Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Thanks, Team Tony!

Last Saturday was the 10th annual Cure is Coming event in Lexington.  This is one of ALS TDI's big fundraisers.  My family decided that Team Tony has been a part of this event for 9 years and we couldn't miss it this year.  We had a whopping 42 team members this year, which is awesome.  Many of them came over for breakfast before the walk and 5K, so I made sure to have lots of good options. Most of them, as you will see over the next few days, were healthier, but this one?  Not so much.  I figured the runners would prefer to lighter options, but hey - the rest of us were walking 4 miles.  No big deal.  So I decided to have something unhealthy but delicious.

I also knew that I wanted to do something in the slow cooker; last year, I made like a scrambled eggs/ cheese/ bacon pizza.  It was delicious, but way too much work in the morning, and it didn't cook in time and made us leave later than I wanted.  Now that I have seen how great it is to throw things into the pot and have it ready the next day, I knew the slow cooker idea was perfect.

For some reason, I knew my friend Laura was a good go-to person for a slow cooker breakfast recipe, and I was right.  She suggested this sausage breakfast casserole.  Obviously with sausage in it, it wasn't my cup of tea, but it also has cheese, eggs, hash browns, scallions, and tomatoes (I had none of those but it was okay).  That right there is a breakfast feast, all in one pot.  I dumped it all in the night before, and when we woke up, voila: breakfast.

This was a very popular dish - even more so than I thought it would be!  I knew it was maybe a stretch to feed people something so rich before a long walk, but people were loving it.  I saw multiple Team Tony members eating seconds - and maybe even thirds (no names shall be mentioned :) ).   I will even confess to taking a few bites (I tried to dig down to the potato layer and avoid the sausage) and I can agree that this was a good old breakfast casserole.  The next time I have to make a breakfast for work, this was ridiculously simple and rather delicious.  Win win.

By the way: there is no way to make this casserole look pretty.  That doesn't matter if all you plan to do is eat it, but it's more of an issue if you are a food blogger!!

Recipe:

slow cooker sausage breakfast casserole 
from Jimmy Dean
yield 12 servings

Ingredients:
1 package (26 - 32 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 package Jimmy Dean Hearty Original Sausage Crumbles (or just chop up regular ones if you can't find them)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup julienne-cut sun- dried tomatoes packed in oil drained (or 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes)
6 green onions, sliced
12 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions:

1) Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  Layer 1/2 of the potatoes on the bottom of slow cooker.

2) Top with half of the sausage, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, tomatoes, and green onion.  Repeat layering.

3) Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper in large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended.

4) Pour evenly over potato-sausage mixture.

5) Cook on low setting for 8 hours or on high setting for 4 hours, or until eggs are set.