First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS! In honor of today’s holiday, I am posting the perfect holiday breakfast item. This has become our go to brunch dish. You get to make it the night before and simply need to cook it the morning of, which is great when hosting a morning meal. It also compliments all the baked goods I tend to have very well. You could also do different flavors, and swap out the bacon and green onions for another meat or veggie. 

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients
Butter for greasing dish
1 loaf of French bread
8 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces and cooked until done
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar
Fresh ground pepper
6 eggs
2 cups milk (we used 1%)
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan

1. Begin prepping this the night before you plan on serving it. To get started, butter the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2 baking dish.

2. Slice the loaf of french bread in half, so you have two loaves, and then slice each in half (this time cutting them open to expose the inside. Pull out all of the innards, tearing them into small pieces. If you don’t like waste, you can turn the crust into breadcrumbs to use another time, otherwise throw them away.

3. Put half of the bread in the bottom of the pan. Then top with half of the bacon and half of the cheddar. Repeat with another layer of bread, bacon, and then cheese. Top it off with freshly ground pepper.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Add the green onions. Pour this liquid over the pan. Use a spatula to to make sure the liquid reaches all the dry bread in the pan.  Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.

5. Take the strata out of the fridge 1 hour and 15 minutes before you want to serve it. Remove the plastic and top it off with a fresh layer of Asiago or Parmesan cheese. Then cover the pan with foil and slide it into a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 350 and let the strata warm up with the oven. Bake the strata for 35 minutes, until the eggs look set (not too liquidy). Once they are set, take the foil off and cook for additional 25 minutes, until the top looks golden brown. Serve warm.