Do You Dutch Oven? - Breakfast Casserole

Over the past week and a half...we have gotten a lot of snow here in Oklahoma...like many of you have as well.  All told....we've had about 26" in 7 days time which for my neck of the woods...is an incredible amount.

With that much snow...apparently my local internet provider is having a good deal of trouble with reliable connections.  They haven't told me this but it is certainly the case.  Just as I'm in a the middle of a blog post...it goes down, not to be seen again for a number of hours.  With that in mind, I wanted to revisit one of my favorite Dutch oven dishes this week. 

I call this recipe "Breakfast Casserole" because that's just what it is.  It is super easy to make and sooo good!!  The ingredients are as follows:

• 2 large potatos grated
• Shredded cheese (About 8 oz.)
• 8 oz of Sausage (or your favorite breakfast meat)
• 8 - 10 eggs
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 Small bag of charcoal briquettes
• 1 Dutch oven 10" or your favorite casserole dish

If using your kitchen oven, preheat to 375 - 400 degrees.  If using charcoal, light the briquettes and let them just ash over.  You will need approximately 20 - 25 for the correct temperature.  If you let them burn too long, they will not last long enough to cook your dish.  When I cook with them, I usually have a pan of briquettes burning on the side so I can add to them if I run low or need to add heat to my dish.

In a medium pan, brown your sausage, or other breakfast meat, drain, and set aside. 

If you haven't done so already, grate your potatos and set aside. 

Use a very light coat of oil on the interior of the Dutch oven so you won't have any sticking.

Place a generous layer of shredded potatos on the bottom of Dutch oven.

Follow with a generous layer of sausage and another layer of potatos.

Top off with a generous layer of shredded cheese.  To make this correctly, you will want the cheese to form a barrier when melted.

If cooking in your kitchen oven, your temperature will approximately 375 - 400 degrees.  If making outdoors as I prefer, you will need 12 - 13 briquettes on the bottom of your oven and 8 - 9 on the top.  You will want to cook in a sheltered area away from the wind or cook on a day with no wind so you can minimize heat loss.

Let cook approximately 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and just starting to get crispy with a touch of brown on the edge

When the cheese is melted and ready, crack your eggs in a large bowl and whip until blended.

Pour eggs on top of melted cheese and cover, adding heat for approximately 20 minutes until eggs are firm.  When I say adding heat, you will need to have a total of 13 -14 briquettes on top of your Dutch Oven to cook the eggs.

When done correctly with plenty of cheese (I didn't take my own advice here because I was low on cheese and didn't want to go to the store) the eggs will cook on top of the casserole and be a top layer.

Take inside and serve immediately.  It serves 4 - 6 hungry people.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

I love my Dutch ovens and actually get excited about cooking with them.  I don't know what it is about cooking in them but your food will taste immeasurably different than the exact same dish cooked indoors.  This is one of our absolute favorites and we make it probably once a month. My kids love it and it's great left over.  Enjoy!!

This post is part of the following blog carnivals........Go check out these great sites!!