Ham-Asparagus (Broccoli) Strata

[fuzzyred]

My first recipe of 2021 for cookbook_challenge! Since I really don't fancy writing out all the ingredients and instructions for the recipe, I have decided to include a picture of the recipe. If it's blurry or hard to read, let me know and I'll see what I can do, as well as rethinking my approach for the next recipe.

ETA: The recipe is written out now, and it comes from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, Limited Edition".



Ingredients:
4 English muffins, torn or cut into bite size pieces (4 cups)
2 cups cubed cook ham or chicken (10 ounces)
1 10 ounce package frozen cut asparagus or frozen cut broccoli, thawed and well drained, or 2 cups cut-up fresh cooked asparagus or broccoli
4 ounces process Swiss cheese, torn, or process Gruyere cheese, cut up
4 beaten eggs
1/4 cup dairy sour cream
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

Instructions:
1. In a greased 2-quart square baking dish spread half of the English muffin pieces. Top with ham, asparagus, and cheese. Top with the remaining English muffin pieces.
2. In a bowl whisk together eggs and sour cream. Stir in milk, onion, mustard, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.* Pour evenly over layers in dish. Cover and chill 2 to 24 hours.
3. Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for 60 to 65 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 170 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer. Let stand ten minutes before serving.
*Note: If using chicken, add 1/4 teaspoon salt.


Thoughts and Variations:
I used white English muffins, ham, fresh raw broccoli and Gouda cheese. I know the recipe says frozen or cooked broccoli (or asparagus), but that was more work than I wanted and I figured the hour in the oven would be enough. In regards to the cheese, I had planned to use Swiss, but I couldn't find any at the store and I thought Gouda would be good for melting (it was.)

I'm not certain I used the right kind of casserole dish; it called for a 2-quart square one, and mine is rectangular, so my dish may have been bigger. After everything was spread in the dish and I poured the egg mixture on top, there was a lot sticking up that wasn't covered. This didn't change as it baked, so the top layer of English muffins got rather crispy, while the bottom is a little soggy. The ham was mostly exposed too, so it got a little tough/chewy, but it still tasted alright. The cheese melted beautifully and the broccoli cooked enough to be mostly soft without being mush. I let it chill in the fridge for about 18 hours, so I'm not sure if chilling it less would have affected the cook time.

It was a little hard to eat, on account of it falling apart on me, but it was yummy. It was a little hard to get everything in one bite, but the flavours played well together and it wasn't too creamy or too heavy for me. I'm not sure if I'd make this one again, and I'm definitely going to have leftovers all week, but I'm pleased with how it turned out and don't regret making it.

Comments

[alexseanchai]

Sounds tasty!

If your rectangular baking dish is also 2-quart, then the main difference the shape made is the layers were arranged more shallowly over a bigger area. My bet is your baking dish is a larger volume than that.

While I sympathize with not wanting to type all that up, if the only format the recipe is presented in is an image, screenreader users won't be able to access it at all, and anyone who has their device set to automatically display a larger font will instead have to load the full-size image and play with the zoom, which especially might not work well on phone-size screens. And if anyone's (say) searching this comm for "Gruyè" on account of remembering that was an option in a recipe they saw but they forget what recipe, this post won't turn up.

[fuzzyred]

It was pretty tasty!

I also think my rectangular dish was more than two quarts, but I'm not entirely sure how big it is. I'll have to see if I can find an indication on it anywhere.

Thanks for the info about screenreaders. I could see it okay on my phone, but I have the type at standard size, and I know some other things don't load right for me, so that is another concern I didn't think of. I'll have to think about it and decide what I want to do, because I'm not sure I'll have the spoons to type up 52 recipes, even if it is just one a week.

[conuly]

If this is likely to be an issue, PM me, I'll type the recipes up. Just don't spread it around - I'd rather not have to do ten entries a week if I don't have to :)

But what cookbook is this from? Though it's perhaps a bad idea to encourage us all to get more cookbooks, I do still want to credit them all properly.

[fuzzyred]

Thank you for the offer, I will keep it in mind, but I should be able to figure something out (I hope).

I will look up the full title when I get home, because all I can remember right now is "New Cookbook", and it has a pink and white cover.

[conuly]

Checks, right? That's the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

[fuzzyred]

99% sure It's checks, yes. That title sounds familiar.