#FlashbackFriday with one of my all time favorite Cheesy, Potato, Bacon & Egg casseroles that is only 3 WWFreestyle Smartpoints for 1/8th of the pan.
This past Sunday for my Weight Watchers meeting, I wanted to make something that was different from my Mini Muffins and that was Simply Filling. I wanted to show everyone that you could make some pretty amazing food on Simply Filling like this delicious cheesy, “bacon”, peppery, egg and hash brown casserole. As I was pondering ideas of what I could put in the pan, I remembered a a Christmas Casserole Recipe that I made a few years back.
I knew I wanted the “base” of my casserole to be potatoes, peppers and onion. I layered on Canadian Bacon for its sweet, smoky, bacon-ness then spiced it up with a few chopped pickled cherry peppers. The Eggland’s Best Eggs boost the protein staying power while the cheese adds a thin layer of salty decadence.
Sounds pretty fancy for a casserole that takes longer to cook than it does to put together. Feel free to take a short cut and buy the Ore Ida Western hash browns with peppers and onions or get extra fancy by chopping up fresh sweet potatoes with peppers and onions to make your own hash brown mix.
CHEESY, BACON, EGG AND HASHBROWN CASSEROLE (print it!)
INGREDIENTS
- 16 oz western frozen hash brown potatoes
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup pickled cherry peppers, chopped
- 6 oz lean Canadian bacon, chopped
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1 tsp paprika
- 5 large egg
- 1 cup fat-free skim milk
- a few dashes of hot sauce
- sea salt and black pepper
- 4 oz low-fat sharp cheese cheese, finely shredded
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place potatoes through corn in the baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika and garlic salt. Toss everything together just until combined.
3. In a small bowl, beat together milk, eggs, hot sauce, sea salt and pepper; pour over potato mixture and sprinkle with cheese.
4. Bake until casserole is hot and cheese is browned, about 45 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.
Makes 8 servings, 3 WWFreestyle Smartpoints, 5 points+ each, 100% Simply Filling
Nutritional information calculated per serving for all ingredients:
STEP – BY STEP
While the oven preheats, layer up the potatoes through the cherry peppers in a prepared 9×13 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with paprika, garlic salt, sea salt and pepper, then, toss.
Whisk together the eggs through salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and top everything with cheese!
If you finely shred the cheese, it stretches further and let’s you “build” a thicker layer and pile on the cheesy topping.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
Layers and layers of cheesy, bacon, peppery, potato goodness!
Who knew Simply Filling could look and taste this good…..
I will catch up with you all tomorrow with my thoughts on how I am working the Simply Filling Technique, then, I am finally back to my dailies. I miss rambling on 😀
Night all!
This looks delicious! I have a question though, I have been under the impression that in order to be consider a sSimply Filling cheese it had to be fat free? I noticed you added low fat cheese to the recipe but still indicated it was a 100% Simply Filling dish.
Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah,
I will be talking about this tomorrow in my post on how I have been working the Simply Filling Technique. I tend to use low-fat string cheese over fat free because it is healthier/cleaner and I can recognize all the ingredients in it. I am also more likely to grab low-fat cheese as a snack over fat free. For any item I “tweak”, I have a few things I consider. I will always pick an item that is healthier over not as long as it is similar in nature, I can maintain portion control and I am losing weight.
Thanks for asking,
Danica
Thanks so much Danica.
I totally prefer the low fat cheese to non fat so I am happy to see this. I have been thinking of trying Simply Filling but I always struggled with the non fat cheese only rule (cheese without fat is wrong!).
I appreciate your advice and great blog!
I don’t understand how it can be 100% Simply filling with low fat cheese and Canadian bacon. Thanks
Hi Donna,
The Canadian Bacon falls under lean ham which is Simply Filling. As for the low-fat cheese, it is one “tweak” I do to the Simply Filling Technique because I feel that low-fat cheeses are more nutritionally sound than fat free. I did a post to explain my rationale on my tweaks.
http://danicasdaily.com/weight-watchers-simply-filling-technique
You could use fat free cheese and/or omit the Canadian Bacon as another option if you prefer.
Danica
Hello and thank you for all of your simply filling receipts. I am bored with eating the same foods all the time! Is frozen hash browns on the SF? My question is; If I make this casserole and use low fat cheese (fat free is awful) how many points do I take for it? I could substitute ham for bacon and probably not lose any points. I have to be exact on my points because when I substitute I get way off track! Thanks again!~
Okay, that just looks good! Will have to try it! Do you have to thaw the hash browns before making this? Thanks!
