Baked Cheese, Egg & Sausage Breakfast Casserole

(Aunt Lee)

The very first time I had this casserole was when visiting Aunt Lee as a little girl in Vermont.  My mom especially loves the sauce that you serve with it. Since you do all the cooking and put the casserole together the night before, it's ready to pop in the oven first thing in the morning. It's a big timesaver if you have company and the preparation the night before gives you a chance to relax and enjoy your guests at breakfast. I'm awarding "bonus points" to this casserole for two reasons: your family/company can wake up to the delicious smell of it baking and it definitely meets my definition of "comfort food".

Ingredients:

• 8 slices bread, cubed
• 1 lb. cheese (Velveeta), shredded
• 1 lb. sausage, cooked & crumbled
• 8-10 eggs
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. dry mustard
• paprika to taste
• 4 cups milk

Directions:

1. Line buttered (greased) 9 x 13 pan with bread cubes.
2. Sprinkle with cheese & sausage.
3. Mix remaining ingredients & pour over the casserole.
4. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Bake covered 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. Uncover & bake 10 minutes.

Sauce:

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• chopped pimento

Mix & heat, do not boil. This makes more than enough sauce for the recipe.


My recipe notes:

• I have found that whenever a casserole calls for cubed bread (and many breakfast casseroles do), a heartier bread, something like Pepperidge Farm, holds up better and works best.
• I used 10 eggs and my casserole cooked over the edge of my pan so I'm only going to use 8 eggs next time.
• A cookie sheet under your pan is probably a good idea.