New York Breakfast Casserole!

Chris and I were in charge of breakfast when we trekked 'up north' to a cozy cabin for a weekend of fun with two other couples.  I recently saw this recipe posted on a friend's blog and wanted to try it for myself.  It was so tasty!  We ate the whole pan...

Ingredients (Serves 8-10…OR…4-5 very hungry people):

• 8 cups (or so) of Everything or Sesame bagels, chopped into bite-size chunks (you can do a bit more than 8 cups if you’re using dense bagels…you just want enough to fill a 9×13 pan)
• 8 oz. of cream cheese (you could go with a light cream cheese here if you want to make this a bit healthier)
• 1/4 medium red onion, sliced in a half-moon shape
•  1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 8 large eggs
• 2 1/3 cups of milk (healthier version) or half and half (the not so healthy but delectable version)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chopped garlic (we used a jar of pre-chopped garlic but about 2-3 cloves would work too)
• 4-6 slices of bacon, torn into bite-size chunks (we used breakfast sausage instead)
• Ground pepper to taste

How to Make:

This recipe is really very easy to make and definitely goes fast with a co-chef in the kitchen or even a little helper if you have any of those at home who’d like to help!

After cutting all of the ingredients, the next step is layering these in the casserole dish.  You’re going to be creating three layers, so will need to divide your ingredients into approximate thirds. Lay about 1/3 of your bagel chunks in a large 9×13 pan. Scatter 1/3 of the halved tomatoes and sliced red onions on top. Sprinkle about 1/3 of your chopped garlic all over. Then, tear 1/3 of the cream cheese off and break it into small dollops. Place said dollops throughout the pan, doting the bagels evenly. Finally, throw 1-2 slices of bacon (which is torn into bite size pieces) on top, scattered evenly throughout the pan. When you’ve finished this part, you’re going to start back at the beginning with the bagel pieces and complete the layering two more times. Not too tough, right?

Once your 3 layers are complete, whisk together in a medium-sized bowl the 8 eggs.  Pour in the rest of the liquids, and pop in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour to hour and 15 minutes. Ours was always done at the hour mark but your oven may take a bit longer. No need to cover this while baking.

Yum!