraiche if desired.