The Perfect Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

If you are sitting there reading this, glancing through the pictures in each step and considering to make this or not, here is some advise. Do yourself a delicious kindness and cook this mouthwatering masterpiece. What I have given you is an easy breakfast recipe that's as traditional to my family as unwrapping presents on Christmas. All the ingredients and materials needed to make this casserole are the most common items in the typical American kitchen.

This simple casserole recipe was handed down many years ago to my grandmother from her best friend the same year she married my grandfather. This is the most special breakfast dish to me not only because it's the tastiest but also because my grandma first started cooking it for my family and I the first Christmas I've ever experienced. That's right, my friends. This recipe I highly recommend you to make is the traditional breakfast dish my beloved family eats every single Christmas morning. Not only that, but it is so special to our family that it's not made any other morning. This recipe is so special to my grandma that I had to take her out to lunch and it took me an entire hour to convince her to let me put her most traditional recipe on the world wide web because she thought it was strictly meant only for our family.

Don't get me wrong, tradition isn't the only reason why you should create a fresh batch of my sausage, egg & cheese breakfast casserole. This dish is flavorful enough to eat during breakfast, lunch & dinner. I posted this recipe on this website to share with all of you curious readers, man or woman, who are looking for the perfect breakfast, whatever the occasion or the reason your making this I can promise you one thing. You will not be disappointed.

I posted a picture above of the original recipe card my grandma uses every year when cooking the casserole. This card includes all the ingredients necessary, how long it takes to make (preparation and in oven), how many people this recipe serves, and a brief summary instruction on how to prepare casserole.

These are the ingredients you must have to make this recipe I am sharing with you (from left to right of picture with all preferred brand ingredients):

• 2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated.
  You may chose median, sharp, extra sharp etc., I chose mild.
• 1 pound of sausage.
  My grandma only uses Regular Jimmy Dean and that's the best type in our opinion. However, you may use any type of breakfast sausage.
• 6 slices of white bread
  If you prefer to use a different type of bread you may however white bread is the best option for this recipe.
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon of salt
  The salt is the least important ingredient in this recipe. I don't usually put salt in the casserole because the sausage has enough.
• 4 eggs.
• 1 & 3/4 cups of milk
  2% reduced fat milk is the preferred milk for this recipe.

Here is a list of materials / tools you must have to cook this breakfast casserole. Most of these materials are common in every efficient American kitchen (left to right from the picture off all the cooking items):

• Median or large stove top pan
  I use a non-stick pan because it works best but if you do not have one available there's no need to buy one, a regular stove top pan will work just fine.
• Whisk
• Measuring cup
  The measuring cup in the picture can hold 2 cups because a total of 2 cups of grated cheese is needed however a measuring cup that measures 1 cup will work perfectly well.
• Teaspoon measure
• Regular spoon.
  Median sized like shown in the picture for mixing casserole contents.
• Spatula
  Used for breaking sausage while cooking.
• Large mixing bowl.
  For mixing ingredients.
• 2 & 1/2 or 3 quart size casserole oven bowl.
  The size and shape of the casserole bowl in the picture (far right, spatula laying on it, & mixing bowl laying on top) is perfect for this recipe. Most efficient American kitchen already has one or something similar to this. If you do not have a bowl similar to this any bowl that will fit ending recipe contents & oven compatible will work perfectly fine.

Before you start you must preheat oven to 325 degrees.

By the time you finish following the next steps to this recipe the oven should be finished preheating.

Break up all 6 individual slices of bread with your index finger and thumb into pieces roughly the size of your finger tips (1 to 2 square inches. Use picture I posted above as a reference) into the casserole oven bowl (in second picture the crumbled bread is in the mixing bowl then I put it into the casserole bowl, you may do the same if you wish as long as the bread crumbles end up in casserole oven bowl by the end of this step).

1. Put stove top pan on the stove and heat stove to medium high, somewhat closer to medium rather than high.
2. Put entire 1 pound of sausage on pan.
3. As sausage is cooking on the pan use spatula to cut and mix sausage consistently into small crumbles about 1/4 inch in size.
4. Keep cooking and do not turn stove off until the small sausage bits are brown & no longer pink.
5. (This part of the step alone is optional) When sausage is no longer pink & stove is off tilt pan with sausage in it so grease collects all together. With a paper towel absorb as much grease as possible and throw away dirty paper towel.

1. Crack all 4 eggs into the mixing bowl & beat with whisk until egg contents are a solid color.
2. Measure 2 cups of milk using the measuring cup and pour into mixing bowl with egg contents. Measure eggs and milk together with whisk until it's a somewhat solid color.
3. Measure the 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard and put into egg & milk contents in mixing bowl. Mix contents with whisk.
4. (This part of the step only is optional) Measure 1 teaspoon of salt and add to contents in mixing bowl. Mix contents with whisk.

Using the normal medium sized spoon from the materials list pour the cooked sausage bits from stove top pan into casserole bowl filled with the bread crumbles. After all the sausage is in casserole bowl with bread crumbles mix the two contents with the same spoon.

Using the measuring cup measure out 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. Poor the grated cheese on top of contents in the casserole bowl. Using the spoon lightly & evenly mix cheese into contents of casserole bowl. Pour the egg, milk & dry mustard (and salt if you chose to add it) into contents of the casserole bowl evenly. Using the spoon mix up entire contents of casserole bowl lightly so that all the ingredients are mixed evenly.

When the oven is preheated to 325 degrees, put the finished casserole mixture into the oven and set the timer for 1 hour. (The following part is optional) When the timer goes off and the 1 hour of cooking finished a good way to check if the casserole is completely cooked thoroughly is to stick a knife in and out of casserole and if the knife is mostly clean then casserole is done.

Enjoy this creation you just made & share it with your loved ones!