Apple Breakfast Casserole

More often than not, my turn for Breakfast Club ends up on the same day as making home-made ice cream at work.  It makes for quite the juggling act in the morning, balancing breakfast and lugging a four quart ice cream maker up a flight of stairs.

This time if year I often make apple crisp for Breakfast Club (and when I'm really decadent, I bring ice cram to top it off, too).  Breakfast of champions!  Since we were doing sundaes in the afternoon, I wanted to bring a savory breakfast.  I always enjoy the egg and casserole dishes that others bring in for Friday morning, but so far I had not attempted one myself.  I had already bought the apples, so I googled for an apple breakfast recipes and cobbled together one based on a few different things I read.  It read similar to an Apple Sausage Pie I sometimes make for dinner, so I figured it would work.

The results were delicious.  It needed a bit more egg mixture and certainly could have handled more meat.  I used a combination of challah and baguette for the bread (it was what I had on hand), which worked really well.  I brought some maple syrup to go over it, but it was tasty either way.  I'll definitely be making this again.

My modified recipe:

Apple Breakfast Casserole

4 apples, cut roughly into 1/2" chunks
6 slices of bread, cubed
4 to 8 oz of sausage, cooked and crumbled (could also be ham or bacon)
3/4 cup cheddar, divided
5 eggs
generous 3/4 cup half & half


Toss apples, bread and 1/2 cup of cheese and place in a 9x13" pan.  Sprinkle with crumbled sausage.

Beat together eggs and half&half.  Pour over apple mixture, cover, and chill overnight.

In the morning, bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes at 375F.  Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes more, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and top with remaining cheddar.

Serve as is, or with maple syrup.