Ham and Cheese Strata
Night Before Breakfast
Stuffed French Toast Strata with Apple Cider Syrup

Ham and Cheese Strata

This is a great make ahead recipe for Christmas or New years Eve
morning. You make it 24 hours in advance and then just pop it in the
oven. What could be easier?!!

12 slices white bread
12 ounces sharp processed cheese
2 cups diced ham
3 Tbsp instant minced onion
6 eggs, lightly beaten
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Dijon style mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Trim crusts from bread if desired. Cut circles from center of bread slices
with a biscuit cutter; set aside. Place the remaining breadscraps in the
bottom of a lightly buttered 13x9x2 inch casserole dish. Layer cheese slices
and ham cubes over top of bread; sprinkle with minced onion. Arrange bread
circles in a decorative pattern over top. (Note: Strata will be just as
delicious and almost as attractive if bread slices are simply cut into
quarters and layered with ham and cheese.) Lightly beat eggs. Add milk, salt,
mustard and nutmeg. Pour over contents of baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap
or aluminum foil and refrigerate 24 hours or overnight. Uncover and bake at
325 F for 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 to 10
servings. Sparkling Cranberry juice or Champagne are great accompaniments.

Night Before Breakfast

10-12 servings

Ellen Steiner, Temperance, MI, Monroe Street Methodist Church

1 lb mild sausage
6 eggs
4 slices bread cubed,
1 cup grated sharp cheese
2 cups milk

Substitutes: 1 Lb Chopped Ham

Brown sausage and drain, set aside. Arrange cubed bread in bottom of greased
9X13" baking dish. Place sausage over bread and sprinkle cheese on sausage.
Beat eggs and milk together and pour over bread, sausage and cheese in baking
dish. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes.

Variations:
Add 1 tsp. of dry mustard and 1 tsp. salt to egg and milk mixture.
Sustitute 2 cups plain croutons for cubed bread. Add 4 slices of bacon.
Fry bacon to a crisp, drain and crumble it. Sprinkle bacon over top of
casserole.

Stuffed French Toast Strata with Apple Cider Syrup

This recipe originally came from internet, from B&B in Georgia. We have
changed it around a little from the original.

1 1 lb loaf unsliced French Bread
2 1/2 cups milk, light cream
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 8-ounce pkg. Cream cheese, cubed
8 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup

Apple Cider Syrup

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons butter

Slice french bread, about 1/2" thick, make sandwiches with the cream cheese
(use as much or as little as you like) and place in a greased 9x13x2" pan.
Blend eggs, milk, butter and maple syrup until well combined. Pour mixture
evenly over bread and cheese sandwiches. Use a spatula to slightly press
layers down to moisten. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When you take the toast out of the refrigerator the next AM have another equal
sized baking dish ready with the following in the bottom: melted butter, brn
sugar, pecans and maple syrup. Set the cold strata on top of this, then bake.
When finished, serve the bottom side up. A real killer! If you do this method,
oven can be preheated to 350 F. Bake at 325 degrees for 60-90
minutes or until center is set and edges is golden brown. Put in cold oven
straight from refrigerator let stand 10 minutes before serving. In a
small saucepan, stir together sugar cornstarch and cinnamon. Then stir
in apple cider or juice and lemon juice. Cook and stir mixture over
medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Then cook and stir
for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Butter tastes best.
The apple cider tastes better than apple juice.

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