2 breakfast dishes: farmer’s casserole and ham and cheese strata

Breakfast is the most important — and arguably the most fun — meal of the day. Switch things up with these must-try recipes.

This handy breakfast casserole can be assembled the night before. In fact, it's better that way because the flavours have time to blend. In the morning, just pop it in the oven. The secret to its richness is plain old evaporated milk.

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 55 min

Serves 6

• 750 ml (3 c) frozen shredded hash browns
• 175 ml (3/4 c) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 250 ml (1 c) diced fully cooked ham
• 50 ml (1/4 c) chopped green onions
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (354 ml/12 oz) evaporated milk
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 ml (1/8 tsp) salt

1. Place the hash browns in an 20 centimetre (eight inch) square baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese, ham and onions.
2. Beat together the eggs, milk, pepper and salt and pour over all. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
4. Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted near the centre comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

Almost any cheese can be used. Choose your favourite: cheddar, fontina, Gruyère and mozzarella all work well.

Stratas are made with layers of egg-soaked bread, cheese and your favourite high-flavour ingredients, like bacon, sausage, sun-dried tomatoes or other vegetables. This version includes ham and a surprisingly crisp topping made with cornflakes.

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 50 min

Serves 8

• 12 slices white bread, crusts removed
• 500 g (1 lb) fully cooked ham, diced
• 500 lm (2 c) shredded cheddar cheese (about 250 g/8 oz)
• 6 eggs
• 750 ml (3 c) milk
• 10 ml (2 tsp) Worcestershire sauce
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground mustard
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• 50 ml (1/4 c) minced onion
• 50 ml (1/4 c) minced seeded green pepper
• 50 ml (1/4 c) unsalted butter or margarine, melted
• 250 ml (1 c) crushed cornflakes

1. Grease a 23 x 35-centimetre (nine x 13-inch) baking dish, then arrange six bread slices in the bottom. Top with the ham and cheese. Cover with the remaining bread slices.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Stir in the onion and green pepper and pour over all. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
4. Pour the butter over the bread and sprinkle with the cornflakes. Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted near the centre comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

What could make ham and cheese taste even better? Spinach and mushrooms. Sauté some sliced mushrooms and baby spinach leaves until the spinach is wilted and the liquid in the pan is mostly evaporated, then layer these on top of the ham and cheese.

--------------------

Discover the smarter way to save time and money

Ready to start saving more on your groceries and pharmacy purchases? Download the FREE YP Grocery app today! It lets you create shareable shopping lists, automatically finds all the best deals and coupons, then delivers them right to you. No more manually scrolling through hundreds of flyers to find what you’re looking for!

Download the YP Grocery app now!