Crock pot breakfast casserole

So this recipe is another from pinterest. It actually came from the Jimmy Dean website http://jimmydean.com/recipes/slow-cooker-sausage-breakfast-casserole.aspx

I have been wanting to make this for a long time.. I keep forgetting about it until I go to pinterest and see the pin I have of it.. a long with the gazillion other pins I dont use. You know the ones the split personality of  betty home maker comes out and you say ooooooh I am gonna make this.. yeah this one was among those lol.

I followed the recipe exactly except I added mushrooms, and instead of sun dried tomatoes, I added fresh tomatoes which the recipe says you can. I had a bad day yesterday and since I am just getting used to this blogging thing.. I almost forgot to start taking pictures.. My 11 year old daughter remembered lol. I also forgot to put in the weight watchers recipe tracker, So no points plus on this one but I might modify it IF I make it again.

The recipe calls for
1 pkg. (26-32 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 pkg. Jimmy Dean® Hearty Original Sausage Crumbles
2 cup (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
6 green onions, sliced
12 eggs
1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

I layered the ingredients first layer was the frozen ore ida hash brown potatoes. Now if I do this again I think I would brown them in a pan first to make them crispy..

Next layer was the sausage mixture which included the sausage tomatoes onion peppers and mushrooms and I put on a little of the parmesan cheese. Then I added some of the fiesta cheese I didn't use mozzerella mainly because I didn't have it lol. I didn't use the sausage crumbles, I actually used the sausage in the roll and browned it myself.

Then I did another layer of potatoes, sausage mixture and cheese and topped with half of the left over cheese. I then poured the 12 eggs that were whisked over it. Then I put the remaining amount of cheese on it.

I assembled this after dinner last night and put it in the fridge. Before bed I put it in the crock pot on low which was around 11:30 pm. the recipe says on low for 8 hours. My lovely kids are usually up at 7 so I was thinking PERFECT!

Side note, I got up around 4 am to use the bathroom and the house smelled amazing.. It smelled like someone was cooking a full breakfast in the kitchen.. It sure made me hungry.. But back to bed I went..

This is what I woke up to at 7:30 am. Now, I know most crock pots are different and maybe just maybe mine cooks hotter then the rest. So as you can see the top layer of cheese is a little over done.


This is one of those meals where you go REALLY?!?! and you're very disappointed! The potatoes were all soggy and still white. I would have hoped for a little browning or something. IF I was going to do this again, I would definitely brown the potatoes first. It was also just the top layer of cheese that got a little over done, the rest was fine, the eggs cooked fine the veggies all went well. The only thing is this was very bland. I even used the Jimmy Dean HOT breakfast sausage. I definitely think I would have added more spices to this recipe and not cooked as long. Maybe more sausage or also added bacon.

The kids were all not impressed. My 7 year old daughter didn't even touch it. The rest were like mom this is weird. They ate it but when I asked if they wanted me to make it again, They were like..we wished we just had cereal this morning. When I asked why, The same reasons I thought. The potatoes were soggy and not crispy and it didn't really have any flavor to it. But every one of them said the house smelled sooo good this morning!

Would this be a do over? Eh?!?! Still thinking about it. If I do, I will really modify it or possibly find a different recipe. Like I said earlier. No weight watchers points plus calculated. I'm sorry I just didn't think about it. This to me is a pinterest FAIL, with hope of modification. It wasn't awful but it needs a lot of help!

Peace out!