Egg Bake (or Casserole,or Hot Dish)

Video below on how to make this EBCHD (egg bake/casserole/hot dish)

I mean, who doesn't love breakfast for nearly any meal, any day of the week, any time of the day? What if you could have breakfast waiting for you when you woke up in the morning? Or when you sat down for dinner in the evening? Or any time in-between? These are a lot of questions, and really, I have posed them only to lead up to telling you that in this episode of Load of Crock we are making an egg bake (or casserole, or hot dish, depending on where you are from, which may decipher what you call it) in the crockpot. And regardless of where you are or what you call it, does not matter when it comes to how easy this dish is!

Ingredients/Recipe:

2 cups of diced ham

8 oz of diced/cut up mushrooms

1-2 cans of mild diced green chiles

12 eggs

1 cup of 2% or whole milk

1.5 pounds of partially frozen hash browns

8 oz of shredded cheddar cheese

Putting it Together: 

In a bowl combine:

• 2 cups of diced ham

• 8 oz of diced/cut up mushrooms

• 1-2 cans of mild diced green chiles

• Mix all together and set aside

 In another bowl combine:

• 12 cracked eggs

• 1 cup of 2% or whole milk

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Whisk all together until the eggs are fully whisked into the milk and set aside

 In the crockpot:

• Spray the sides and bottoms

• Add a layer of hash browns, covering the bottom of the crockpot (about 1 lb.)

• Layer on top of this half of the ham, mushroom, green chile mix

• Layer on top of this half of your shredded cheddar cheese (about 4 oz)

• Repeat this a second time (the rest of the hash browns, the rest of ham, mushroom, chile mix, and the rest of the shredded cheddar cheese)

• Pour the egg and milk mixture over the top

 Place on low for 5 to 5.5 hours, then turn off your crockpot and let the egg bake (casserole, hot dish) just sit for 30 minutes. And then, and this is the best part, eat it!

Serving:

Serve immediately after it has sat for 30 minutes. This can be eaten solo given it’s got meat, eggs, and potatoes. Having said that, I do like it with fresh fruit and sometimes, wait for it, buttered toast.

Load of Crock Tip(s):

• Letting the dish sit for 30 minutes either on warm or off is key, as this allows any extra juice to get nicely soaked into the hash browns and eggs, and makes the bake/casserole/hot dish sit up nicely

• I highly recommend grating up a block of Cracker Barrel sharp cheddar cheese for the 8 oz of shredded cheddar (not required, but really tastes phenomenal)

• The “thicker” the milk used, the thicker the dish will be; if you use skim milk, it will reduce fat and calories, but you do run the risk of the dish being slightly runny, so do recommend sticking with 2% or even whole milk for this one

• This is a perfect dish to put together before you hit the sack on a Saturday night, and just have it warm and waiting on Sunday morning

East, West, North, South, or any areas in between…no matter where you are that perhaps dictates what you call this dish, I promise wherever you are, when you make and eat this, it will all be said the same way: Damn…that's good.