Spinach and Jack Cheese Bread Pudding

It’s been a while since I posted here. I’ve still got a few recipes in the backlog that I never wrote about. An unfortunate side-effect of waiting so long to write about something is that I forget a lot of the details. That results in boring posts like this one.

This recipe from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook is billed as a savory bread pudding, but I’m pretty sure it’s a strata. I guess because it’s not layered, it’s technically not a strata. Anyway, it’s good. It’s really easy to make, and although it makes a lot (about six servings), you can refrigerate the leftovers and eat them cold or reheated in the microwave.

The Recipe

Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Servings: 6 main dish servings

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups low-fat milk (I used 1%)
• ¼ teaspoon dried thume
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 4 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)
• 8 slices firm white bread, town into ¾-inch pieces (I recommend a crusty bread here, rather than mass-produced white bread)

Equipment

• Oven
• liquid measuring cup
• measuring spoons
• 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish
• large mixing bowl
• whisk
• rubber spatula

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. With a rubber spatula, stir in the spinach, cheese, and bread pieces.
3. Pour the mixture into a 13″ x 9″ baking dish, and smooth it out with the rubber spatula. Bake until browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
   
4. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot. Leftovers will last a few days in the fridge, and can be eaten hot or cold.

Cheesy spinachy breakfast