Just kill it!

If I had one suggestion on this recipes - it's to over bake it. Kill it. If you aren't sure if you've baked it long enough, you probably haven't, so toss it in for longer. I had been excited to try this recipe. It had all sorts of things in it we liked, I could make it the night before, I even got fancy bread to use for free from the fun grocery story we go to sometimes. But we didn't bake it long enough the first time around. To be honest - I was running late from work, had to make two stops along the way and had Andy toss it in the oven. Summer is supposed to be easy breezy right? Well, we have to get the girl somewhere by 5:30 for a few weeks for a fun camp so our time was limited. No one was especially thrilled about soggy bread on the bottom and somewhat loosy goosy eggs. We ate what we felt we should and then I tossed it back in the oven - then it all firmed back up. Will anyone eat the left overs? I'm guessing not - PTSD for loosy goosy eggs is a real thing. The taste was great - the raw egg soggy bread was not great. So again... kill it!

Overnight Ham & Swiss Cheese Strata
8 cups (about 12 ounces/340g) day-old bread cubes
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (or any color)
2 cups cooked and cubed ham
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
9 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped green onion
optional for serving: chopped parsley and/or flaky sea salt

Grease a 9×13-inch or any 3–4-quart oven-safe casserole dish.
Arrange bread cubes in an even layer in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the tomatoes, bell peppers, and ham evenly on top. Top with the cheese. Set aside.
Whisk the eggs, milk, paprika, ground mustard, salt, and pepper together. Pour evenly over the bread/ham. Top with green onions.
Cover casserole with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
When ready to bake, allow to sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes as the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 375°F
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 15–25 minutes. The strata is done when it has browned on the sides and the center is puffy. Mine usually takes around 50 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes, top with more green onions and/or pepper, and/or add a sprinkle of chopped parsley or flaky sea salt. Slice and serve.