
Every year it seems like the holiday season comes and goes at a faster pace than it did the year before. This year we traveled to the Dallas, TX area to celebrate Christmas with family. We had an amazing visit with lots of food, plenty of gifts and we made beautiful new memories. As my siblings and I have gotten older, we have started creating traditions with our own families. My husband and I generally keep things simple; Santa fills our stockings but no other gifts are exchanged between us. Our daughter is still too young to fully understand what is happening with gifts under the tree but her older cousins gave her a full introduction to it this year. For New Year’s Eve, we go to bed at our usual time. However, on New Year’s Day, we have friends come over for board games and sandwiches. This is a new tradition but one that I really enjoy. The day is filled with so much laughter and I really can’t think of a better way to start a new year.

As I think about traditions I can’t help but think of family favorite recipes. The first one that comes to mind is my grandmother’s egg casserole. The cheese sauce alone will have you begging for more! Unfortunately, the recipe is time consuming enough that I rarely make it. Maybe this is why our family typically only ate it for holidays or special occasions. As I was going through my grandmother’s recipe box I came across the “24 Hour Omelet.” Cheese? Check. Bread? Check. Eggs? Check. Easier than the traditional egg casserole? CHECK! So, I put this recipe together with some modifications (nobody needs their breakfast to swim in butter). I also changed the name because it honestly did not remind me of an omelet at all but more of a casserole that borders on being a savory bread pudding. This 24-hour breakfast casserole is not like the old family favorite but it is definitely delicious, easy to make, easy to customize and gets put together the night before.

Tips:
- Have fun with this! You can change this recipe up by using any variety of vegetables or you could even add ham or cooked sausage for the meat lovers in your life.
- You could also make this into a sweet version by skipping the cheddar and monterey jack cheeses and adding berries of your choosing. If you go this route, consider serving with syrup.

24-HOUR BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
Ingredients
- 1 loaf sourdough bread
- 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
- 8 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped (optional)
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh baby spinach (optional)
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon chives, chopped
Instructions
- Tear bread into chunks and place evenly into a greased 9×13” casserole dish (this will be approximately 9 cups of bread chunks). Sprinkle half of the shredded cheeses over the bread. Spread vegetables evenly over bread then cover with remaining shredded cheeses and cream cheese. Beat eggs with milk, ground mustard, salt, chives and cayenne pepper. Pour egg mixture over cheeses. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake dish, covered with foil, for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
