•1 pound Italian sausage (I prefer hot, but mild or sweet also work) •1 medium white onion, peeled and diced •3 cloves garlic, minced •1 red bell pepper, cored and diced (or 1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained and diced) •6 eggs •1/3 cup milk •1 (20 ounce) bag frozen hash browns, thawed •2 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese •1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper •(optional topping: thinly sliced green onions)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the sausage to a medium saute pan. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, crumbling the sausage with a spoon as it cooks. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of sausage grease in the saute pan, discarding the rest. Add the onion and red pepper* to the saute pan, and saute for 5 minutes until cooked. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant. (If using the jarred roasted red peppers, wait to stir them until after the garlic.) Pour the vegetable mixture into the mixing bowl with the sausage. Add the hash browns and 1 1/2 cups cheese to the mixing bowl with the sausage and veggies. Stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and black pepper until combined. Then add them to the hashbrown mixture, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a baking dish, and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes and the top of the potatoes begin to slightly brown. Remove and let the casserole rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions and serve!