Deep South Breakfast Casserole

This casserole is a staple in our house. It is wonderful to make on the weekend and have as an easy breakfast during the week. It also works well when guests are staying in the house. Here is the recipe and instructions will follow.

3-4 new potatoes (or 1-2 medium potatoes)

8 oz. ground sausage

2 jalapeno peppers

1/2 onion

1 glove garlic

8 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheese

salt/pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat a 10 1/4 inch cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Cook ground sausage until brown. While the sausage is cooking, shred the potatoes and set aside. We always leave the skin on but you can peel first if you prefer.

Next, chop the jalapeno peppers. Unless you prefer a lot of heat, we recommend removing the seeds from the peppers prior to chopping as shown below.

Once the sausage has finished cooking, transfer it to a large bowl leaving some of the grease in the skillet. Chop the 1/2 onion and add it with the jalapeno to the cast iron skillet.

Cook the onion and peppers together on medium heat until the onion starts to become translucent, just a little as shown below.

Chop the clove of garlic and add it to the skillet. Garlic burns very quickly so you want to wait until this point to add it. Cook the onion, pepper, and garlic together until the garlic starts to brown. Transfer to the bowl with the sausage.

Next, in the same skillet, cook the shredded potatoes. If there is not enough grease in the skillet, add a little olive oil. Let them cook on one side until brown, then flip them over to brown the other side. They should look like the image below.

Crack your eggs in a separate bowl and whisk in the milk until slightly fluffy. Then add the egg mixture to the sausage, pepper, onion and garlic. Mix together and then fold in the potatoes. Stir in about 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese and reserve 1/4 cup for the top.

Now using the same cast iron skillet, pour the mixture in. The skillet may still be hot, this is alright and will produce a crispy texture on the outside of the casserole. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup shredded cheese on top and place in the oven for 25 minutes.

When finished, the casserole should have risen a bit and be slightly firm in the center (not soupy). You can insert a toothpick similar to the way you would check a cake to see if it is done.