dinner?

I don't know about you but as the week drags on our dinner options start to thin out.  I get an extreme sense of satisfaction out of figuring something out when nothing clearly presents itself.  Sometimes for the sake of saving I'll make myself get creative and use up the odds and ends in the fridge before I'll go to the store.  On Friday things were looking pretty sparse but I spotted eggs, a tube of Pillsbury country Italian bread, half a block of sharp cheddar cheese, a can of fire roasted tomatoes and chilies, half a tube of breakfast sausage I had frozen after using half for our Thanksgiving stuffing and I thought, breakfast casserole!  I made one a few years ago but these weren't the proper ingredients for that so I'm making this one up as I go:

1 tube Pillsbury Country Italian Bread
6-8 oz cheddar cheese shredded
1/2 lb cooked and crumbled breakfast sausage
5 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 can fire roasted tomatoes and chilies

I baked the bread as directed and tore it up in pieces.  Greased a 9x13 casserole with butter.  Spread the bread, shredded cheese and cooked and crumbled sausage in the casserole.  I drained the can of tomatoes and chilies and spooned them over the top.  Beat the eggs and milk together and added a little garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Poured it over the top and stuck it in the fridge until dinner time. You can substitute in other veggies or cheese or even leave out the sausage if you'd like.  I didn't add that much egg mixture because my husband isn't a big egg fan and will only eat them when they are incorporated in something and don't scream "I'm an egg!" when presented at mealtime.  Some recipes call for more like 10-12 eggs and more milk but I thought my quantity made for a nice savory bread pudding type texture.

prepped and ready for the oven

tomatoes with chilies I added

I baked at 350 degrees for about an hour and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  There you have it,  dinner when you thought it couldn't be done!  Do you have any dinner recipes you made up out of desperation or ingenuity?

out of the oven and looking pretty delicious!

 This meal was even a hit with our two year old and as anybody with a toddler knows there really isn't a higher level of approval : ) 

Check back soon for our kitchen tour!