Bacon and Egg Casserole Recipe

This was the first time we have tried this. It was included in our packet of healthy recipes for the fitness challenge. I was hesitant at first for one, that it was healthy, but according to my fitness pal, it's 445 calories for one serving which is not bad at all. I was also hesitant in the process of making it, that it was not going as it should. I will make notes below as to that.

You Will Need:
-One 16 oz Hawaiian Bread Loaf, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
-2 cups (8 ounces)finely shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
-1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled (8 slices)
-8 large eggs
-2 1/2 cups milk
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1 teaspoon dried mustard (I found mine at walmart, but it was $3.98! In my opinion, you could leave this out of the mixture.)
-1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
-Salsa or sliced fresh tomatoes (I used salsa, but this is completely optional)

Directions:
-Arrange bread cubes in a lightly greased (I used cooking spray) 13x9 inch baking dish. (Be pre-warned the bread cubes will be almost overflowing the pan! They will shrink down once you pour the liquid mixture on them.)
-Sprinkle with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon.


(With the bread and cheese, no bacon yet)

-Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, mustard, and worcestershire sauce.
-Pour over prepared dish. (Here is where we made a mistake. We didn't want to make a mess and spill it or overflow it, so we poured the mixture VERY slowly. Do NOT pour extremely slowly, because the pepper and mustard will settle and get poured out right at the end and when you eat it you will taste the pepper and mustard all in one bite. Yuck.)
-Press down bread cubes with a spoon to allow bread to soak up liquid. (You don't need to outright squish the bread, just press it kinda lightly until the bread is soaking up the liquid.)
-Cover and chill 8 hours. (It should be fine chilled longer, because we let it chill probably 16-18 hours.)
-Let stand 30 minutes before baking.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until set and golden. (We did 35 minutes exactly and it probably could have used maybe another 5 minutes.)
-Serve with salsa or sliced fresh tomatoes. (I used salsa and it was pretty good, but James did not use either and he still enjoyed the casserole.)

Makes 8-10 servings (We split it into 8 servings and that is where we got the 445 calories per serving. 10 servings would be less calories of course per serving.)

I had trouble finding the hawaiian bread, but there is a note on the recipe saying it can be found in the deli section of the grocery store. This is where I did find it. It is a circle loaf, almost looks like an angel food cake. Mine was kings hawaiian loaf, pictured below.





It also says that if you can't find the hawaiian bread that you can substitute 10-12 slices of white bread, cubed.

This recipe turned out tasting pretty good. It was also very filling. James and I both had a serving and a half each and we were full. James said it could have used some onion, and I agree. And always more cheese! If I wasn't dieting of course.


YUM!