Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

I love tater tots!  And I love breakfast!  I could eat both anytime of the day, so I decided to make a Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole for dinner recently.

I simply cooked up a pound of chopped Portuguese sausage, then placed it on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  I then sprinkled 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese on top of the sausage.

In a bowl, I mixed together 6 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t black pepper, then poured the mixture over the sausage and cheese.  

I then placed tater tots on top of the egg mixture.  I had an 8 lb bag of tots from a warehouse club, so I simply placed enough in a layer to cover the entire pan.  I would estimate you'd need 1/2 to 3/4 of a 32oz bag of tots.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 50 minutes, then sprinkle on 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, then bake for 10 more minutes.

Garnish with sliced green onions, and enjoy!

Next time I hope to also top with chopped bacon!

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Shelter-in-Place Cooking: Tuna Casserole

I'm running out of ideas (and groceries!) for dinner.  So I whipped up a Tuna Casserole with some staples.

I cooked a box of shells & cheese according to package directions.  Then I placed the shells & cheese in a pie dish, stirred in 2 cans of tuna (drained), topped with 5 slices of American cheese, and a dozen crushed Ritz crackers.

I baked it at 350°F for 15 minutes.

It was a super easy meal that has turned into a fave of my youngest!

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip French Toast Casserole

I found myself with several loaves of old bread on hand, so I decided to make a French Toast Casserole, which kind of turned out to be more like a sweet dessert once I sprinkled on chocolate chips and drizzled peanut butter.

In any case, it was an easy and great way to use up old bread (I doubled the recipe), and I'm thinking about making a savory version the next time!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip French Toast Casserole

Ingredients

• 5 c bread, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c soy milk
• 1/4 c  sugar, divided
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 T butter, melted
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 c chocolate chips
• 1/2 c peanut butter, melted

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line bottom of 8x8 prepared pan with bread cubes.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, 2 T sugar, and vanilla.  
• Pour egg mixture over bread.
• Dot with melted butter and let stand for 10 minutes.  
• Mix together remaining sugar with cinnamon, and sprinkle.  
• Bake for approximately 45 minutes.
• Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and drizzle with melted peanut butter.

You can find the original recipe here on All Recipes.

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Tater Tot Casserole

I used to make Tater Tot Casseroles a lot, and since I've been on a tater tot kick lately, I decided to make one, but in a different way than I used to.

I usually make them by combining 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with 1 cup of sour cream and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.  I then toss about 2 lbs of frozen tater tots into the mixture, spread everything into a 9x13 pan, and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

This time, however, I combined 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with 1 cup of sour cream, and spread the mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Then I added a layer of bacon!  I took about 1/2 cup of crumbled bacon and sprinkled it onto the sour cream mixture.

Next I placed a layer of tater tots, then I sprinkled with 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake

I've been trying to go through all the recipes I've torn out of magazines, such as this Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake recipe from a 2014 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine.

I made several adaptations (I just made one layer of bread since my slices were kind of thick; I used rice milk instead of low-fat milk and green onions instead of chives; I also didn't have thyme, so I just omitted it), and the kids enjoyed it.  My youngest son especially liked the "custard" (the dish was very reminiscent of this Bacon & Eggs Bread Pudding).

The Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake is the perfect make-ahead brunch dish, and would be great for dinner too!

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Bake:

Ingredients:

• 2½ c low-fat milk (I used rice milk)
• 8 large eggs
• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1 baguette, cut into 1" slices
• 1 c cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 c thinly sliced deli ham, chopped
• 1 T chopped green onions

Directions:

• Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
• In bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, mustard, salt, and pepper.
• Arrange bread on bottom of baking dish.  
• Pour milk mixture all over bread.
• Top with cheese and ham.
• Refrigerate for at least one hour.  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 50 to 55 minutes in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven.
• Garnish with chopped green onions.  

You can view the original recipe here:

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Stuffing Brunch Casserole

I never thought I'd be the type of person to bake casseroles so often, but I find myself doing just that. Not only are they simple and delicious, but they are a great way to use up leftovers, and they make terrific freezer meals as well!

Since I still had some boxes of stuffing leftover from Thanksgiving (when I made these Stuffing Waffles), I decided to throw them into a casserole.

The stuffing gives a typical breakfast casserole a lot more texture, crunch, and savoriness.  I made two different batches, one with veggies, and one without (since my youngest has a tendency to pick out all the veggies).

Both versions were delicious, and would also be great for dinner!

Stuffing Brunch Casserole

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 c milk
• 1 6 oz box STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
• 1 c chopped ham
• 1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Whisk eggs and milk in large bowl.
• Stir in remaining ingredients.  
• Pour mixture into 13x9 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake for approximately 45 to 50 minutes.

You can find the original recipe here on the Kraft website.

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Breakfast Casserole Recipe

I love breakfast, and I love making (and eating!) breakfast for dinner, especially since breakfast ideas can be so simple, yet so hearty.

For a recent breakfast-for-dinner, I made an easy Breakfast Casserole.

You can use whatever veggies, meats, and cheeses you have on hand.  It's a great way to use up leftovers, and get your kids to eat veggies!

Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups of spinach (chop the spinach if you want smaller bites of spinach with each forkful)
• 1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 c turkey, sliced
• 8 eggs
• 2 T milk
• Salt and pepper to season

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mix together eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• Stir in tomatoes, spinach, cheese, and turkey.
• Pour egg mixture into 9x9 pan.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes.

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Hash Brown Casserole

I love breakfast for dinner, and I recently made a Hash Brown Casserole one night for dinner.

I made some changes to the original recipe based on ingredients I had on hand, and the end result was still delicious.

It was super easy to make, and it would be a great casserole to prep ahead of time (without the topping).

You could even make this the night before a big brunch!

Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 20 oz pkg. shredded hash browns 
• 1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup 
• 2 c shredded cheddar cheese 
• 3/4 c sour cream 
• 1/4 c chopped onion 
• 1/4 c butter, melted 
• 1 1/2 c potato chips, crushed
• 2 T butter, melted  
• 2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 stalks green onion, chopped.

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F. 
• Spray 9x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a large bowl mix together the hash browns, soup, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, onion, and butter.   
• Spread evenly into prepared baking dish. 
• In a small bowl stir together potato chips and butter. Pour over hash brown mixture. 
• Top with bacon.
• Bake 1 hour or until hash browns are tender.
• Garnish with chopped green onions.

Original recipe found here on Simply Potatoes.

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