Breakfast Casserole

What’s a person to do when they have an overabundance of eggs come in from their chickens?  Why, make breakfast casserole of course!  ( I originally wrote this post and published it on Father’s Day after making this recipe only a handful of times.  We’ve made it repeatedly since then, and our family can never get enough!)

It is a fairly simple recipe, but it can take awhile if you are dicing the ham yourself, and it takes a long time to bake.  You can prepare this ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to bake it, but make sure you have it covered well.  The pictures I took show ingredients for two casseroles, because I made a double batch, one for us today, and another for my friend that just had a baby.  Forgive the grainy pictures!  I had to use our tablet to take them until we got our new camera.

To begin, grease a 9×19 pan.  Then dice half of a turkey ham (usually an entire “ham” is about two pounds, so you’d be using about a pound of meat), and set aside.

spread in a 9×13 pan, ready to bakeNext, scramble twelve eggs in a large mixing bowl.  While the sour cream is still in the container, mix it well (otherwise it is lumpy and harder to beat in well), and pour into egg mixture.

Stir in the cheese and mix well.

Add the ham to the mixture and stir to combine.

At this point, you have one of two choices.  You can either add the hash brown strings to the egg mixture or you can spread the hash browns evenly into a 9×13 pan and pour the ham and chees mixture on top.  I added the hash browns to the egg and ham mixture and then poured it into the pan.  (The first time I made this, I poured the egg mixture on top of the hash browns, then covered with the ham.  It was good, but I felt like it would taste better if everything was mixed together, so that is what we are doing today!)

Put it in the oven and bake for about 90 minutes.  You should watch the egg and cheese mixture to make sure it is done.  The top will be a nice golden color, slightly brown around the edges, and it will no loger look wet.

You can cut this casserole like a cake and serve with a turner (also called a spatula by many ), it isn’t soupy, and doesn’t just fall apart.  Serve and enjoy!  (Oh, and don’t forget to let the two year-old set the table;).)

Happy Father’s Day!

Love~ Danielle 

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

1 lb. turkey ham (or regular ham), diced

16 oz. sour cream

24 oz. shredded hash browns

12 eggs, beaten

1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or whatever your preference…I use a blend)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Grease a 9×13 pan.
3. Dice your ham, set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
5. Stir sour cream while still in packaging, then pour into eggs and mix well.
6. Add in cheese (1 1/2-2 cups, less or more depending on how much cheese you like)
7. Stir in diced ham and hash browns.  Pour into greased pan and spread out evenly.
8. Bake for around 90 minutes.   It will rise and it will also set and brown a little around the edges. (You might be able to turn the temperature up and cut down on the bake time, but you will need to watch it closely.