'Elegant' Brunch Casserole

I made this recipe this year twice for Christmas brunches with friends and family and had amazing results. The great thing about this casserole is that all of the prep is done the night before and can just be thrown in the oven in the morning. For a brunch with little clean-up, holiday or any day, this recipe rocks!

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread, sliced
3 tablespoons buter, plus more butter, for buttering dish
4 ounces swiss cheese, grated
4 ounces monterey jack cheese, grated
12 slices bacon, diced and fried until crisp (optional)
8 large eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
1/3 cup white wine
3 green onions
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese

Grease bottom and sides of 9" x 13" glass casserole dish with butter. Tear bread into bite-sized pieces and place in dish, arranging so that they form a fairly solid layer but do not overlap (you may not need the whole loaf). Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan; drizzle evenly over bread. Sprinkle grated Swiss and Monterrey Jack cheeses evenly over bread. Top cheese layer evenly with cooked bacon bits. Break eggs into large mixing bowl and beat lightly by hand; add milk, wine, chopped green onion, mustard, black pepper and cayenne, beating again until foamy. Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole; cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate overnight. The following day, remove dish from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake, covered with foil, for approximately 45-50 minutes, until eggs are 'set' in the center. Remove from oven and spread sour cream evenly over the top of the casserole; sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Return to oven uncovered; bake an additional 10 minutes or so until lightly-browned.

Matthew's Mexican Casserole

(It's lame my mom named this one after my brother, but whatever. It is still pretty darn tasty)

1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp onion powder (I chop an onion real fine - aprox 1/4 cup or a little less)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 16 oz can stewed tomatoes, chopped (I cut these up in the pan)
1 15 oz can ranch style beans, drained
1 egg
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 8 oz carton cottage cheese
4 oz slightly crushed tortilla/corn chips

Brown the beef along with the spices & drain off the liquid.
Add stewed tomatoes (these are usually pretty chunky out of the can & need additional chopping) and drained beans. Allow these to cook together until the tomatoes seem done to your liking.

Mix egg, cheese and cottage together in a bowl.

In a 7 x 11" baking dish, spread half of the meat mixtureTop with all the egg & cheese mixture then sprinkle over this with the crushed chipsCover with remaining meat mixturePlace some whole chips on top and cover with the grated cheese

Microwave on High for 8 Min. - Rotate dish once if your microwave doesn't turn