Leftover Breakfast Casserole

What do you do the day after a party when you are left with crunchy french bread? Well, I made a breakfast casserole that Jim really loved. I bought two loaves of french bread for a get together and only half of what I purchased was consumed. The rest sat out overnight and was dried out and nearly useless until I decided to make the best of it and created this wonderful leftover breakfast casserole. Here is how I did it.

I used this hot pork sausage and browned it in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooked.

Seasoned with onion powder.

And a teaspoon full of minced garlic.

Next, I used an 8x8 glass baking dish and made a bottom layer of leftover bread.

Then topped with a layer of my hot pork sausage.

To add more flavor, I sprinkled some italian seasoning on top of the pork.

I defrosted a small box of frozen spinach and then then squeezed out most of the moisture. Then I sprinkled some on top of the pork for a LITTLE healthy punch.

If I had thought of it, this picture above would show a thin layer of cheese...but I didn't think of it, so there isn't any cheese here.

Instead I repeated with more crunchy pieces of leftover bread.

Then topped with the other half of the hot pork sausage.

In a mixing bowl I cracked four eggs.

Whisked them together really good.

And added a cup of milk. This is actually half and half - It was on it's last leg and I wanted to use it up.

That explains why it looks so thick and clings to the measuring cup. Mmmm, but it taste so good.

My secret ingredient! Ground mustard seed. Just add about a teaspoon or less of this stuff.

Whisk all the liquid well together.

Now cover that baby with some shredded cheddar cheese!

Pour all of the egg mixture right on top of the casserole, covering the surface.

The liquid almost fills up the entire casserole, that is good because the bread is going to soak up the egg and milk mixture overnight. When we cook this bad boy in the morning, it's going to be perfectly moist and dense.

It's ready to go, but I'm going to cover it for now and place in the fridge until morning.

Wipe the sleep from your eyes and bake the casserole at 350 for 50 minutes.

Once you have a cup of hot coffee and are awake, carefully remove the foil from the baking dish for the last 10 minutes of it's cooking time. This breakfast turned out great and I was able to salvage some food that was destined to be thrown away by combining it all together and covering it in cheese. Martha would call this a good thing. Jim did too!