Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole
Source : Kevin D. Weeks., Your About.com Guide to Cooking For Two

This breakfast casserole features the major breakfast food groups - eggs, sausage, and potatoes.  With some coffee and juice to wash it down, you're ready to take on King Kong.  Nevertheless my standard breakfast is a few cups of coffee, some yogurt or a banana, and a couple of cigarettes (although if I have to go somewhere in the morning I like getting a sausage biscuit at Burger King) so I make this for supper more often than breakfast. But whenever you make it, it's a great, easy, and inexpensive meal.
Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes; thawed and patted dry
Cooking spray, bacon grease, or butter
1/2 lb. country sausage
1/2 sm. onion; peeled and chopped
1/2 sm. bell pepper; seeded and chopped
1 cup shredded cheese (your preference)
3 lg. eggs
3/4 cup whole milk or half and half
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt

Preparation: Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray, grease, or butter* a 5 or 6-inch diameter casserole dish.**
Shape sausage into a patty slightly larger than the pan (it will shrink).
Brown patty in a skillet over medium-low heat, but slightly undercook - about 5 minutes on one side and 2 on the other.
Drain on a paper towel.
Add chopped onion and pepper to skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, scraping up browned bits as they loosen.
Season hash browns in a small bowl with salt and pepper then firmly press into bottom of the pan.
Position the sausage patty on top of the hash browns and then spread onion and pepper on top of the sausage.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Whisk together all remaining ingredients and pour into dish.
Bake in the center of the oven for 35 minutes until lightly browned on top.
Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

*Note 1: Butter or bacon fat is best.
**Note 2: Again, I make a patty because it makes a better presentation to have a clear sausage layer (and because I like the texture) but you can also crumble the sausage.

You can make this the day before through step 6 - just cover with plastic and refrigerate.Then, the next morning, whip the eggs, pour into the pan and cook.