An Easy Holiday Morning Breakfast

I love Christmas morning. I love watching the kiddos enjoying their gifts and each other, knowing that I’ve done all the cooking for the Christmas feast later in the day.
What do you mean I have to make breakfast???

I’ll be honest with you. I’m not much of a breakfast person. The fact that my stomach takes quite a while to wake up coupled with a general dislike of sweet things means that if I have breakfast, it’s usually leftovers or a protein bar. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t agree that we should just wait to eat the Christmas feast. They want a holiday breakfast.

Rather than telling them that they’re outta luck, I resort to breakfast casseroles that you can make the day before. That way, I can pull it out of the fridge and toss it in the oven before my teens pull themselves out of bed. This breakfast casserole, based on my kiddos’ favorite breakfast tacos, is perfect!

Make Ahead Breakfast Taco Casserole

Ingredients

18 corn tortillas
1 pound breakfast sausage (I like using the spicy kind)
7 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Rotel
½ small red onion, diced
8 ounces grated cheese (I like the Mexican cheese blend you can get at the grocery store for this)
4 ounces panela cheese, crumbled
12 large eggs
1 cup whole milk or half and half
1 cup sour cream (you can use light sour cream for this recipe, but for the love of all that is holy, do not use fat free!)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a dry skillet over medium heat, cook the tortillas for about 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Trust me, this makes the flavor so much better!

After the tortillas are finished, brown the sausage in the skillet. Once it’s browned, drain off the fat and put the sausage into a mixing bowl. Combine the sausage with the bacon, Rotel, black beans, onion, and about ¾ of the grated cheese and half the crumbled panela. Mix well.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and sour cream. Add the chili powder, Mexican oregano, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.

To assemble, spray a large baking dish with nonstick spray. Put down a layer of 6 tortillas and top with half the sausage mixture. Add another layer of tortillas and top with the rest of the sausage mixture. Finish with the last 6 tortillas and then gently pour the egg mixture over the whole thing. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To cook, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and allow to sit while you preheat the oven to 350°. Remove the cover and bake for 30 minutes. Top with the remaining cheese and bake for another 10 minutes or until the egg is set. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting into the casserole. Serve with salsa, guacamole, avocado slices, cilantro, and sour cream or crema. Serves 6 to 8 people.