Recipe for "breakfast-cas"

NAME

     BREAKFAST-CAS - A baked egg, sausage, and bread casserole
     I got this recipe from a recipe chain letter when I  was  in
     graduate  school.  ``Send 5 recipes to the person whose name
     is at the top of the list, and then add  your  name  to  the
     bottom  of  the list and send it to 5 friends.''  I ended up
     getting about 30 recipes that way; this is the only one that
     I still make. It's wonderful. The person who mailed it to me
     is named Ruth Ann Swart. I've changed it slightly because  I
     don't  like  to  leave  raw egg mixtures in the refrigerator
     overnight, as the original recipe called for.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6-8)

     8         large eggs
     600 ml    milk
     200 g     bread cubes
     5 ml      dry mustard
     1 kg      bulk sausage (see note)
     200 g     grated cheddar (or more to taste)
     200 g     fresh mushrooms

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Brown the sausage in a frypan;  drain  off  excess
               fat. Set aside.
          (2)  In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, mustard,
               and  bread cubes.  If you like salty dishes, add a
               teaspoon of salt.  Wait  a  few  minutes  for  the
               bread  cubes  to absorb the milk and eggs. Stir in
               80% of the grated cheese.
          (3)  Add the cooked and drained sausage. Mix well. Pour
               into  a  casserole dish of the size that you would
               use to make lasagna (about 20x30 cm).
          (4)   Slice the mushrooms, and arrange  the  slices  on
               top  of the casserole.  Sprinkle the remaining 20%
               of the cheese over the top of the mushrooms.
          (5)  Bake for 45 minutes at 175 deg. C.   Let  cool  10
               minutes before serving.

NOTES

     You can cut up your own bread for the bread cubes,  or  else
     buy  a  package  of  commercial poultry stuffing. Try to get
     unflavored bread cubes if you buy them.
     For the sausage, try  Spanish  chorizo,  English  Cumberland
     sausage, or American pork whole-hog sausage. I usually use a
     mixture of beef chorizo and Jimmy  Dean  pork  sausage.  Any
     spicy pork- or beef-based sausage will work.
     For the cheese, the best bet is Canadian sharp  white  ched-
     dar.  You  can substitute any cheddar, or Leicester, or Can-
     tal, or for that matter anything you want. I've never  tried
     it with Swiss cheeses.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time:  20  minutes  preparation,  1  hour
     cooking and cooling.  Precision: no need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Loretta Guarino Reid
     guarino@decwrl.ARPA decwrl!guarino
     DEC Western Software Laboratory, Palo Alto CA