White Cheddar, Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Here is a true story for you: I made this breakfast casserole on New Years Eve in preparation for the inevitable New Years Day hangover that would ensue after a night of champage guzzling. Tears. Real tears of joy appeared as I ate this because I was so grateful to former Kate for blessing current hungover mess Kate with this beauty.

White Cheddar, Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Serves: 6

Active Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 lb. sausage
• 1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tsp. whole grain mustard
• 1 tsp. Lawry’s seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 package frozen shredded hash browns
• 2 cups white cheddar cheese, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until softened (about 3 minutes.)

3. Add sausage and break into pieces. Let the sausage brown, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes. Once the sausage is browned, add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute.) Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, whole grain mustard, seasoned salt and pepper.

5. Add the hashbrowns, sausage/onion/garlic mixture and 1 1/2 cups of shredded white cheddar cheese to a 9x13 baking dish. Stir together in the dish.

6. Pour the egg/milk mixture into the dish evenly. Top with the remaining white cheddar cheese and the parmesan cheese.

7. Bake for 45 minutes covered with foil. Remove the foil and allow it to bake for another 10-15 minutes until cheese has melted and starts to brown.

Mimosa

MY RECOMMENDATION:

Belletti Prosecco + OJ- find it at Aldi

WHY IT WORKS:

• Mimosas are the perfect pair to any breakfast item, and that is just the cold, hard truth. Savory or sweet, you simply cannot go wrong.
• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- bubbles pair with nearly everything.
• This pairing is especially divine because the skillet is so rich and has many different types of fat. The acid from the orange juice and the zip of the bubbles in the prosecco are a nice break from the richness of the potatoes, sausage and savory cheddar cheese.
• Prosecco oftentimes has notes of apple, pear, lemon and citrus. The citrus and fruity notes work well with the OJ.
• Prosecco is on the sweeter side when it comes to sparkling wine, which I enjoy for a mimosa.
• I also love prosecco for mimosas because you can find great inexpensive options at almost any grocery store or liquor store. We don’t need to ball out for a wine that is being mixed with OJ after all!