BAGEL BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Oh man!!!!  This has become my new favorite breakfast casserole recipe.  It is loaded with flavor, is light and fluffy and can be made the night before....oh, and it bakes up so pretty.  What more can you ask for?

I just made this for our Christmas brunch (yes, we celebrated on the 22nd) and it was devoured.  When the recipe indicated it serves 8-10, it was right on.  I served 8 adults, and we literally had 2 portions left.

Think of a bagel breakfast sandwich in a casserole, and that's exactly what you get with this yummy dish.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup half and half

8 large eggs

kosher salt and black pepper

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 1/3 cups crumbled cooked breakfast sausage

1 1/3 cups packed baby spinach

2 large plain bagels, split and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 1/3 cups shredded provolone

8 oz. cream cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes

*2 Tbsp. "everything" bagel seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with either butter or cooking spray.

Whisk together the milk, half and half, eggs, dry mustard. 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl.  Fold in the sausage, spinach, bagels and 3/4 cup of the provolone.   Pour into the prepared baking dish.  Dot the top with the cream cheese and sprinkle all over with the bagel seasoning and remaining provolone.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake until the casserole is puffed, golden brown at the edges and set in the center, about 45 minutes more.  Let cool 15 minutes before serving.  

NOTE:  You can assemble the entire dish the night before, refrigerate and bake the following morning.  Let the chilled casserole sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before baking.

ENJOY!

*Everything bagel seasoning can be purchased online, or you can make it yourself.  Turns out I had all but one of the spices I needed, so I opted to purchase that one and make my own. (2 Tbsp. poppy seeds, 1 Tbsp. white sesame seeds, 1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds, 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. dried minced garlic, 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. dried minced onion, 2 tsp. flaked sea salt or coarse salt)

recipe adapted from:  www.foodnetwork.com