6 Bacon, Bacon, Bacon!

My post was created as part of the Denny's and/or Foodbuzz BACONALIA challenge and is an entry for a chance to win...

Our family loves bacon.  Our preferred choice of bacon is a thick, maple sugar bacon and this breakfast treat is our favorite way to use it.

One bite of this moist, tender, melt-in-your mouth dish with the tasty crunch of bacon and you will be in love....

A family member compared this with a frittata, although I believe this is waaaaay easier to make. 

Take a look...

Cube up some bread.  I like to take the crusts off.  It's the kid in me...   I also like to use the .50 cheapo bread from the store...  you know...   the kind we feed the ducks with?  Yup.  That bread.

Beat up 10 eggs.  [Here's an egg-cellent tip for cracking eggs!]

An immersion blender does a fine job.  So does a whisk or a simple fork...

Add some milk.  Yep, this is the blue, chalk-colored stuff.

I think it's called, "Skim..."  

If I get anything else, the family thinks it's cream...

Add some dry mustard.  Regular liquid mustard works, too...the yellow bottle or whatever type of mustard you love...

Salt.  This stuff is Real Salt.  No, there's no sand in it....it is pure, unbleached salt.  I love this stuff...

Onion powder.  Because it's easy to throw in, and again, the kid in me doesn't want any crunchy onion thingies in my food...

A dash of pepper helps.  A pepper grinder is fun to use...

Mix this all up and pour it over the bread cubes...

Now this is very important.   You must smoosh the floating bread crumbs down into the egg mixture and get them soaked.  The only thing you want to crunch in this dish is the bacon....   not the bread cubes!

See?  So much better!  Happy soaked up bread cubes...    :D

Next up is the cheese.  Cheese is important.  It provides flavor, gooey-ness and holds the bacon on top...

Now cover this with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge over night.  Yes, it needs to go nighty-night and have sweet dreams of soaking up the eggy goodness....

Oh, where's the bacon, you ask?

Here it is!

I like to cut up my bacon with kitchen scissors.  Much easier than handling cooked bacon and crumbling it up....

You don't want to cook it extra crisp.  Why?  Because this is going to bake on top of the casserole for an hour.  You just want to cook most of the grease out...

There.  I think it's ready!

Lay it on a paper towel and sop off as much grease as you can.

Resist the urge to take a nibble.

Go ahead.  I won't look.

Put the cooled bacon in a plastic baggie and set it on top of the covered casserole in the fridge.

Write the instructions on a sticky note for my early-bird riser of a husband....

Everybody then gets to wake up to the smell of this...

and have a bite of this...

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

Yield: 6 servings

Author: Frieda Franchina, adapted from JD Casserole

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time:  1 HR 15 min

Warm, quiche-like casserole that is easy to throw together the night before. Put in oven the next morning and enjoy a hearty breakfast in an hour. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. of bacon or sausage, cooked and crumbled
• 4 1/2 cups day old bread, cubed (about 12 slices)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups milk (I use 3 cups skim)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder (wet yellow mustard is ok, too)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Cook bacon or sausage. Drain & crumble. Put in plastic baggie and set in fridge.
2. Butter a 9x13 pan.
3. Add bread cubes to buttered pan.
4. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of bread cubes.
5. Combine eggs, milk, mustard, salt, onion & pepper. Mix well.
6. Pour egg mixture on top of cheese. With back of a spoon, push down any exposed bread cubes into the milk mixture.
7. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in the fridge over night. 
8. Preheat oven to 325°F. Put bacon or sausage on top of casserole.
9. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. 
10. During the last 10 minutes, loosely tent with foil to prevent meat from over browning.