I hesitate to share this recipe with you today.

Not because it isn’t good – it is. I’ve been making it for the better part of 25 years, and I still love it.

But because it’s such a classic that I feel like everyone already knows about it.

If I’ve learned anything from reading church cookbooks voraciously, it’s that recipes fall in and out of favor. The meals I consider classics may or may not be popular enough today for my younger friends to have even tried them.

That isn’t always a bad thing. Take gelatin molds, for example. I have one cookbook with a section dedicated entirely to them. But a ring of cherries, pineapple and marshmallows encased in red Jell-O is not a trend I wish to revisit, honestly. Sweet enough to be a dessert but not quite delicious enough to be one, and with so few fresh vegetables, they aren’t healthy enough to qualify as a salad. I suppose I can see why that cookbook gave them their own section.

At any rate, this breakfast casserole is one I don’t think should fall out of favor.

One reason I love it is that it calls for simple, inexpensive pantry ingredients and feeds a crowd: white bread, sausage, cheese, milk and eggs. Simple. Basic.

Some modern iterations call for using stale French bread, cutting off all the crusts, or buttering one side of the bread. To me, those steps seem unnecessarily fussy. The bread layer becomes its own thing, much like bread pudding. Why worry about butter or crusts? And who will even notice if you cut it up? Just rip it into pieces, for goodness’ sake.

If you don’t like sausage, try ham or bacon.

OVERNIGHT BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
10 slices white sandwich bread
1 tube bulk breakfast sausage (such as Jimmy Dean) or 1 pound cooked bacon or diced ham
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar works well)
6–8 eggs (6 if large, 8 if smaller)
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon prepared mustard (yellow mustard from a squeeze bottle works fine)

Directions:
■ If using sausage, crumble and fry in a skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain and set aside.
■ Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Rip bread into smaller pieces (about six pieces per slice). Scatter evenly over the bottom of the dish.
■ Sprinkle cooked sausage (or bacon bits or ham) over the bread, then top with cheese. Set aside.
■ In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and mustard until fully combined.
■ Pour the egg mixture evenly over the casserole, pouring along the edges first and then across the center. Do not stir – the layers are important.
■ Cover and refrigerate overnight.
■ In the morning, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour, until the center is puffed and set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.