Happy New Year | Cheddar and Egg Breakfast Strata {Recipe}

Happy 2017! How was your New Years Eve celebration? Ours was low-key, with visits to two friends' houses throughout the day, then we fell asleep at home before midnight. It was relaxing and we woke up today feeling great. We have been relaxing around the house all morning.

Bryce and I began the year with a great breakfast:

• ​Lemon curd Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and clementines, honey, and chia seeds
• Cheddar and egg breakfast strata​

Do you make New Years resolutions? I usually do something for my birthday and the next age that I'll be, not for the new calendar year.

While not a proper resolution, I'd like to experience plenty of the following this year, and into the future:

• ​Traveling
• Cooking
• Reading
• Writing
• Taking photos
• Spending quality time with friends and family
• Taking care of myself via exercise, yoga, fresh air, and drinking more water
• Eating more good foods - fresh fruits and veggies, organic, local, shade grown, non-GMO, homemade, etc.

On the flip side, I hope to experience less of this:

• ​Wasting time, money, or energy on unnecessary or negative things
• Eating less junk foods - French fries, chips, and processed snacks
• Worrying

Doesn't that sound like a plan for success?! I'll have to remind myself to re-read this list often.

My Mom always makes a ham and cheese breakfast strata for brunch, although I'd never made one myself. In the name of more homemade meals and less wasting money (that's already been spent on food) I got busy making a strata using eggs, cheese, and bread left over from the holidays.

Cheddar and Egg Breakfast Strata
Serves 9

Ingredients:
12 - 18 slices of bread, 18 slices of a thin Italian baguette worked perfectly
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 of a cup of chopped white onion
6 large eggs
2 cups of milk, soy milk worked great
1 teaspoon of ground mustard
1/4 of a teaspoon of hot sauce
A handful of cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
Salt and pepper

Also needed:
13" X 9" baking dish
Olive oil for coating the dish

Prehat the oven to 300 degrees F. Coat the 13" X 9" baking dish with olive oil.

Arrange a layer of bread across the bottom of the baking dish. Top the bread with the chopped onions, cheddar cheese, and cherry tomatoes. Add the final layer of bread across the top.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl, then add milk, dry mustard, hot sauce, and salt and pepper. Using a whisk or fork, beat the egg combination, then pour it over the bread in the baking dish.

Bake the strata, uncovered, for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then enjoy!