breakfast casserole

You know all those ECards that summarize something so perfectly that you crack up reading while on the train into work? I feel like someone is stalking my life and then writing ECards based upon what they saw. Some of them really hit the nail on the head about me.

Like this one

And this one.

And def this one.

And let’s not forget this one.

Okay last one.

I think that if I made my own ECard I’d have to do something about how ‘sleeping in’ on the weekend means getting up at 6am. Ouch.

We are naturally early risers but it still seems that we should sleep in a bit on the weekends. Well, tell Autumn that. To her, it doesn’t matter that it’s Saturday or Sunday. She still gets up between 5 and 5.23, magically. So that means by 8.30 she is ready for her morning nap. And so are we!

So that is why I was down right giddy when I saw the fabulous recipes for this month’s Secret Recipe Club post. I found the perfect breakfast recipe for the weekends. Perfect!

 

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I was assigned Taci’s blog, Burnt Apple. Over the past dozen or so years Traci has really become the masterful home cook, far from her days of wall breaking rock hard muffins. She now focuses on healthy, budget friendly recipes that her family will enjoy. She balances a busy life with 3 kids, 2 dogs, and a traveling husband well, like how she balances out her healthy recipes with a few sweet treats in the mix. Hey we all have a sweet tooth!

I enjoyed checking out her extensive recipe collection. She offered so many different recipes, and I liked that she identified them as gluten free, vegan, and other dietary restrictions. It makes browsing a breeze! You can find the perfect appetizer, bread, dessert, drink, or kid-friendly dish!

I picked this Crockpot Breakfast Casserole recipe from the Burnt Apple because it would be ready for us when we stumbled downstairs in the morning at the break of dawn. It meant we just had to flip on the prepped coffee maker, grab some plates, and dig in. Perfectly low maintenance when you’re exhausted from the work week and you know you have a full day ahead of you.

Plus, it seemed like something that I could adapt to be a Whole30 recipe. I made it prior to kicking off this latest (3rd) Whole30 of the year so it still has all the yummy goodness like cheese and breakfast sausage. But I am definitely  going to make it again soon in a compliant way.

The size and ease makes it for a great breakfast or brunch to serve to a crowd, like at the holiday’s or while on a family vacation. Awesome!

This was a hit in our house as Autumn ate 2 big plates of it. That is a big seal of approval!

The recipe called for 2 pounds of shredded potatoes, but I could only find a 1 pound 10 ounce package of shredded potatoes so I used that. I don’t think that it effected the end result so if you can only find that as well, then just use that.

There are so many ways for you to make this your own by trying different meats in it like bacon, chorizo, or ham. And then you can try different combinations of cheese. Or add some other veggies in it too.

I can’t wait to make this again really soon.

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 12 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pound 10 ounce- 2 pounds of shredded potatoes (frozen or fresh)
• 1 pound of cooked and chopped bacon, ham or breakfast sausage
• 1 cup diced onions
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper per layer of potatoes

Process

1. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, garlic powder and mustard. Set aside for later use.
2. Thoroughly grease a crockpot.
3. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in the crockpot. Sprinkle the seasoning salt and pepper on top, then 1/3 of the meat, onions, and cheese. Repeat layers.
4. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the layers.
5. Set crockpot to low. For fresh hash browns, cook for 6-7 hours. For frozen hash browns, cook for 8-9 hours. Casserole is finished when eggs are set.

Adapted from The Burnt Apple

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Check out all the other great Secret Recipe Club posts this month!

And be sure to check out my 3 years of Secret Recipe Club posts!!!!

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