Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole for #FoodieExtravaganza

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

Sue from Palatable Pastime invited us to share bagel recipes with you for the month of December! She said: "Share a recipe with us that involve bagels for National "Have a Bagel" Day. These can be recipes to make bagels, bagel toppers, bagel schmears, bagel sandwiches- anything that gets the bagel onto the plate."

Ok, so I might have a slight obsession with breakfast casseroles... it may or may not be a problem. But if it is a problem, it's a tasty one to have! Working from home these past many months has given me a lot more time to cook and serve breakfast dishes, but they still need to be quick and easy because I am working all day in addition to keeping up with increased household duties and Lindsey's virtual school. Enter the breakfast casserole! 

My go-to's have been variations of baked oatmeal (Strawberries and Cream, PB and Banana) and croissant casseroles lately. And if I have muffins or bread leftover they make it into some version as well! I've used leftover Armenian Bread in a French Toast Casserole, English muffins that needed to be used in an Eggs Benedict Casserole, and leftover muffins in this Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Breakfast Casserole.

So, all of that to say when Sue suggested bagels as our theme for today's post I debated a version of a bagel sandwich (which I eat probably almost every week), or why not use this as a chance to make a bagel version of a breakfast casserole! 

This casserole combines delicious sautéed onions, fresh ripe cherry tomatoes, salty crispy bacon, goeey cheese, and chewy bites of everything bagel all tucked into a fluffy egg base. It's absolutely delicious! This is the perfect busy morning breakfast - and you can certainly make it ahead and allow it to soak overnight, then allow to come to room temp at least 30 minutes before baking in the morning if you prefer. It has so many great flavors and textures and was very well received in my house! 

I've found I prefer baking breakfast casseroles right after assembling them so that the bread pieces maintain some of their texture and shape during baking. When they soak overnight they tend to blend together a bit more!

Do you love bagels as much as we do? Get inspired to get cooking with these delicious bagel recipes!

• Bagels and Lox on the Casual Side by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chicken Donut Kebab Bagel Sandwich by Sneha's Recipe
• Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole by Making Miracles
• Everything Bagel Seasoning & Avocado Topped Bagels by Palatable Pastime
• Marbled Rye Bagels by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Piquant Veggie Bagel Spread by Magical Ingredients
• Stuffed Bagel Balls by Food Lust People Love
• Za'atar-Dusted Bagels by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

3 everything bagels, cut into bite-size pieces

9-oz cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

2 small onions, diced

6 slices bacon

10 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Everything Bagel Seasoning

4 ounces block cream cheese, cut into bite-size pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place the diced bagel pieces on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes to dry them out. Once they are a little bit crisped (they should not pick up much color, just feel warmed and a little crisped) place them in the prepared baking dish.
3. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium to medium-high heat until well browned and crisped, remove to paper towels to drain, reserving the grease in the skillet.
4. Cook the diced onion, stirring occasionally, in the reserved grease for about 10 minutes over medium heat (adjusting heat as needed) until golden brown and tender. 
5. Use a slotted spoon and move sautéed onions to the baking dish, and sprinkle evenly over the bagel pieces. Roughly chop the bacon into bite sized pieces, and sprinkle the bacon and the chopped tomatoes over the bagel pieces as well.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until well combined. Whisk in the ground mustard, salt, pepper, everything bagel seasoning, and shredded cheese. Pour egg mixture over everything in the baking dish to evenly coat.
7. Put the diced pieces of cream cheese evenly over the top of the casserole and bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until eggs are well set in the center. Cool about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction