Individual Ham and Cheese Strata

Have you had breakfast yet today?  If the answer is no, I've got a great way for you to start the day.  This is a tasty breakfast bake that I sized down for individual portions.  This is perfect for you single folks, or anybody who eats breakfast alone.  Even if you eat breakfast with your family, this is a great way to customize each person's servings while getting breakfast on the table quicker because they cook so much faster than a large dish would.  It's adapted from Martha Stewart.

Individual Ham and Cheese Strata

Ingredients:

1¼ cups bread cubes, divided

¼ cup ham, diced

¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 green onion, sliced

2 eggs

½ cup 2% milk

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Coat a 16 oz. ramekin with baking spray.

Place 1 cup of the bread cubes in the bottom of the ramekin.  Top with the ham, cheese, green onion, and the remaining bread cubes.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk, paprika, mustard, and salt.  Stir to combine.  Pour egg mixture over the bread cubes in the ramekin.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until eggs are set.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 1 serving.

If you are hosting houseguests for Easter this year, this is a great recipe to have handy.  Each guest can customize their portion (no onions, extra cheese, add black pepper, etc.), so that everybody is happy.  And like I said above, these little ramekins cook up way faster than a large dish.  The original recipe takes an hour and 20 minutes to bake.  Ain't nobody got time for that!

This is a great way to use up leftover ham after Easter too.  It would also be great with cooked bacon or sausage.  The possibilities are endless.

Just be sure to let them sit for a while after they come out of the oven.  I totally burned my mouth on mine because it looked and smelled so amazing that I just couldn't wait to dig in to it!