Grandma's Breakfast Casserole
Nourishment which fueled many a happy childhood memory, now a cherished recipe to nourish my own
My grandmother made this casserole as a nourishing rocket fuel for my cousins and I when we would visit her each year in Rhode Island. It fueled many a trip to the ocean as well as the innumerable shenanigans my cousins and I engaged in when together. It features lots of nourishing animal foods to keep a body going strong all morning. My grandma left this world in my first year of marriage; feeding my own household with her recipes keeps her maternal presence close. (Look at me now, choking up over a recipe. Let’s get on with it, then.)
The Ingredients
2 pounds breakfast sausage (I love Force of Nature’s bison breakfast sausage as well as a local farmer’s pasture raised pork sausage)
10-12 pasture raised eggs
3 cups whole raw milk
1.5 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt (Redmond Real is my go-to)
6 slices of toast (I love using up my old sourdough bread)
1.5 cups grated grass fed cheddar
Optional: Chopped greens, whatever’s in season (spinach works well)
Applesauce to serve on the side
How To
Butter a 9x13 pan. Fit the toast on the bottom of the pan, like a crust.
Spread the cooked sausage over the toast. (If you’re adding chopped greens, now’s the time to do that.)
Beat the eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in a bowl.
Pour the egg mixture over the sausage/toast in the pan and top with the grated cheese.
Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, bake the casserole for 1 hour in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.
Test for doneness with a knife in the center; Once it’s firm, it’s ready!
Note: I have emphasized good sourcing on the ingredients list, as sourcing and quality have a great impact on the nutrient density of this meal. If you cannot access ingredients of this caliber, don’t worry- just use what you do have access to. The casserole will still be delicious.