A few days ago, I hosted a Christmas brunch for some friends in my former Creative Journey group. I think I'll call it my Jingle Bell Brunch! We still have the occasional reunion, and what better time to eat and catch up than at Christmas. The mimosas flowed, as the convo did...and over four hours later we were full as ticks, talked out, and ready for naps.
Here's a recipe for one of the dishes I made - Hash Brown Casserole. I can't credit the exact source of this recipe, but it was made by a lovely lady at my church who cooked everything for our single moms brunch...I only met her once and her name escapes me now (I think it's Lori Ann???..need to check on that).
A few notes: 1. I added a little extra spice to mine, which is included below. 2. You could eliminate the orange/yellow peppers, and just use all red (to save on waste/leftovers). 3. I highly recommend serving this dish with Picante sauce on the side. It adds an interesting layer of flavor and texture that can't be denied!
Hash Brown Casserole
- 3 TBSP whole butter
- 1 small onion, small chop
- 1/2 orange pepper, small chop
- 1/2 red pepper, small chop
- 1/2 yellow pepper, small chop
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 4 cups frozen shredded hash browns, defrosted
- 1 pound ground bulk sausage, medium hot
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 oz shredded Mexican cheese
- 1-1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 large eggs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp chili powder
- 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
- 8 cups Italian bread, small cubes
- 1 jar Picante sauce
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pam spray a deep 13x9 casserole dish.
- Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onion, peppers, garlic and saute over med-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the hash browns and saute until soft or until a bit of brown color is on hash browns, about 10 minutes.
- In a second saute pan, saute the sausage until cooked through. Remove and drain off grease. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the milk, cream, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, chili powder, and mustard. Whisk until fully blended.
- To Assemble: Spread veggie mixture and hash browns evenly at the bottom of the dish. Next place bread cubes evenly on top. Then distribute sausage evenly over bread cubes. Pour contents of the bowl over all of these layers. Spread cheese out as the final layer (you can reserve a few tablespoons of cheese to place on top for the final 10 minutes of baking).
- Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes until puffed and golden brown on top.
- Serve with Picante Sauce on the side.
