Sausage Casserole

This is a Christmas morning tradition in our house. We used to have it more often and it's what Jack would always pick for his birthday party meal. Now, it pretty much keeps to Christmas. We added the tater-tots to the original and that has made all the difference. It goes great with a fruit salad or just strawberries.

Sausage Casserole

6 eggs
2 cups milk
6 slices bread (white or Italian preferred) ripped into bite size pieces
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 lb. sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)
2-3 cups tater tots

Cook sausage according to directions. In a 9x13 baking dish (lightly sprayed or greased) spread bread evenly. Spread crumbled sausage evenly over bread. In medium bowl mix eggs and milk. Mix salt and dry mustard separately in a teaspoon or two of hot water to dissolve; add to milk mixture, stir. Pour evenly over bread and sausage. Sprinkle cheese over top (if using). Arrange tater tots over top. We pack our in!

Cover and refigerate overnight. We often skip this step because of precious refrigerator space and just make it right before baking. It turns out just fine; however, I would recommend keeping the tater-tots in the refrigerator overnight or thawing them a bit in the microwave before using.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 mins- 1 hour.

THE Marinade

I got this recipe years ago from Christina Ferrare when she was on a show called "Home and Family". No, she didn't give it to me personally; she just posted it on the website. Anyhow, the marinade is fabulous. She raved that it was the best, so we tried it on our first turkey. The house smelled like soy sauce and there were no juices in the pan. I thought for sure it was going to be the driest turkey ever. When I poked the turkey, juice came squirting out. It was the best turkey and we've done it that way ever since. The great thing is that you can cut it down and use it for just about anything. It's great on roasts.

Also, my non-gravy loving husband loves the gravy made from this marinade. I have gotten juice from the turkey since and I usually put chicken broth in the bottom of the pan to keep the drippings from burning. You might want to try low-sodium broth if making gravy so it's not too salty. If you are not making gravy, just use water. Enjoy!

THE Marinade

1 cup of dijon mustard
1 cup of olive oil
3/4 cup of lemon juice
1/2 cup of soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano

I mix the first 5 ingredients and pour it over the turkey, then sprinkle the herbs on top. Also, I don't usually use fresh. I just eyeball dried herbs.

This recipe will cover a 20 lb. turkey, so keep that in mind when scaling it down.