Day 115, Hash Brown Egg Bake

This is another recipe I found in the coupons. I was actually able to get it to cook all the way through this time. I did change a couple of ingredients from the original though.

Hash Brown Egg Bake

8 slices bacon, chopped

2 cups frozen hash browns, thawed

1 red pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

10 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook bacon in a large skillet on medium heat until crisp. Remove from skillet, reserving 2 tbsp drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels. Meanwhile, cook and stir hash browns and vegetables in drippings for 10 minutes.

Spread vegetable mixture onto bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Whisk eggs and sour cream in a bowl until blended; mix cheese and bacon into egg mixture. Pour egg mixture over vegetables. Bake for 40 minutes or until center is set and casserole is heated through.

Serves 12

The original recipe called for 12 eggs and Velveeta cheese. I used two fewer because I didn't think it really needed all 12 eggs. I wanted to use real cheese rather than the processed cheese. I also used bacon pieces that you can find in the salad dressing isle so I didn't have to cook the bacon so I used 2 tbsp olive oil instead of the drippings. The oil needs to be hot before adding the vegetables or you'll end up with everything sticking to the bottom of the pan. Baking it in a rectangle pan rather than a pie pan helped cook it all the way too. I've tried egg bakes before and the center just never set.

Flavor Rating: Great, I liked the combination.

Ease of Preparation: Easy, it has a couple of steps, but all in all it's easy to prepare.