Brunch Egg Casserole

It's almost Memorial Day! A lot of you will be grilling out and enjoying time with family as we remember those who gave up thier lives to protect ours! This would be perfect for a breakfast/brunch option to go with your afternoon of grilling.

This past Mother's Day, my husband's family decided to have brunch. As I was thinking of what I could bring, I came across this recipe for an egg casserole. I needed to prepare something large enough to feed 7 adults, and I thought this was a great option.

I remember when I was little my mom would make an amazing egg casserole with refrigerated biscuits & tons of cheese. Whenever we had guests over, she would make that and I would swoon... and maybe eat half the pan.

This recipe is very forgiving, so you can choose what you would like to put in the casserole. From added veggies, kale, different cheeses... you can get creative! 

*This is an overnight casserole! Get it ready the night before and pop it in the oven when you're ready to bake it the next morning!*

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What You'll Need:

- 7 slices of bread (I used a thicker homestyle bread. The thicker the better)

- 1 pound bacon

- 1 package lil smokies, or diced ham

- 10 eggs, beaten

- 3 1/2 cups milk

- 2 cups cheddar, shredded

- 1 cup jack cheese, shredded

You can add in kale, tomato, spinach, or anything you'd like!

 Slice your bread into cubes

Brown your bacon! 

Dice up your lil smokies! (or ham)

Spread the bread cubes on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan

Sprinkle on the bacon and lil smokies (or ham). If you want an all veggie egg bake, add in your veggies instead of meats.

Sprinkle the cheese on top of the meat

Beat the 10 eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper

Pour eggs over casserole. At this point, you are done for the night! Cover and put in the fridge.

Once you are ready to bake, uncover the casserole and bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes. 

Slice and enjoy! There isn't anything more perfect than baked cheese and eggs. Yum!!

Cauliflower Salad

We would always have a creamy salad with our suppers growing up. Some of them were warm, some cold. Some had jello :) Most salads had veggies drenched in delicious dressing. This, this is one of those. 

Underneath all that delicious dressing and bacon (YES) there are veggies. I promise.

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What You'll Need:

- 1 head cauliflower

- 1 (10oz) package frozen peas, thawed

- 1 cup chopped celery

- 2 Tablespoons green onion tops

- 1 cup Miracle Whip

- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Ranch dry dressing mix

- 1/4 cup milk

- 3 to 4 slices of bacon, chopped and cooked

Chop the head of cauliflower.

You don't have to do this, but I blanched the cauliflower to cook it slightly. Like, 2 minutes slightly. I have a weird thing about eating raw veggies. Boiling them for 2 minutes has to kill some things, right? RIGHT.

Seriously. Only 2 minutes (if you decide to blanch) After 2 minutes immediately put them in an ice bath. Swirl those babies around so they stop cooking. After a few minutes in the ice bath, you want to really drain them well. I put them in a strainer and place the strainer on top of a bowl so the water doesn't get all over the counter (does that bother anyone else?)

In a separate bowl, mix Miracle Whip, Ranch dry dressing mix, and milk together. If you really like it creamy, add the full cup of Miracle Whip. If you want it lightly creamy, I would only add in 1/2 cup, and about 1/8 cup milk. I love me some creamy salad so I did the full cup. Worth it.

Once you have the dressing mixed, add in the bacon, peas, celery, and onion tops. The salty bacon and crisp cauliflower with pops of sweet peas makes it so delicious. Scoop up a big spoonful. This would be a perfect salad for a picnic or cookout!