Incredible, Edible Egg (Beaters)

Joe and I both really like having breakfast for dinner. It's funny because I basically never make breakfast for breakfast, but in the evenings we love to have pancakes, eggs, bacon, etc. So when I saw this recipe for ham and cheese strata on Julie's blog I thought it would be fun to try out for dinner. I'd make a baked egg dish only once before, for an Easter brunch, so it felt experimental. I made several changes to original recipe. I used a carton of Egg Beaters instead of eggs and subbed Swiss cheese for the Gouda. I also left out the sun dried tomatoes (Joe doesn't like them) and the chives (neither of us like them). I baked this for 35 minutes at 375 degrees, as my oven gets very temperamental and sets off the smoke alarm if you try to cook anything above 375. I really liked this dish, I was picking leftovers from the pan as we were cleaning up, but Joe wasn't too thrilled with it. I think I'll keep it on hand as a brunch dish to serve for company, but Joe and I may be sticking with plain old omelets for breakfast for dinner :)

Ham and Cheese Strata

1 carton of Egg Beaters (equivalent of 8 eggs)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups Italian bread cubes (1 inch)
6 ounces Virginia ham, cut into 1/2-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
6 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into 3/4-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper. Stir in the bread until evenly moistened, then stir in the ham and Swiss cheese. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and pour in the strata mixture. Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese on top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Let cool slightly, sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve.