While you’re on vacation, no one wants to spend hours in the kitchen cooking, yet you still need to eat and, most likely, you still have a family or friends to feed.
Crockpot meals are one of the easiest way to throw something together, but most of us might think it’s only convenient for dinners. I never gave much thought to throwing something in the crockpot before bed and waking up to breakfast all ready to eat….until my last vacation! Think about it for a minute….. You just wake up, grab a cup of coffee or juice and a scoop of breakfast casserole and relax while eating on your balcony, all with no fuss! Now, if only you could sleep through the mouthwatering smell of these amazing crockpot breakfast casseroles.
I recommend, for easy clean-up, that you use crockpot liners. I was at a Thanksgiving dinner that my daughter-in-law and her Mom had prepared and it was the first time I’d seen them. When it was time to clean-up it was so amazing and saved them so much time! They come in small sizes for the round crockpots and also in larger sizes for the oval crockpots. You merely line your crockpot with one and add your ingredients like normal. When you’re done, you pull out the liner and quickly clean up the crockpot! No more stuck on food on the sides and bottom of the crockpot!
Yummy Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 dozen eggs
- 1 cup 2% milk or fat-free half-n-half
- 2 lbs of frozen hash brown Potatoes O’Brien (with onions & peppers)
- 1 lb of sausage or bacon, cooked and drained (to lighten this up, you can use turkey sausage/bacon or ham)
- 8-oz sliced mushrooms
- 1 small onion, diced (use the frozen diced onions to save time)
- 12-oz (or 3 cups) of shredded cheddar cheese (for a more bold flavor, use sharp or extra sharp cheddar)
- 1/4 tsp of garlic power
- Salt & Pepper, to taste (be sure to salt and pepper on top of each layer of potatoes)
- Chopped Green Onions (3-4)
Instructions
- Beat the eggs and milk until well blended.
- Add the garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Set aside.
- Start with layering a third of the potatoes on the bottom (salt and pepper to taste)
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the onions.
- Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mushrooms
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the sausage (or other meat of choice).
- Top with 1 cup of cheese.
- Start each layer with 1/3 of the potatoes and repeat layering 2 more times. You will have a total of 3 layers….always ending with cheese.
- Pour the egg mixture over the layers.
- Cook for 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
- When ready to serve, top with chopped green onions (optional)
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with sour cream and salsa to add a little pizazz.
- Serve with fresh fruit.
- Serve with toast, english muffins, banana bread or bagels.
- For a vegetarian version, use Morning Star bacon or sausage options in place of your meat choice.
French Toast Casserole
For French Toast lovers, this cannot get any better! In fact, if you have two crockpots, why not make two casseroles! One savory and one sweet!
Ingredients
- 24 ounces white bread (about 1-1/2 loaves)
- 1 cup pecans, whole or chopped
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups 2% milk or fat-free half-n-half
- 1/3 cup of your favorite maple syrup
- 3 tsp of vanilla extract
- 3/4-1 tsp of salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
For topping
- 4 Tbsp of butter
- 1-1/4 tsp of cinnamon
- 3/4 cups of brown sugar
- Chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Line your crockpot with a crockpot liner or grease with butter.
- Tear or cube bread into 1″ pieces and layer with pecans in a bowl.
- Mix together the eggs, milk or half-n-half, syrup, vanilla and nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread and pecans and gently mix until all pieces are coated and the bread is soaked through.
- Pour into the prepared crockpot.
- Mix the topping ingredients together. This will be a bit moist and sticky, but that’s okay.
- Top the bread mixture with the topping mixture.
- Cook on low 3-4 hours or on high for 2-1/2 hours.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with powdered sugar, additional maple syrup or BOTH!
- Serve with your favorite breakfast meats.
- You can make this gluten-free by using gluten-free bread.
Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole
If you’re a vegetarian and love breakfast, this casserole can’t be beat. It’s great for busy mornings or when you just don’t want to make a big fuss in the kitchen, but want to have a big breakfast!
Ingredients
- 32-oz bag of frozen hash brown Potatoes O’Brien (with onions & green peppers)
- Morning Star breakfast meats (they have bacon and sausage, but this is optional), chopped
- 16-oz of sliced mushrooms (I prefer portobello because they are meatier, but you can use whatever type you prefer
- 8 green onions, sliced
- 1# of sharp cheddar cheese (you can use any type of cheese you prefer, but I find this has the best flavor in this dish
- 2 romas tomatoes, diced
- 1 dozen large eggs
- 1/2 cup of low fat half-n-half (you can use milk if you prefer)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep your crockpot by greasing it or lining it with a crockpot liner.
- Slice your mushrooms (if you didn’t purchase them already sliced), the tomatoes, and the green onions.
- Once all the prep is done, you can begin layering your ingredients starting with half the bag of potatoes, followed by 1/2 of the mushrooms, 1/2 of the roma tomatoes, and 1/3 of the green onions (you will reserve 1/3 of the green onions for the top once cooked.
- If adding vegetarian meat, layer on top of the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with half of the cheese.
- Repeat the layers in the same order as above.
- In a bowl, mix the eggs, half-n-half or milk and desired amount of salt and pepper until well mixed and pour over the potatoes in the crockpot.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, making sure the eggs are set.
- Once done and ready to serve, sprinkle with the reserved green onions.
Serving Suggestions
- If you have meat eaters in your group, serve bacon or sausage links on the side,
- Have different types of bread available for toast or serve with English muffins or bagels
- For a fresh touch, serve with fresh fruits.
- Serve with sour cream and salsa.
- You can add any vegetables you like to this casserole.
Don’t forget that when staying with Premium Beach Condos, all of our units have a crockpot in them so you can try all of these delicious casseroles. These are sure to make your mornings more enjoyable with less stress of what to serve your crew for breakfast! And, there’s something for everyone!
