Breakfast Casserole - it's good for what ails ya

Add together:
Five girls, all teetering on the age of the big 3-0;
Two nights of girly-girl-ness that made The Professor glad we don't all live in the same city;
I didn't keep count, but there may have been a celebratory drink - or 1,000 - handed around;

And you get:
One very happy Birthday Girl

Breakfast for my weekend guests needed to be simple. But full of all the kinds of food that would be guaranteed to go straight to our thighs and make us relish each and every bite while secretly wondering if any of our Abs of Steel videos are still lying around.

Breakfast would have gone perfectly, but in all the festivities I forgot to make it. So instead of letting the casserole sit in the fridge overnight, gently soaking in the basil-infused eggs and milk, it was hastily slapped together and pushed in the oven.

It seems the memory really is the first thing to go.

Breakfast Casserole

• 6 cups of cubed French Bread (it was about 3/4 of a loaf), divided
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar jack cheese, divided
• 1/2 pound of sausage, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 pound of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled (see notes for the vegetarian version)

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, basil and a twist or two of fresh cracked pepper together until frothy.
Place half of the bread cubes in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Sprinkle the cooked bacon and sausage over the bread.
Sprinkle half of the cheese over the top.
Layer the rest of the bread on top of that.
Pour the egg mixture slowly over the entire casserole, making sure to cover the entire dish.

Cover the casserole and place it in the fridge overnight.

Note: If the beer and cold meds hadn't gotten in the way, I would have remembered to do this the night before. Learn from my mistakes.

Preheat the oven to 375.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the casserole.
Cover very loosely with foil. And I mean loosely - we don't want to leave any of that lovely cheese behind, because then it sticks to the foil and I'm forced to stand over the dish picking it off while everyone waits to be fed. Maybe I just revealed too much personal information?

Bake for about 45-50 minutes, making sure that the middle is completely done before serving.

Notes:
I've made this with cinnamon or alspice in place of the basil, and it's just as yummy.
Many times I've made this with veggie-sausage patties that I nuke and then crumble. Many people never noticed that they weren't eating real sausage. I usually use about 6 of the frozen veggie patties. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of those flavored veggie burgers - like the sun-dried tomato and basil versions - would work even better.