BREAKFAST CASSEROLE (Make Ahead)

This is my favorite casserole to make the morning of a big holiday (like Christmas or Thanksgiving) when you have a lot of cooking to do. To avoid the mess and stress, I make this yummy breakfast casserole the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning. No fuss. Easy to assemble and easy to eat! This recipe calls for breakfast sausage. I like to by the spicey turkey version. But you could use whatever is your favorite breakfast sausage of choice! My brother-in-law, Michael Gregory, has recently become a vegetarian and this year, 2022, I made it without the sausage and it was still really good!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil or Canola Oil

• 16 oz Breakfast Sausage

• 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper (like it spicey? make it a 1/2 tsp)

• 16 oz bag Frozen Tater Tots

• 5 Large Eggs

• 1 - 4oz can Diced Green Chile Peppers (drained)

• 2 cups Shredded Cheese (I use Mexican Style, pre-shredded)

• 1 cup Whole Milk

• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream (in a pinch you can substitute with whole milk)

• 1/4 tsp seasoned salt (in a pinch you can substitute with table salt)

• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Butter or spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish

Step 2: Lay out the tater tots in the baking dish, covering the entire surface

Step 3: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking the sausage up with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes

Step 4: Move the sausage to a paper towel lined plate to allow the oil to drain and sausage to cool

Step 5: In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in greens chiles, shredded cheese, milk, heavy cream, seasoned salt, black pepper, and cayenne

Step 6: Evenly sprinkle the sausage over the surface of the tater tots

Step 7: Pour the egg/milk mixture over the tots and sausage evenly

Step 7: Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight

BAKE

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Step 2: Cover and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until bubbly and the casserole is cooked through, another 20 to 35 minutes.