If you have family and guests in your house on Christmas morning, or any morning for that matter, they will eventually be hungry. The nicest present you can give yourself is a hot delicious breakfast that is easy to assemble, can be made a couple of days early, then popped in the oven in time for breakfast. This means you can enjoy Christmas morning while sipping coffee and visiting with everyone. This recipe is also great for a weekend brunch, a potluck, or our favorite – “Brenner” – breakfast for dinner.
When my wonderful friends at Channel 5 asked me to come on down and cook something on Talk of the Town (Click to View) yesterday, I thought a kind of jazzed up Christmas Morning Casserole would be just the ticket. I wanted to make it not only delicious and different, but also easy – jarred roasted red peppers and canned green chilies add Christmas colors, they don’t need to be cooked, and add a punch of flavor. Chopped green onions are a nice addition and a combo of cheeses definitely makes this Breakfast Casserole special. Slices of French bread soak up the delicious custard and crispy sausage is the final touch. What could be better? For extra ease you can pre-cook your sausage, you can even get sliced green onions at the salad bar!
Yesterday Meryl and I assembled the entire casserole on Talk of the Town in no time at all. That gal is fast in the kitchen! I have to mention that my own family and my nephews give this their highest rating. As an added bonus this can serve at least 12 people and the leftovers heat up like a dream for a snack. Or you can eat a couple of cold bites straight from the fridge late at night and not tell a soul. I may have done that very thing a time or two.
We all wish you a wonderful holiday and I look forward to sending you new and delicious recipes in 2017(plus hopefully a new cookbook). Happy wishes for everyone for marvelous New Year.
Christmas Morning Breakfast Strata
Ingredients
1 loaf thick French bread, cut in ½ inch slices
1/3 cup diced green chilies*
1/3 cup sliced roasted red peppers from a jar*
6 sliced green onions
1 lb breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled (Can cook ahead and freeze, also easy to substitute diced ham or make without meat)
1½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1½ cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
12 eggs
4 cups half & half or whole milk
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
* Alternately, you can sauté one half each of a red and green pepper.
Directions
Spray a 9 x 13 or equivalent size-baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl whisk eggs, half & half, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined.
Layer half of dish with sliced bread.
Top bread slices with half of sausage, half of red and green peppers, half of onions and half of each cheese.
Pour half of custard mixture over the first layer.
Make a second layer of bread, and remaining sausage, peppers, onions, and cheese.
Pour remaining custard mixture over the top.
Allow the casserole to sit for at least 20 minutes before baking. (You can assemble and refrigerate the casserole up to 2 days before baking!)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Bake for about 50 minutes (1 hour if made ahead) until custard is just set.
If desired, broil for a couple of minutes to brown the top.
Try really hard to wait five minutes before cutting and serving.
Have a wonderful Christmas Day!
This easily serves 12. The recipe can be halved or doubled depending on your crowd.
