I love holiday meals! I absolutely love all the cooking, the traditions we have about what we eat for certain holidays, and I even love the leftovers. My kids not so much🙄. I can usually get one day of leftovers in without too many complaints but after that they’re over it. So if you’re like us right about now you’ve got quite a bit of leftover ham in your refrigerator and you can only make so many ham sandwiches.
One of my families favorites is Tator Tot Breakfast Casserole with ham. We usually do this one the night before so I just get up and pop it into the oven before I shower. It’s also pretty popular on our ‘dinner for breakfast’ nights and perfect for using up any leftover lunchmeat. This recipe was given to me by my mother in law and is always a hit with family & friends. There’s so many ways to tweak it too. I’ve used sausage or bacon instead of ham at times, and you can even sneak some veggies in there as well.
I prefer to use a longer casserole dish rather than a high one because I don’t like this casserole to be runny. I spray the bottom of the casserole dish with cooking spray and then pour an entire bag of tator tots into the dish. Dice up your ham or whatever meat you choose, and toss it evenly over the tator tots. Shred a block of cheddar cheese and layer over the ham. I like pre-shredded cheese for ease of use but for this recipe the freshly shredded seems to melt so much better. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. In a large bowl whisk together 2 cups of milk and 6 eggs, egg beaters work also, pour evenly over the casserole.
If you’re preparing the night before just cover tight and throw it in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to cook, bake for about 45-55 minutes in a 350* preheated oven. The first few times I made this it came out a little runny, so I’ve tried different variations to get it cooked perfectly. Around 30 minutes in I take a spoon and break up the casserole a bit. You can see some of the liquid come to the surface and it helps it cook through much better. If I notice the top starts to brown a bit I will also cover with foil for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time. Super easy and who doesn’t love tator tots!!!
~Elena
Elena And Erin.....It Is What It Is 