Camper's Breakfast Casserole & First Attempt at Coals from the Fire

When we cook in our Dutch ovens, we always use charcoal and count out the number of coals for the top and the bottom to get the right temperature for whatever it is we are making.  We do this because is the easiest and most predictable (most everything turns out good... unless the recipe itself isn't any good).  But those chuck wagon cooks, they really know what they are doing and just use coals from a good hot fire.

Well, we planned to cook at least one breakfast at camp (as opposed to having just muffins, donuts or rolls).  I got up and put this breakfast casserole together and Matt built a fire.  By the time I had it assembled, Matt realized he hadn't started any coals.  Not wanting to wait for coals to get hot, we decided to use coals from the fire. 

This is probably a pretty good recipe to do this with for a first time- mostly because it isn't as finicky as baking bread or a cobbler or something like that.  Here's a photo of our 10" DO with the campfire coals on top:

It cooked for about 30-40 minutes with Matt adding a few more coals from the fire part-way through.  The top got golden and the edges were brown and crispy.  SOOOO Good!
 

Camper's Breakfast Casserole

10" Dutch Oven

Coals:???  (if using charcoal, heat up enough coals for 375° temp)

10 large eggs

2 cups milk

1 30-ounce package frozen hash browns, thawed

1 lb. breakfast sausage, browned

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Liberally grease the sides of the 10" dutch oven with the drippings from browning the sausage.  In a large bowl, scramble the eggs and milk together.  Stir in the hash browns, sausage, and all but 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.  Stir to combine.  Pour into the prepared DO, top with remaining cheese, and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the eggs are set in the middle.  Be sure to rotate the lid a quarter turn clockwise and the base a quarter turn counter-clockwise every 15 minutes to avoid hot spots.

~Erin