Breakfast Casserole w/Cream Gravy

By mrshermes2002

This is a little time-consuming but well worth the effort! Makes a ton so you will have plenty to go around. I made this breakfast for my son and his friends and they think I am the ultimate mom now! I like to serve this with toast and a nice arugula & apple salad with citrus dressing. Yummy!

Ingredients

• 1- 26 oz. bag shredded hash browns, thawed
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 lb. sausage
• 8 slices bacon, cut into small chunks
• 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk or half-n-half
• Salt and pepper to taste

Details

Adapted from lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place thawed potatoes in a large bowl and add salt and pepper. Pour melted butter over potatoes and toss until well-combined. Line an ungreased 9x13-inch casserole dish with buttered potatoes, and press to make a crust. Bake 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are just crisped and brown on the edges. Remove dish from oven and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, break apart the sausage in a frying pan and cook until done. Cook the bacon until brown and crispy and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Reserve the bacon and sausage grease!

In a medium bowl whisk eggs, heavy cream, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle sausage and bacon in an even layer over the cooked potato crust then sprinkle the cheese on top to create even layers. Pour egg mixture over ingredients.

Bake 12-20 minutes or until the eggs are set in the center and the edges are golden and bubbling.

While the casserole is baking, make the gravy. In the frying pan used to make the sausage and bacon, rewarm the grease over medium-high heat if it has cooled down. Once the grease is warmed, add the flour and whisk until the grease and flour combine to make a bubbly roux (add more flour by the teaspoon if needed). Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk or half-n-half and whisk to combine the roux. Bring to a boil and let it cook until it thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the casserole from the oven and cut into serving size pieces. Put a serving on the plate and top with a scoop of gravy.