You may see this recipe in many church cookbooks, and you may have prepared it yourself (and if you haven’t, you should). It has been around for a while; I cooked it in my kitchen some time ago. I saw it again recently in the cookbook published by Lexington Baptist Church and baked it. The dish was just as good as the first time I tried it.
This is not the first recipe I have used from Betty Halsey at Lexington Baptist. Some years ago, I used her recipe for Tomato Pie and it was a good one also. I like this breakfast dish because there are not many ingredients.
When our late son, Bart, and his friend, Lee Neighbors of Laurens, had an apartment their last year at Clemson, they had a practice of never making any dish that required more than four ingredients. Even discounting the seasonings, this one doesn’t quite make that cut, but it is simpler than similar ones.
Betty has been a member of Lexington Baptist, located in downtown Lexington, about 20 years. She has always been a member of a Sunday school class and is part of the senior adult ministry. For the past 10 years or so, she has been the person mainly responsible for the senior newsletter sent to all the church’s senior members.
For several years before her retirement about 10 years ago, Betty worked with Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia. Now she has more time for her grandchildren, for volunteering at the church, for reading, etc. Another favorite activity is joining a group of close friends for lunch after church on Sunday and sometimes at other times. (I wonder if they have a Breakfast Casserole.)
She and her late husband, James, who served as a pastor in South Carolina, had three sons: Phil, Bob and David. They and their families live in the area and, of course, are a joy for Betty.
Lexington Baptist — part of the Southern Baptist Convention with an active membership of more than 1,200 — is a bit more than 120 years old. Rev. Mike Turner is the pastor at Lexington Baptist.
This is a versatile recipe. Although probably used most often for breakfast, it can be served for brunch — or add a salad and bread and you have a light lunch. Add a green vegetable to those and you have a light dinner. You can also make this the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight, then bake it the next morning. If you don’t use it all for the first meal, it will keep quite well in the refrigerator for the next one.
As written, the ingredients will serve eight or more, but you can easily halve the ingredients to make a smaller dish. Assemble it in the morning, put it in the fridge, then pop it in the oven when you get home from church. In 35 minutes, everyone will enjoy this tasty and nutritious dish for … Sunday Dinner.
Breakfast Casserole
4 slices bread
2 cups milk
1 pound pork sausage
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
Dash of pepper
Tear the four slices of bread into small pieces and place in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Brown and drain the sausage. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spoon the sausage evenly over the bread. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the sausage.
Beat the eggs, add milk, dry mustard, salt and a dash of black pepper, and pour gently over the cheese mixture in the pan.
Bake for 35 minutes. Serve hot.
Have a recipe? Email sundaydinner@baptistcourier.com