Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole Brunch

Hashbrown casserole with a side of fruit salad and cinnamon rolls. Yes, please! We recently had some friends over for brunch, and I whipped up this easy meal, which centered around this delicious casserole. You make it either the night before or early that morning before brunch, and just pop it in the oven before your guests arrive.

Served alongside a simple fruit salad and some store bought cinnamon rolls, this is an easy brunch menu. And don't forget the mimosas!!

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
makes 12 servings

1 lb. hot/mild Italian sausage (casing removed)
1 yellow onion (diced)
1 poblano (diced)
1 bag frozen hash browns
10 eggs
1 4 oz. can green chilies
3/4 cup milk
1 - 2 cups Cheddar cheese (shredded)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Start with the sausage. In a large saute pan, heat a little olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add sausage, with casing removed. Break up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, so that it is in bite sized pieces. Let cook for 7-8 minutes, until mostly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to a mixing bowl.

Lower heat to medium, and add olive oil only if there isn't enough oil left in the pan from the sausage (there is probably more than enough). Add onion, poblano, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Remove to the same mixing bowl as the sausage.

Add some additional olive oil to the pan, and drop in the hash browns. Add salt and pepper if they aren't already seasoned. Let crisp up for about 7 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Don't let it burn!

Add potatoes to the mixing bowl, and add that small can of green chilies. Sprinkle in some additional salt and pepper. Mix everything to combine, folding it to mix.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk together with a dash of salt and pepper. 

Spray or grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Add potato mixture to the bottom, and smooth out into 1 layer. Add a layer of cheese on top. Now pour the egg mixture over the whole thing, and sprinkle some more cheese on top of that. 

Cover with aluminum foil and let sit in fridge for 4-5 hours. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pop in the oven, still covered in foil, for 30 minutes. Remove foil and let cook for another 10-15 minutes. Remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.