I've made this twice now, and it really does help to layer the hashbrowns on the bottom of your pan, bake them first until they start to brown (I turn the oven way up to 450 and dot butter on top), and then add the rest of your ingredients (and bake at 350). After doing this, I found that the total baking time was shorter than the recipe stated. The texture was much better too.
YUMMY!!! I followed the other suggestions and put the hash browns in first instead of mixing it. I added a couple of shakes of salt and pepper on top of the hash browns and I baked them in the oven for about 10 minutes before pouring the egg mixture over the top. I didn't put quite the amount of milk this recipe called for. I only put 1 cup in, if that. 2 cups just sounded too much, and would be very runny. I also added a few shakes of salt and pepper to the egg mixture because of some comments that the dish was a little bland. This was smelled great while cooking and tasted just as wonderful! Delicious!! Thank you Stephanie! This is definatley a keeper!
I modified this for a large crowd at work. I used 12 eggs, 1 1/2 cups skim milk, 1 cup lite sour cream, bacon and diced ham. I combined cheeses, including reduced fat cheddar, for a more healthy, lower-fat meal. I followed another reviewer's advice and put the hash browns in first and I think that worked well. I made it up the night before and cooked it in the morning. Word of advice -- allow a significantly longer cooking time when refrigerated. I needed to increase oven temp. to 375 degrees and needed another full hour in the second part of the cycle, for a total of 1 hour 45 minutes. It was still hot when I arrived at work and was gone in minutes. Certainly the best breakfast casserole I've ever tasted and if the reviews from work were accurate, a sure crowd-pleaser. I supplied the recipe to a number of co-workers as they loved it too!
Just delicious, and a real keeper! So many egg casseroles contain flour, and I needed a great recipe for my gluten-intolerant friend. This was perfect! I baked the hashbrowns in the greased casserole for about 30 minutes at 425. Meanwhile, I cooked the bacon nice and crisp. Over the potatoes, I layered the crumbled bacon, green pepper, onion, and cheese and poured the egg mixture over all. Then I refrigerated it overnight and baked it as directed in the morning. Some folks may be missing that there are two separate cooking times--45 minutes covered and then 30 minutes uncovered. If you realize this ahead of time, it helps with planning.
This is sooo easy and good. To make this even easier, I use the hashbrowns O'brien (which have chopped onions, red/green bell peppers already in it). The combination of ham and bacon is good or one can be subbed for the other. In the future, I'll also play around with the different types of cheese out there. Pepperjack for kick perhaps? Either way, very good and fool-proof!
Great recipe. I made it for a Christmas Brunch, and it was a hit. I pre-cooked my hash browns and bacon (but not too cripy), placed the hash browns on the bottom of the casserole dish, layered bacon on top. I also sauted my bell pepper and onions in butter before adding them to the eggs and cheese. I followed the advice of others and added more eggs and also seasoned them. Will make again.
If you make the recipe as stated, its a disaster. You must read the reviews and follow thier advice. I didn't have time to read them so it was basically a waist of time and money. Both the bacon and hashbrowns should be pre-cooked. I figured that out myself with the bacon and did so but did not pre-cook the hashbrowns and they tasted raw in the casserole. I also thought it would have been very bland if I had not added salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic salt and dry mustard. Also needed to be baked in a 11 x 13 pan. This recipe is only worth trying if you follow other's advice and pre-cook bacon and hash browns.
I really liked the idea of having all of my favorite breakfast items in one dish. It was very quick and easy to assemble. I think it would have been better if the hash browns were browned and seasoned before putting into the casserole. I think putting them in right out of the bag made it bland and kind of starchy tasting. Overall I liked this recipe, but think that I'll brown the potatoes and add more seasoning next time.
I modified the recipe to include a dozen eggs one cup milk and one cup cheese. Nine adults enjoyed it.
