Ham and Swiss Breakfast Casserole

On weekends, I love to cook special breakfasts, but we have kinda gotten stuck making the same things over and over again-mostly because they are delicious. But I wanted to try something different this weekend and I must say that I am pleased. This casserole is easy to make and I think that it is probably a little more healthy than some of the other more sugary things I usually make for breakfast! Since there is just two of us, I cut the recipe in half and it turned out great.

Ham and Swiss Breakfast Casserole

8 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

8 slices sandwich bread

2 cups thawed frozen spinach

1 roasted red pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz ham, cut into 1/2" chunks

8 oz Swiss cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (if you are going to bake right away). Spray a 9x13 casserole pan with cooking spray or grease with butter. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Add salt and pepper and set aside. Cut or tear the bread into about one inch pieces and toss in the pan. Add vegetables, make sure your frozen spinach is well drained - add it to a double layer of paper towels and wrap it up and squeeze out all the water. Add garlic and ham and toss everything together in the pan. Pour egg mixture over the top, pushing everything down if it floats up. Top with grated cheese. At this point, you can cover the casserole with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight if desired.

Bake covered for about 30 minutes, remove foil and continue baking an additional 15 to 30 minutes until casserole is set and golden brown. Let stand about 10 minutes before cutting.