sausage and hash brown casserole

Last weekend I decided to make a breakfast casserole.  Partly because I had a ton of eggs to use up and partly because I thought my husband might like to come home from camping and have a nice breakfast.  Plus, it's something different and he would have breakfast to take to work the rest of the week.  And someone posted a link on Facebook to some breakfast recipes.  Gotta love Facebook.

The recipe I found online called for a pound of pork sausage and a pound of hot pork sausage for a total of two pounds of sausage.  It didn't specify if that was the ground sausage in a roll, or if it was Italian sausage. I went to the store Sunday morning to get the sausage and saw that they Jimmy Dean ground sausage roll was a whopping 5.49 - I need TWO of them.  I saw the Italian sausage links were on sale for 3.49 per package.  I decided to go that route and just squeeze the sausage out of the casings before cooking.  Cheaper and, as it turned out, less greasy.

It all came together quickly, but the sausage and hash browns had to be cooked before mixing all the ingredients together.  I'd say this could be done ahead so all you would have to do in the morning is mix it all up and then bake it.

It tasted great and was VERY filling. At least for me it was. But my stomach only hold so much these days.  If I were making this just for myself I would probably omit the hash browns to lighten the calorie and carb load a little.

In case you didn't know, you can import an online recipe into MyFitnessPal and calculate the calories. it's an awesome tool, and useful, but sometimes scary.  I imported the online recipe and then edited the ingredients to match the way I made it.  The calorie count is a whopping 531 calories per serving assuming you divide it into 10 servings. (Serving size will vary:  a WLS patient will likely get 20 servings from this recipe, but someone who hasn't had weight loss surgery might get only 8, depending on appetite.)  If you omit the hash browns and cut the sausage to a total of 1 1/2 pounds, the calorie count is reduced to 394 calories per serving, again assuming 10 servings.

So, here's the finished product.  I forgot to take a pic before we served ourselves, so this is the half that remained intact. I didn't want to post a picture of a half-eaten casserole. Recipe below.

Sausage and Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian ground sausage (or links; remove from casings before cooking)
1 pound hot Italian ground sausage (or links; remove from casings before cooking)
1 20 oz. package frozen shredded hash browns
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, sharp or mild
6 large eggs
2 cups 2% milk

Directions:

1. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through.  Break up the sausage as it cooks. Drain well.
2. Prepare hash browns according to package directions, using 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper.
3. Stir together hash browns, sausage, and cheese. Pour into a 13- x 9-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Whisk together eggs, milk, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Pour evenly over potato mixture.
5. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the center is set.