Sausage Breakfast Casserole

I made this recipe when the boyfriend of my oldest daughter, and his Mom, came to our house so that the kids could go to the prom together. They live six hours apart - across the state from one another and had never met before in the 1 1/2 years of their relationship. (If you want to read their story, you can find it in my family blog.)  

Since they drove through the night and arrived at breakfast time I had planned to have this ready when they arrived. But I doubled the bread and it took forever to bake - although it was still yummy. 

Borrowed photo

Ingredients

• 1 lb of Italian pork sausage, (then cooked, drained, crumbled)
• 4 1/2 cups cubed day old bread
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 10 eggs slightly beaten
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1/2 cup peeled, chopped tomatoes (optional)

Directions

1 - Heat a skillet on medium high. Break up the sausage into chunks and cook, working in batches if need be, until browned all around. Make sure the chunks of sausage have some space around them or your meat will steam and not brown. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and let sit on some paper towels on a plate to soak up the excess fat. Crumble into smaller pieces.

2 - Place bread in a well buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients over the top.

3 At this stage you can cover and chill overnight, if you want to prepare ahead. If not, let sit for 10 minutes before putting in the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake uncovered for about one hour. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

Serves 6-8.