Brunch at the Reindeer Bar Confetti Bacon Hashbrown Casserole

Reindeer Bar 

Confetti Bacon Hashbrown Casserole is an excellent breakfast/brunch dish for entertaining, filled with cheesy hash browns, bacon, eggs, chiles, green onions, and red bell pepper. I love brunch with the many dishes to choose from and knowing the Reindeer Bar closing tonight I had to make one more stop. 

Cook's Notes: It's a great breakfast dish for easy entertaining, filled with cheesy hashbrowns, eggs, chiles, green onions, and red bell peppers. The addition of protein-rich cottage cheese is a bonus. The casserole can be refrigerated overnight, covered, without the cornflake topping, which can be added before baking. The recipe was adapted from thegirlwhoateeveything

Ingredients:

• 4 cups frozen shredded O'Brien Hash Browns, thawed
• 1-1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons Elote seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1-1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles, drained and patted dry on a paper towel
• 12 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled or 1 lb. cooked Italian sausage, crumbled
• 1 cup diced mini red peppers
• 1/3-1/2 cup diced green onions

Cornflake Topping
Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups crushed cornflakes
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• ½ teaspoon each of parsley flakes and Italian seasoning

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 or 9 x12 baking dish.
• Mix spices and butter with cornflakes and set aside.
• Thaw hash browns on a baking sheet. Squeeze out the moisture from them before adding to other ingredients.
• In a large bowl, add the thawed and drained hash browns, cottage cheese, eggs, cheddar and Swiss cheese, green chiles, 1/2 of the crumbled bacon, 1/2 of the red bell pepper, and the green onions.
• Mix well and pour into the prepared dish.
• Top with remaining bacon and bell peppers.
• Sprinkle the cornflake topping evenly over the dish.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

I picked a salad to pair with the casserole, but I splurged with a Cranberry Mimosa. The group I was with thought we needed a toast to 2025. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cranberry juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• Champagne
• Frozen cranberries

 Directions: 

• In a chilled glass, add the ingredients in the following order:   cranberry juice, orange juice, and top off with champagne. Add in frozen cranberries last.  

Well, I made one more stop before leaving the Reindeer Bar at the Cookies and Milk Station, as I heard Almond Crinkle Cookies were freshly baked this morning. They did not disappoint. 

The recipe, adapted from December 2023 BHG, makes 21 cookies. These cookies "beg" to be served with a cup of tea or your favorite cup of coffee.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, vanilla, and extracts. beating until smooth.
• In another bowl, whisk together both of the flours, baking powder, and salt.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating on low until combined.
• Cover and chill the dough for 40 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place powdered sugar in a small bowl.
• Shape the dough into 2-inch balls, then roll in the powdered sugar. Bake for 12 minutes, until the cookies flatten and develop a crackly surface.
• Remove from oven and sift powdered sugar over the cookies. After two minutes, transfer to a cooling rack. 

Cooking Tip: The dough can be shaped into 1-inch balls for smaller cookies. Adjust baking time to 10-11 minutes.

Goodbye to all our friends at the Reindeer Bar. See you in 2026