Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Pinterest Success: Crock-Pot Breakfast Casserole

Hey Gang!

As I mentioned, we had some friends visit us this weekend, so I wanted to have something yummy and simple for us to eat for brunch.  I've recently re-discovered the glories of my Crock-Pot, and I kept seeing these Pinterest recipes for CP breakfast dishes, so I thought I'd give one a try!

There are a ton of variations of this recipe out there, but here's the one I used:

Crock-Pot Breakfast Casserole
courtesy of iowagirleats

Ingredients:
  • 30oz bag frozen hash browns
  • 1lb sausage, browned & drained (I didn't add this - I just baked some bacon the next morning to serve on the side)
  • 8oz shredded cheddar cheese
  • 8oz shredded mozzarella cheese (I didn't have mozz so I just used extra cheddar.  I think the mozz was definitely missing, though, and would have made it more "creamy")
  • 6 green onions, sliced and divided in half  (just used half a regular onion and half a bell pepper since I had it and needed to use it)
  • 12 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
  • 1.  Spray a large crock pot with non-stick spray then place half the hash browns into the bottom. Layer in half the cooked sausage, half the cheeses, and half the green onions, then repeat hash brown, sausage, and cheese layers.
  • 2.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper, then drizzle over top. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours, or until eggs are set. Serve with remaining green onions, salsa, or guacamole.
Seriously - could this be more simple??

Our verdict - it was good, but could have been better.  I think it was mostly user-error (I let the crock go just a teensie bit too long) so the casserole dried out just a touch.  Also, I omitted the meat and mozzarella, since I didn't want to brown sausage or bacon the night before and I didn't have mozzarella - so I'm thinking that might have contributed to the casserole being a little on the dry side.

However, the fact that you just layer the night before and let the CP do it's thing was ah.may.zing!  I can't even begin to explain how heavenly it was to wake up in the morning with the smell of hashbrowns and cheese wafting through the house. 

I have some ideas for how to improve this (thinking asparagus, mushrooms and swiss cheese and adding a bit more  milk), but this is the perfect type of breakfast for a weekend in the Treehouse =)

Overall, I recommend this recipe if you're looking for something filling and easy for a crowd, but be careful you don't over-cook!

Our next Crock-Pot breakfast adventure will be this french toast recipe - I'll let you know how that turns out!

1 comment:

  1. When I did it the 2nd time I added about half a cup of water to the egg mixture. I know it sounds crazy but like you i felt like it was a little dry and burnt/over cooked. The second time with the water was much better. I think by the end of it all the water had evaporated, but it kept it moist overnight.

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