Breakfast for Dinner

Even though this is another casserole, I would like to point out that it's not your typical casserole. Tonight, it was breakfast for dinner in our house. I actually made this dish last night (as it needs to refrigerate overnight) so the cooking and prep time was very minimal this evening.

This recipe is from Cooking Light, and you can't tell that it is lower in calories. No really! It has bacon, cheese, potatoes, and lots of other gooey ingredients. Although, the bacon and cinnamon rolls we ate with the lighter casserole cross canceled out anything healthy. Oops.

This is a great recipe for any time of day really. Breakfast, brunch or dinner. It would be especially special (tongue twister) on Christmas morning or even Easter.

You can omit the green onions if you don't care for them, but they really do give the casserole a finished flavor. I didn't have any on hand this time and I could really tell the difference. The last time I made this, I couldn't find the specific kind of cheese that the recipe called for. Instead, I settled for a cheddar, which is completely fine if you can't find the Four Blend at your supermarket.

I used a stainless steel pan to cook the bacon and onion mix, and this is the mess it left:

Enjoy! And please be smarter than we were and try turkey bacon as your side dish. That way, you aren't negating the whole purpose of a LIGHT casserole! Oh, and don't have any cinnamon rolls either.

Hash Brown Casserole with Bacon, Onions and Cheese
from: Cooking Light Magazine, November 2005

6 bacon slices

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 package (32 oz) frozen Southern-Style has brown potatoes

1 cup (4 oz) preshredded Classic Melts Four Cheese blend, divided (by Kraft)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (10.75 oz) 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup

1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and crumble. Discard drippings in pan. Add 1 cup onion and garlic to pan; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the potatoes; cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Combine bacon, 1/4 cheese, green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and soup in a large bowl. Add potato mix; toss gently to combine. Spoon mix into an 11x7 casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from fridge and let stand 15 minutes. Bake, covered for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake an additional 30 minutes.