strata

strata
Originally uploaded by Mary Anne Thygesen

Strata

A tasty use of stale bread.

One loaf of stale artisan type bread, torn into bite size chunks.

8 eggs beaten

1 ½ cups milk

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 cup diced cooked ham

Use 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish. Coat baking dish with spray oil. Toss bread pieces, cheese and ham together in baking dish.

Blend eggs, milk, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and white pepper together. Pour over bread mixture. Combine bread mixture with egg and milk mixture coating bread well with egg mixture.

Cover and place in refrigerator over night.

In the morning heat oven to 325 F. While oven is heating take strata out of refrigerator. Cover with aluminum foil. When oven is to temperature of 325 F bake strata for 45 minutes to one hour.

When finished baking Strata’s internal temperature should be 160 F. And the strata will be browned with the eggs set.

This recipe can be scaled up or down. To do this, keep the proportions of milk to egg to one to one. Any cheese or meat that you have can be used. Suggested other meats are cooked sausage, leftover beef, chicken or turkey. You can leave the meat out for vegetarians who eat eggs and cheese. Cooked or roasted vegetables can be added to the strata. Play with the seasonings. Try chili powder or curry. Any stale bread works. This is a good recipe for using up free loafs of bread.