Let's Have Brunch - Overnight Breakfast Casserole

I love a good breakfast, but am not a big fan of cooking one. Love to cook any other meal or bake sweet treats, but breakfast, not so much. Any recipe that can be prepared the night before is always welcome, and even better it gives family or guests a delicious hot meal. This can be put together in less than a half hour, then placed in the refrigerator until the following morning. I cut the recipe in half since there are only two of us, but the full recipe makes a 13 x 9 pan. If your family is not a fan of peppers and onions you can leave them out, or replace the peppers with broccoli or another veggie that you like. The cheese could also be switched to Swiss, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, etc.

Overnight Breakfast Casserole

1 pound ground breakfast sausage

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, or green bell pepper, diced

2 cloves minced garlic

12 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

30 ounce bag shredded hash browns, frozen

1-1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

1. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat then add the sausage. Cook sausage about 10 minutes, breaking up the meat into pieces with a spoon, until no pink remains.

2. Add onions and bell pepper and cook an additional 3-4 minutes then add garlic, remove from heat and set aside.

3. Crack all 12 eggs into a large mixing bowl then beat until uniformly yellow in color. Add the milk, salt and pepper then stir to combine. Add the entire bag of frozen hash browns, then the reserved sausage mixture and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Stir until well combined.

4. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray then add egg mixture. Spread into an even layer then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese over the top. Cover the dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, remove casserole from the refrigerator, uncover and allow the casserole to sit at room temperature while oven preheats. Bake 40-50 minutes until center is firm. Remove pan to a wire rack and cool 10 minutes before serving.