Sunday, June 15, 2008

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole (or Hotdish as we say in Minnesota)


This was a recipe I tried out for Father's Day. The recipe comes from my friend Robin. I changed the recipe to fit our needs quite a bit, so I'll include both recipes (mine is in green). It tasted pretty good... a lot less eggy than I thought it would be. The next time I make it, I'll use less potatoes so I get more eggness in it.
It certainly was nice waking up and having breakfast hot and ready!

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

1 (28 oz.) Bag Ore-Ida Frozen Potatoes O'Brien, thawed slightly (I just used Southern Style Hash Browns-- I knew my kids wouldn't touch it if it had peppers in it and mine weren't slightly thawed)
1/2 Cup Diced Onion
1 Pound Lean Ham, diced ( I used 1 lb bacon, diced, uncooked)
2 Cups Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Mine wasn't fat free... I don't believe in fat free... :) )
1 Cup Skim Milk (I used 1% milk)
3 Cups Egg Substitute (I substituted the substitute with 1 dozen real eggs)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper (this seemed like a lot... I used only 1/2 tsp and it still was peppery)

Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray.


You will make three layers. Place 1/3 of the potatoes into the bottom of the crockpot, followed by 1/3 of the onions, 1/3 of the ham and 1/3 of the cheese.


Repeat this step two more times ending with the layer of cheese.


Beat together the egg substitute, milk, salt and pepper; pour it over the layers in the crockpot.


Here it is when I first added all the ingredients. The egg is in there, too... but it can't be seen. I was worried about that, but it fluffed right up by morning.



Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours overnight.

Here it is in the morning when I woke up:



Cut into 8 wedges when ready to serve. (my five year old thought we were having birthday cake for breakfast!)



*I actually just placed a cutting board over the top of my crock pot and flipped it out onto that before slicing it. And I did originally cut it into 8 wedges, but they are HUGE wedges! So you can slice it even smaller and get at least 16 servings out of this.


I'll make it again but will use the potatoes that are requested next time. I think the Potatoes O'Brien would make it taste fantastic!


Sliced (imagine how pretty it would be if I had used the potatoes with peppers in it! Oh the colors!!) :

2 comments:

Megan said...

Love this idea too! I will definitly be trying this one.

beckiek said...

Hey Michelle! I'm considering making this for a huge brunch I'm throwing for 70 people next week. Do you think it would be OK for people to just scoop out their serving? And what about doubling in the crock pot? I have one of those huge oval crock pots. I'm wondering if there will be room. Will you please email me at stampwithbeckie@comcast.net. THANKS for posting this recipe - looks yummy!