Thanksgiving is just a few days away. In just four days, the prep work will begin. In exactly five days, I will be spending hours in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Yesterday, I started my grocery shopping for Thanksgiving and picked up all of the ingredients needed to make a roast turkey, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, biscuits, cranberry sauce, and a few other re-imagined dishes. Surprisingly, there weren’t too many people at the grocery store. It could be because I went at 7:00 p.m. Since Thanksgiving Day will be very busy, I like to start the morning off with a hearty breakfast to hold me over until dinner time. This morning, I made a breakfast casserole for brunch after my morning run as part of a series of holiday test recipes. I like to make breakfast casseroles because they are easy to make and can serve a lot of people. Breakfast casseroles are made by layering different breakfast items including eggs, meat, cheese, milk, and cream in a casserole dish. The layered dish is placed in the oven and baked for forty to forty-five minutes until the egg are cooked through. In under an hour, you have a hearty, hot, and savory breakfast waiting for you to dig into. I decided to combine Kevin’s love of breakfast sausage and my love of tater tots into the dish. I prepped the dish in the morning, placed the dish in the oven, and had Kevin watch the timer as I went for a run at the gym. By the time I got back, the breakfast casserole was done. I dug right into the dish before even hopping into the shower. The flavors and texture of the casserole were balanced very well. The tater tots added a crunchiness to the dish. The breakfast sausage added a nice savory flavor. The cheese and egg mixture added creaminess to the dish. The scallions added a freshness and good onion flavor. The casserole made for the perfect filling brunch to help me finish planning my Thanksgiving prep timeline for the upcoming week.
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole:
· 7 large eggs
· ½ cup whole milk
· ½ cup heavy cream
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 28-ounce package mini tater tots
· 2-3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
· 8 ounces pork sausage
· 3 stalks scallion, thinly sliced at a diagonal
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Place casserole dish on a baking sheet. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, kosher salt, and pepper together. Set aside.
3) Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Pour half of the package of tater tots into the skillet. Let the tater tots brown on one side before flipping, about 3-5 minutes. Flip the tater tots and brown the other side. Let the tater tots brown on the other side for another 3-5 minutes.
4) Arrange the tater tots in a single layer on the casserole dish. Add a third of the cheese into the casserole dish.
5) Pour the other half of the package of tater tots into the skillet. Follow the same process to brown the remaining tater tots. Turn off the heat.
6) Heat another skillet on medium heat. Brown the pork sausage in the skillet for about 5 minutes.
7) Add the pork sausage and half of the scallions to the casserole dish. Pour half of the egg mixture into the casserole dish. Add another third of the cheese. Layer the remaining tater tots in one layer on the casserole dish. Pour the remaining egg mixture into the casserole dish. Top with the remaining scallions and cheese.
8) Bake the casserole in the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Remove the casserole from the oven. Let the casserole rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Takeaways: The breakfast casserole dish is very versatile. You can swap in any meat and cheese of your choice. Other good flavor combinations include bacon and cheddar and ham and gruyere. You can also make a vegetarian friendly version with mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions.