Breakfast Casserole

January 2027. The new year arrived and I was thirty-nine, would be forty in July, and I held that fact lightly the way you hold a fact that's true but doesn't need a lot of ceremony attached to it. Forty years on this earth, in this land, in this family. The accounting is better than I might have expected at several earlier points in my life.

Hannah was pregnant. She told me quietly on New Year's Eve before the rest of the family knew. I hugged her and she let me, which she doesn't always, which told me how much it meant to her. Thomas stood nearby with the expression of a man who is trying to contain something large. I shook his hand and said: good. He said: yeah. That covered it.

I made Hoppin' John on New Year's Day as I always do now. This year it felt more weighted with its symbolism than usual—the black-eyed peas for luck, the rice for prosperity, the greens for what follows. A new person arriving in the family by summer. The land established. The practice growing. The food journal ongoing. Things look different when you have more to add the luck to.

The food forest's persimmons stood bare and dormant in the January cold but I knew what was in them. Summer was coming, same as it always did. The pawpaw trees had set fruit twice now. The hazelnuts were established enough that I wouldn't need to plant any more. The things I planted from hope were becoming the things I harvest from practice. That's the movement of time when you're paying attention to it.

The Hoppin’ John was already on the stove when I started thinking about what else the table needed — because this year the table had more weight to it, more people arriving, more reason to linger. Hannah’s news was still quiet and new, something Thomas and I were holding carefully before the rest of the family knew, and I wanted the morning to feel like a celebration without announcing itself as one. A breakfast casserole is exactly that kind of food: generous without being showy, warm in the way that matters, built to feed a room of people who are, whether they know it yet or not, in the middle of something good.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 lb breakfast sausage, casings removed
6 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 slices white or sourdough bread, cubed (about 4 cups)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow onion

Instructions

Brown the sausage. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the breakfast sausage, breaking it into crumbles, until browned and cooked through, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat and set aside.
Make the egg mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, dry mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper until fully combined.
Build the casserole. Spread the cubed bread evenly in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer the cooked sausage, diced bell pepper, and onion over the bread. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheddar over the top.
Add the custard. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the entire dish, pressing down gently so the bread absorbs the liquid. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top.
Rest or refrigerate. For best results, cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 30 minutes before baking. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before baking.
Bake. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake uncovered for 40–45 minutes, until the center is set and the top is golden brown. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Breakfast Casserole — A New Year’s Table with More to Add the Luck To