BLD (Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner) Sausage Casserole

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for 1 minute. Add milk and whisk to combine. Add 3/4 ts. freshly ground black pepper. Add croutons and gently push down into egg mixture until all are coated. Set aside, but fold over once or twice.

Put sausage and ground fennel in a large skillet over medium heat. With a potato masher gently break up meat as it is browning. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and add onions, garlic, thyme and 1 1/2 ts. kosher salt. Because lamb does not have much fat you may need to add a couple teaspoons of olive oil when you add the onions. Cook an additional 4-5 minutes.

Transfer to plate. Do not rinse out pan. Taste for salt content and adjust if necessary.

Add the zucchini and squash to the pan and saute for only 3 minutes. Do not add any extra oil as you don't want them to get mushy because they are going be baking later for almost an hour.

Add the meat mixture, zucchini, squash and cheese to the egg/crouton mixture and fold to distribute all ingredients evenly. Spray a 9 x 13 inch glass pan with vegetable spray and pour in mixture.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but even better overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 55 minutes turning pan once. Cut into squares and serve.

cook's notes

The BLD stands for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. I have been working on revamping the "breakfast" casserole for a while. I wanted to make it more interesting and I think this one is a home run.

Using the more gourmet cheeses rather than cheddar and the seasoned croutons rather than plain bread really elevates this from just a breakfast dish. I encourage you to leave it in the fridge overnight as the flavors marry so beautifully and you will have a much more flavorful dish.