Hi Staci,
No, you do not need to thaw them. If you put them in the pan frozen, reduce the milk to 3/4 cup since the frozen hashbrowns will add a little water.
Danica
I was wondering the same thing as Sarah. When I asked my leader some time ago about simply filling and subbing items like lowfat instead of fat free, she said I would need to use the 40 flex points for those items that were not on the simply filling list. I never really committed to going the route of simply filling, but it’s good to know you can tweak it and it still works for you. Have a great day Danica!
This looks soooo delicious & easy! I can’t wait to try it! I always prefer a savory breakfast to a sweet one – and this would be perfect for those “Breakfast for Dinner” nights!
OMG! *Licks screen*
This looks great. I will be making it for breakfast for dinner, with hopes that a piece will be left for breakfast the next day!
Danica,
Thanks for all the great receipes. I think I am feeling confident enough to try the simply filling plan. I am down 36lbs but keep going up .8 then down then up 1.something and then down again. I think it is time for a change for a while, such as you did.
Dotty
OK for 5 points plus if I can get something that savory and filling I am going to have to go for it. It looks delish…… 🙂
Thanks for the recipe – I am definitely going to print and make. I think my hubby might even like it. Especially with hashbrown in it. Yippee.
Thanks
OK, I think I’m about to get the concept. For those who asked about the cheese, if they wanted to they could add PP value to that and the rest is SF, right? Today I fixed a yam/chicken stew (SF) but the recipe called for 1 cup of white wine over 6 servings. I chose not to count the wine because it “cooks off” and was such a small amount per serving anyway. Am I getting it :)??
Hi Jeannette,
Yes, they could count the points+ against their WPA or use fat free cheese. You are definitely getting the hang of it.
Danica
Wait…are the 5 points from the lowfat cheese??
Hi Danica,
No, the 5 points+ is if you are counting the points+ values versus following the Simply Filling Plan.
Danica
So sorry, I figured out the answer right after I sent the question! Thanks. Btw: day one of Simply Filling. I think it went well. But only ended up using one point, and then subtracting that with exercise. Is that normal, or should I try to use some points each day?
No worries at all. Congrats on a successful Day 1! It is perfectly normal to use no points, some points or a lot – just track whichever ones you use.
Good job!
Danica
Good Morning~
Making this for dinner tonight. What is the serving size? Thanks in advance.
Tracy:)
Thanks for all you do~you keep me on track!!!
I am so sorry I just saw the serving size.
the recipe was great and everyone loved it included my very picky eater. I had shredded frozen hash browns on hand and used those but they did not get done in 45min. We had to almost double the time.
Thanks for posting a family favorite
Can you share what brand of hash browns you used? I’m having problems finding something that is SS-friendly (and I use the WW tracker to search for “power foods only”). The hash browns I have on hand are not SS-friendly and I guess it’s because it contains dextrose. Thanks!
Hi Molly,
I use Ore Ida Western Potatoes as they are just potatoes, peppers, onions and dextrose aka salt.
Thanks,
Danica
Stupid question – but the heck, or where the heck, do you get pickled cherry peppers?? I’ve looked all over. But I am making this for dinner tonight (minus those) and it sounds totally yummy!!!
Hi Donna,
They are in a jar and I usually find them next to the pickles or olives at my local grocery store. I believe Walmart and Target carry them too.
Can’t wait to hear what you think.
Danica
Made this last night Danica, like I said without the cherry peppers (which probably add a really good flavor and will use them next time if I can find them!!) and it was a huge huge hit with us! My husband kept saying ‘this is a keeper, give it five yums!!!’. We loved it. So so good. My husband is doing ‘simply filling’ (or trying) and I’m doing points (again trying!!) so it was good for both of us. I always just use 10 points when I don’t know!!!! ha ha. Anyway thanks again!! I just found your blog so will be going through all your past topics to see what else I can do!!! Pinning this one!!!
A couple of questions…..do you cook the bacon before you add it to the recipe, and can you prepare this the night before and keep it in the fridge? If so, what modifications would you make? Thanks!
Hi Stacy,
I do not cook the bacon before and you definitely could make this up the night before. I would just cover it in the fridge and possibly reduce the cooking time by 5-10 minutes.
Thanks,
Danica