Fall food

Isn't fall food the best?! You know, those favorite meals that make the entire house smell fantastic. I love that kind of food! We're having one of my favorites today. Thanks to my planner, I've gotten back into menu planning after a long summer break. (Because really, in our house menu planning in the summer isn't worth it. We just rotate hamburgers, chicken, leftovers, steak. Sad, I know.) It's been nice to have some predictability to my afternoons and my grocery shopping.

So, I'm making a breakfast casserole today. Since we are not a cottage-cheese-eating family and somewhere in our wedding vows I promised to put meat in every meal, I had to go searching for a good, hearty casserole. Here is what I found:

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

1 lb. breakfast sausage, sauteed and crumble.
1 t. mustard powder
1/2 t. salt
4 eggs
2 c. milk
6 slices of bread, toasted and cubed
8 oz. sharp cheddar, grated

- Let sausage cool completely after cooking.
- Mix mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk in medium bowl.
- Add bread cubes, sausage and cheese. Stir well and be sure all the bread is coated.
- Pour into a 9x13 baking dish, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
- Preheat over to 350*.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes, covered tightly with foil.
- Reduce oven to 325*, uncover and cook for 20-25 minutes until set.

But I can never leave recipes alone. That's just not fun for me. Here's what I'm going to do to it:

- Saute diced onion and garlic with sausage. Add in some frozen, diced green peppers.
- Use 6 eggs to ensure some leftovers.
- Use extra cheese, to sprinkle some on top. Everything deserves extra cheese.
- Mix it all in a greased 9x13 baking dish because it will save me some dishes.
- Bake it right after I mix it because I got sidetracked late this morning and didn't get the casserole made yet. It still tastes good. I've done this before. Apparently I get sidetracked a lot.