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Brooklyn's Brunch Casserole

Cook Time:
30 mins
Prep Time:
15 mins
RATE THIS RECIPE
(519)

Chef notes

I have made the same breakfast casserole for Christmas morning ever since Nick and I spent our first winter holiday together. We started dating during the summer of 2006, and that December it was just the two of us at his house in California. It was actually the first Christmas I'd spent with a significant other, and I wanted to make something special for Christmas morning — something that didn't require a ton of work so we could relax and snuggle in bed, and I wouldn't be stressed out trying to make something crazy like a soufflé!

That's how the tradition started (basically, with me wanting to snuggle), and it has evolved over time. I change the bottom layer each year — sometimes it's biscuits; sometimes it's potatoes; sometimes it's crescent rolls — but it's always delicious and easy. Instead of slaving away over homemade biscuits, I started using store-bought, and that way Brooklyn can help me cook by laying out the biscuits, as I mentioned earlier. It makes her feel so proud, and she's now part of the tradition, which I love.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound breakfast sausage patties or links
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 1 (16.3-ounce) can buttermilk biscuits
  • 6 eggs, well beaten
  • 1/4-1/2 cup whole milk
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 8 ounces shredded cheese blend

Preparation

1.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2.

In a large dry skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up into a crumble as you go. Do not drain.

3.

Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes (you can prepare the recipe up to this point the night before if you want to save time in the morning).

4.

Separate the dough into 8 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Arrange the pieces in a greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Bake for 8 minutes (the biscuits won't be fully cooked at this point).

5.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle the sausage and onion mixture over the top.

6.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper, then pour the mixture over the entire dish.

7.

Bake for 15 minutes.

8.

Remove the dish from the oven, sprinkle the cheese on top, then cook an additional 5 minutes.

9.

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

10.

This will definitely warm you up during the winter months, and it's just as good the next day or as a late-night snack with ketchup (yes, ketchup!).

Excerpted from LIFE FROM SCRATCH by Vanessa Lachey, reprinted with permission from HarperOne and imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2021.