Savory "Omelet Inspired" Breakfast Casserole

Sometimes weekend mornings can be very busy for me. Even on those days on the weekend when we actually don't have a football / baseball / basketball / softball / cheer / track event. We have a big family, and sometimes making one omelet for each of my family members (or something like that) will leave me in the kitchen for way longer than I like, no matter how much I love cooking. I love to spend time with my family and eat together, enjoying one another's company.

So a while back I decided to try a breakfast casserole, inspired by all the things I love in an omelet - and maybe a few extras. Of course it's evolved a little from the initial time I made it. I also made this last year for Thanksgiving morning with my Pumpkin Spice Bread Muffins and a pot of coffee and it was a hit. This would be great to prepare the night before Christmas, and just heat and serve Christmas morning after everyone is done unwrapping presents!

There's a lot of ingredients in here, some you can switch out for others for those picky eaters in your life. I like to eat it as is, my older sons and husband like it with hot sauce or salsa. I believe one time I sliced up some avocado and served it with the slices on top and some sour cream and salsa. Just like an omelet! However you like it, serve it or switch it up, it's definitely a different take on breakfast or brunch than the average scramble and pancakes.



Ingredients:

• 2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and shredded
• lemon pepper, to taste
• season salt, to taste
• canola oil
• 8 oz thick sandwich meat ham, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced greed chile
• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1/4 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 ounces monterey jack cheese, small slices
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• salt and pepper, to taste
• medium cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Start by peeling your potatoes, then shred them. I use a cheese grater to shred. 

Potatoes naturally have a ton of moisture in them, so I like to use a cheesecloth to get it all out.
I intend on frying these up like a hash brown, and they're difficult to fry if they have all the natural moisture in them. Just wrap a cheesecloth around your shredded potatoes, form it into a ball like this, and squeeze as much moisture as you can out of them.

It will look like this when you're done.

Now add about 2 tablespoons of oil to a medium sized pan. Once the oil is heated, add the potatoes. Add a little bit of lemon pepper and seasoned salt to season them, and fry them up, a few minutes on each side, and try not to move them around too much. Just flip every few minutes.

They should look something like this when they're done. You don't want them too crispy, but you want them to maintain their shape. They will be on the bottom of the casserole dish under the rest of your layers for your casserole. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare your casserole dish by lightly greasing or spraying the inside. I suggest something around the size of an 8x8 square dish. If you use a different shape or size, adjust your cooking times accordingly.
Once the dish has been prepared, layer the potatoes in the bottom of the dish as evenly as you can.

Now chop up the ham and onion. Add them to the same pan you cooked the potatoes in and saute a few minutes. No need to add any oil, the pan should be perfectly seasoned from the oil and potatoes.

Once the ham and onions have been sauteed a few minutes, add in the garlic and mix around for a minute or two. Then add the parsley and oregano.
Once complete, add to the casserole dish on top of the potatoes.

Combine the drained mushrooms with the diced chile, and layer that in the dish on top of the ham mixture.

Now chop up the spinach and bell pepper, combine, and layer above the rest of the ingredients in the dish.

Slice up your monterey jack cheese (you can play around with the cheeses, I just always have mainly 3 cheeses in my house because that's my kids favorites.) and layer it above everything else.

In a bowl combine the eggs, whipping cream and salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth.

Then carefully pour the mixture over the ingredients.

Sprinkle the top with the shredded cheese. Cover with foil (spray the inside of the foil with non stick spray so the cheese won't stick!) and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake another 20 minutes. 

The cheese should be golden and the casserole should hold well and not be jiggly. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before slicing. I prefer to make this the night before, I let it cool, then cover and refrigerate. It's a breeze to cut through and heats up well. This is a staple in my home for Thanksgiving and Christmas brunch, but also make it on those occasional weekends. It never lasts long!

So many tasty layers, definitely a savory dish!

There's your potato crust!

Serve warm, and enjoy!