DAY 28 RECIPE: BACON, TOMATO AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE

The day BEFORE payday....Does ANYONE ever happen to have wonderul fresh ingredients stocking their house the day before payday? I NEVER do! The day before payday is always kind of a scramble/creative invention day. Well, today I came up with something pretty good! AND I had everything I needed here! The best part was that I was able to do 90% of the work earlier in the day while my kids were in better and more cooperative moods. Hopefully you will find this as helpful as we did!

DAY 28 RECIPE:

BACON, TOMATO, AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE


INGREDIENTS:
8 Slices Bread
3 Eggs
1 Cup Milk
1 tbsp Oregano
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
½ Pkg Sliced Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Small Onion, diced
2 Garlic cloves, minced
2 Cups Sliced Fresh Mushrooms;
OR
1 can Mushrooms, drained
1 28 OZ Can Diced Tomatoes, drained
2 Tbsp Butter or Margarine
1 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut bread into 1 inch cubes. Spread on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
In the meantime, fry bacon for about 12 minutes. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms to the bacon and continue to cook for another 6 minutes or so.
Spread bacon mixture on some paper towel to absorb excess grease.
In a large bowl combine bread crumbs, bacon mixture and tomatoes. Toss together.
In a smaller bowl mix together eggs, milk, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
Pour egg mixture into the larger bowl. Toss everything together.
Butter an 8X11 inch casserole dish. Pour everything into the casserole dish and smooth out.
Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in your fridge ½ hour to overnight. Remove from fridge, place in oven and bake for 35 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven, bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.