Welcome to my kitchen!
This week, I’m joined by Chrissy Miller Warren. Chrissy brought this great dish to my house on Thanksgiving, and wow! It was delicious. With everyone getting ready for Christmas and lots of family and friends coming over, this is a great dish to fix ahead of time and serve.
As for me, I ate it for breakfast and lunch, and I also had it for a midnight snack. Haha! It’s one of dishes you can warm up in the microwave and it will taste just as good as if you had just made it. This is a keeper… Thank you so much, Chrissy, for sharing this with all of us.
Breakfast casserole
Ingredients:
• One package of sweet Italian sausage (taken out of the casings)
• One large onion, diced
• Package of sliced mushrooms
• Can of diced tomatoes, drained
• Frozen tater tots
• Egg beaters/egg substitute
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Nature’s Seasoning
• Two cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• Cooking spray
Prep night before:
Spray a high-sided casserole dish or baking dish with cooking spray, then line the bottom with the tater tots — one layer only.
Take the sweet Italian sausage out of the casing and place in a medium sauté pan with a small amount of olive oil. Chop up with a wooden spoon until completely cooked. Once completely browned, place on a dish and set aside to cool.
Back in the medium sauce pan, place approximately two tablespoons of olive oil with your diced onions and sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle on top of the mushrooms and onions approximately two tablespoons of Nature’s Seasoning. Let that cook for approximately three minutes. Now, add the can of drained diced tomatoes. Stir the mixture and let reduce for approximately two minutes. Then add approximately two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and stir. Let cook for another two minutes. It is now done cooking, so set it aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
Take your pan that has the tater tots in it and layer in the ground sausage. Once you have an even layer of the sausage, sprinkle it over half of your cheese over top of that. Then your next layer is the vegetable mixture. Spread it out evenly. Take your egg beaters and slowly pour them over the top of the vegetable mixture. (You will use about two thirds of the large carton.) Eventually, distribute the last of your cheese over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the fridge overnight.
Next morning:
Get your pan out of the fridge.
Preheat oven to 350 degress fahrenheit. Once it is up to temperature, place covered pan in oven to bake for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes is done, uncover your pan and bake for 22 minutes. Remove pan from oven and enjoy!
Note from Chrissy: You can make this and put it in oven right away, but I have found that leaving overnight gives it a much better flavor.
Sharon Hughes is the advertising manager at The Times-Gazette. She is also a mother, grandmother and chef.
