We had about a dozen leftover ham biscuits from yesterday's Eclipse Party. I had one for breakfast, but it was going to take too long to eat them all individually. So I decided to turn it into a **Ham & Biscuit Strata**! Stratas are a casserole with eggs, milk, bread, and either/both meat & veggies. It's also called a 'savory bread pudding.' This is an excellent dish for breakfast, brunch, or dinner!
This recipe is AWESOME for 3 main reasons:
1. It's a great way to use up leftovers!
2. There's a little hands-on at the beginning, but then you just wait for it to bake.
3. You can switch up almost all the ingredients and make it different every time!
**Leftover Ham & Biscuits Strata (Savory Bread Pudding) Recipe**
*Serves 6 to 8*
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups cubed bread (or in my case, leftover biscuits!)
2 cups whole milk (you could easily substitute a nut milk, but would do anything flavored)
2 large eggs
1-2 diced onions (depending on the size of your onions - I used 2 small onions)
3 garlic cloves
1 package of spinach (8oz loose)
1/2 pounds cubed/ground meat (I used ham)
1.5 cup of shredded cheese (I used mostly sharp cheddar with some parmesan)
salt & pepper
*Examples of Different Ingredients You Can Use*
Bread - sliced sandwich bread, crusty loaf, even gluten-free bread (heavier/thicker bread is better)
Cheese - Monterey Jack, mozzarella, cheddar, fontina or ricotta
Meat - sausage, ground beef, bacon (make sure to cook it!)
Veggies - cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, swiss chard, scallions,
Seasonings - garlic or onion powder, paprika, fresh herbs, red chili flakes, etc etc
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Whisk together the milk and eggs in the dish. Scatter the bread over the milk until all the bread is soaking. Leave to soak while you cook the meat/vegetables.
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Melt the tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until soft. This is when you'd add meat if you needed to cook it (I used already cooked ham). Add the veggies (I sauteed the spinach & garlic with the onions) until tender. Season with salt & pepper (or other seasonings).
Add the cooked meat & veggie mixture to the saoked bread along with 3/4 of the cheese. Top with the remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, until the center doesn't stick when pierced with a knife (about 20-45 minutes depending on how deep the mixture is). Don't overstuff - the cooked mixture will rise!
You'll need to let it rest about 5 minutes before serving...I know it will be hard because look at that cheesy, crusty goodness!! But trust me, it needs time to set (and cool down).
Hope you enjoy! *Post by Leah*