I put together this recipe for the first time for my clergy association. We all enjoyed it, and they wanted the recipe. Then I made it for our church Christmas Brunch, to more appreciation. The great thing about this recipe (besides that it is delicious) is that you put it together the night before, leave it in the fridge overnight, and bake it off in the morning when you want it. It would be great for Christmas breakfast for your crowd, or anytime you have a houseful or potluck.

I used croissants from Costco, which are rather large. If your croissants are small, you’ll want to add an extra one.  The Costco packs of croissants come 12 to a pack which is how I ended up making this twice in one week. Wrap up and freeze whatever croissants you don’t use right away, and you can make this again as soon as they are thawed.

3 Tablespoons of butter plus more for greasing
5 croissants (six if they are small)
8 large eggs
3 cups organic whole milk
1 bunch scallions, white parts only, chopped small
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
a large pinch of sea salt
freshly grated pepper
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, and chopped
1.5 cups Gouda cheese, grated
1.5 cups Gruyere cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9″x13″ pan with butter.

Roughly tear the croissants into bits (4 – 6 pieces each), and arrange in the bottom of the greased pan. Top with the sliced butter, and bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, the milk, the scallions, the mustard, the thyme leaves, the garlic powder, nutmeg, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in the chopped spinach and 3/4 cup of each cheese. Pour this mixture evenly over the toasted croissants. Top with the remaining cheese.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, remove the strata from the fridge and again preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Bake 45 minutes, until set and beginning to brown.

Serve warm.

Yum!