broccoli and ham bread casserole

When I opened the drawer to the vegetable section of our refrigerator, I found some broccoli, nicely washed and separated. As I did not buy any broccoli recently, I wondered who placed the broccoli there. My guess was that it was either my mother or MIL. (Later that night, I found out that it was MIL because she mentioned it when she tasted broccoli in this bread casserole.) Thanks, MIL! The broccoli came in handy!

This is a good recipe to adopt when you have leftover crusty bread / french loaf. When you leave the leftover crusty bread in the refrigerator for a few days, the bread tends to harden and even if you were to toast the bread, it would not taste that nice.

I have to warn you, though, that this bread casserole is substantial and filling. As such, do go easy on the portions when you are slicing the casserole.

INGREDIENTS

3 to 4 slices of crusty bread / french loaf

2 cups low fat milk

4 eggs

3/4 cup Bisquick pancake and baking mix

1/4 cup butter (softened)

1 cup broccoli (chopped)

1 cup ham (cubed)

2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

1 tbsp dried Italian herbs

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius.

2. Lightly grease a round casserole dish. Set aside.

3. Cut the crusty bread / french loaf into medium sized cubes. Set aside.

4. Mix the milk, eggs, baking mix and butter in a large bowl using a hand whisk. The batter will be lumpy.

5. Add the remaining ingredients (including the bread) and stir using a wooden spatula. Mix well.

6. Pour into the prepared dish and bake for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.