Recently, I received a little note of thanks from Natchez-extraordinaire Kathleen Bond for a recipe I shared with readers a few months back. Here it is:

Kudos to Jennie Guido for sharing her fabulous family recipe for
breakfast casserole. Its flexibility made it so easy to customize to
my personal taste (sautéed spinach and mushrooms on the first try). I
made two lasagna pans of it for our annual Christmas brunch – and
greedily portioned out the little bit that was left over to enjoy all
by myself over the next few days. I’m now contemplating what variation
I’ll try next – and I guarantee it won’t wait for a party – it will
get divvied up and frozen in single meal-sized bits for me to pull out
whenever I want a special breakfast treat in the new year. Maybe with
some awesome Louisiana strawberries on the side!

It’s definitely a popular recipe that we have used during a couple of different functions and luckily are left with plenty of left overs to enjoy for days to come. Mom found the original in Flavors of Natchez and tweaked it to meet our needs. Whether veggies or meats, this breakfast casserole should be first on your list of recipes to try in 2018. Give it a go with your favorite ingredients, and let me know how it turns out. We are always looking for new variations to try.

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

1 pound medium or hot sausage, browned and drained
Fresh vegetables of choice, chopped and sautéed
8 eggs, well beaten
1 large onion, chopped (We used green onions.)
12 slices white bread, quartered
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Cook sausage until browned or vegetables and onions until tender. Drain the drippings from the sausage except for about 2 tablespoons for the onions. Sauté the onions, if using sausage, until tender. In a greased 9-by-13-inch casserole dish, layer the ingredients. Begin with half of the bread, then half of the sausage, half of the onion, and half of the cheese; repeat layers. Beat together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and dry mustard; then pour over layers. Cover and refrigerate overnight before cooking. When ready to bake, bring to room temperature. Bake at 350 degrees for fifty minutes. This recipe serves 10 to 12.