Brunch Casserole with dry mustard

I organized a cook-book fundraiser for a non-profit group*, and thought this recipe from my friend Hannah looked amazing! After being lazy for some five years while eyeing the sort-of long list of ingredients, I finally prepared it because the dry mustard called for in the recipe met this challenge criteria... and it was delicious.

The original recipe called for a 9x13 pan worth of casserole, so I halved the recipe and added some vegetables. Here is what you will need:

2 or 3 slices of bread, cubed (I found that 3 slices made for 4 large servings of casserole, and high fiber bread tasted good)

1 cup of shredded cheese

5 eggs

2 cups of milk (I used skim milk)

½ tsp dry mustard (next time I will up it to 1 teaspoon, so don’t be shy)

optional pepper (I did not add more salt as called for because I sautéed the vegetables in the bacon fat)

½ small onion, chopped

1 cup tomatoes, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

half a bag of spinach (2-4 cups, not packed down)

5 or more slices of bacon (I used 5 this time, but would use more next time)

Preheat oven to 350.

I like my bacon extra crispy, so I cooked the bacon first, then added all the veggies to the pan. I cooled the bacon down on paper towels and cut it into small pieces using kitchen shears. You can keep the veggies raw as a time-saver.

Beat eggs, milk, and mustard together.

Put bread cubes in the bottom of the baking dish (I thought since I was using half the recipe, I should use a smaller dish, but the bread cubes really expanded with the egg mixture, so I may try it in the larger dish next time for a thinner casserole).

Pour egg mixture on top of the bread. Cover with veggies and bacon.

Bake for one hour.

*volunteering for a project like this is time-consuming, but worth it, especially if you have the energy to taste test the recipes ahead of publication (to verify ingredient quantities, of course)!