Comfort Food Mac & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8-in casserole dish w/cooking spray. (See NOTE)

Step 2: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tbsp of kosher salt & pasta. Let pasta boil for 6 min. (It will continue to cook in the oven.) Drain & place in bowl w/1 tbsp of cold butter. Toss the pasta & butter until melted.

Step 3: In a lrg skillet or pan, fry chopped bacon over med-high heat until slightly crisp. Drain on paper towel. Pour out all but 2 tbsp of bacon grease.

Step 4: In the same pan, sauté chopped peppers, onions & mushrooms in remaining bacon grease until onions are softened. Remove sautéed veggies w/a slotted spoon.

Step 5: In the same pan, brown the sausage. Make sure to crumble the pieces. Drain on paper towel.

Step 6: Combine cooked sausage & sauteed vegetables. Place half of the mixture on the bottom of prepared casserole pan. On top of that, add half of the cooked macaroni. Then, top that with half of the cheese. Repeat w/another layer of the remaining sausage, macaroni & cheese.

Step 7: In a sml bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt & pepper until combined. Pour egg mixture evenly over the casserole.

Step 8: In a sml bowl, combine crumbled bacon, melted butter & bread crumbs until thoroughly mixed. Add the bacon/bread crumb mixture atop the casserole as the last layer.

Step 9: Bake for 35-40 min. Allow to rest for 15 min before serving.

NOTE: Given the volume of ingredients & how they will expand w/the cooking process, I would use a larger casserole dish, perhaps 7x11-in. Your choice to make