Vegetarian Breakfast Bake

I found this recipe on southernfood.about.com and adapted it slightly to be vegetarian. The original recipe calls for ham, so I substituted some vegetarian bacon instead.

Ingredients:

3 C frozen shredded potatoes
1/4 C butter, melted
2 strips of vege bacon, chopped
1 C shredded cheese
1/4 C green bell pepper, chopped
2 large eggs
1/2 C milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Thaw potatoes overnight in the refrigerator. Press potatoes into bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Take a pastry brush and paint the potatoes with the melted butter. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned, at 425. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, and reduce oven temperature to 350.

Combine vege bacon, cheese, and bell pepper, and spread onto potato shell. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper, and pour over the cheese mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tips:

- Before putting the hashbrown crust in the oven, I sprinkled it with a little Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb blend. I think the seasoned potatoes make the dish even more flavorful.

- If you don't have a pastry brush, just pour the melted butter over the potatoes, trying to make sure to spread it as evenly as possible.

- As with my other baked dishes that involve shredded cheese, I like to use a mixture of Colby and Jack. The original recipe calls for Cheddar.

- For a variation on the potatoes, you can try using scalloped potato slices instead of shredded potatoes. The initial baking time should be increased to compensate.