Cranberry Monte Cristo Casserole

Sweet-tart, savory and creamy all in one bite. This casserole rocks. Breakfast for lunch, brunch, dinner or even (gasp!) breakfast, you will want a piece of this casserole for every meal.

Ingredients (serves 6):

Cooking spray

1 box (10 count) frozen waffles, thawed

1 (14 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce, divided in half

1 (8 ounce) package Swiss or Havarti cheese slices (I’m using 4 ounces of each)

10 slices ham (thick slices, not the wafer sliced kind)

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (totally optional, but I love the contrast of flavors)

6 eggs

1 cup half and half

1 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar for garnish

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2 ½ quart casserole with cooking spray. Lay in half of the waffles, tearing them into pieces to fit in the spare spaces in the bottom of the pan in one even layer. Spread ½ of the cranberry sauce onto the top of the waffles, reserving the rest in a bowl to be served alongside of the finished casserole.

Layer the ham in a single layer on top of the cranberry sauce, then layer the cheese on top of that. If you are using the mustard, spread that evenly over the casserole. Top with the rest of the waffles in a single layer and push down to smoosh the casserole together.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half and salt. Pour evenly over the casserole and smoosh the casserole down again to ensure that the whole casserole gets some egg treatment.

Bake the casserole for 50 minutes or until the top gets slightly golden. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into squares, dust with some powdered sugar and serve with reserved cranberry sauce.