Ham and Cheese Strata

Submitted by DrGaellon

"An excellent way to use up leftover bread. It can be prepared in advance for baking the next day, if desired. It works particularly well with day-old bread."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 3 cups cooked ham, cubed
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed
• 3 cups French bread, cubed
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups milk
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

directions

1. Generously smear a 9x13x2 baking dish with softened butter.
2. Stir together flour, mustard powder and optional cayenne. Combine ham cubes and cheese cubes; toss with flour mixture until well-coated. Add bread cubes and toss to distribute.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk and hot sauce.
4. Spread 1/3 of bread/ham/cheese cubes in a single layer in prepared baking dish. Drizzle with 1 tbsp melted butter, then sprinkle with 1 tbsp grated Parmesan. Repeat twice more, to form three layers. Pour egg mixture evenly over the top, then sprinkle with the last 1 tbsp of Parmesan. (The dish can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight if desired. Let it come back up to room temperature while preheating the oven, at least 30 minutes, before proceeding.).
5. Preheat oven to 350°F Bake, uncovered, until set, golden brown and crispy, about 1 hour.

Reviews

[Gran63]

This is my first review ever after subscribing to Recipe Zaar and now Food.Com for many years and getting many wonderful recipes. This Strata Dish came out of the oven looking beautiful! However, it was very lacking in flavor. I used all ingredients specified and didn't change a thing first time around - we were so disappointed. Second time, I added one small bell pepper chopped fine, one small onion, chopped fine, added one more egg as the cheese makes it soupy, added 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Also, I used a combination of American and Cheddar Cheese - much, much better and still beautiful in appearance.