With the Chiefs heading into the playoffs, Joey and I have been planning for our annual get together with our fantasy football league to watch their first game.
In discussing menus for that game, it reminded me that I haven’t shared a fantastic recipe I tried earlier this football season with all of you.
We invited several friends over for a “breakfast for lunch” football day, and in addition to some baked goods, I decided to try what ended up being an easy and fantastic breakfast casserole.
This comes from the blog “40 Aprons” by Cheryl Malik. You can find the original post at https://40aprons.com/crockpot-breakfast-casserole/. I added garlic, green chiles and extra seasoning in my version.
Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon diced (or sub in ground sausage)
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces canned diced green chiles drained
- 26 ounces frozen hashbrowns
- 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 12 eggs
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and saute the diced bacon until it’s crispy. Line a plate with paper towels and place the cooked bacon on it.
- Remove all but about one tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan and add the diced onion. Saute until it’s cooked through, and then add the garlic. Saute for a couple more minutes and then remove the pan from the heat.
- Coat the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray and layer in half of the hashbrowns. Add half of the shredded cheese, half of the onions, half the chiles and half the bacon. Repeat. (I saved a bit of the cheese and did a final layer on the top of mine.)
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, half and half, garlic powder, salt and pepper until it is well combined.
- Pour the mixture evenly into the crockpot.
- Cook the casserole on low for eight hours or high for four hours. When the eggs are cooked through, serve immediately or turn the crockpot to warm until you’re ready to eat.
- (Side note: If you don’t have time for the crockpot, follow the same steps with a deep nine-by-13-inch casserole dish. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about one hour or until it’s cooked through.)
This was fabulous, and it reheated great, too. It was a hit with our football friends, and it was a great addition to the spread of breakfast items we had available. We ate too much, hollered at the TV together and had a great time.
I still don’t know what our playoffs lunch spread will look like, but no matter what, I’m so excited to see our friends again, hang out in the basement and cheer on the Chiefs.
This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 12, 2023.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.