Colorful Ham Strata

Week 520. Spring 2026. I am 43 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like fresh herbs and possibility and this is my life. This is the life I built.

Tom made his trout on Friday, the way he does every Friday, and the fish was perfect, and the kitchen smelled like lemon and capers, and I sat at the table and ate fish that my partner caught and cooked and served, and the being-served is still a wonder after all these years.

Mason is 15 and navigating high school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.

Lily is 13 and competing in equestrian events and winning with the Dawson stubbornness that I recognize because it's mine.

I made spinach and feta frittata this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

The frittata reminded me, as it always does, that the egg dishes are the constant — humble, reliable, endlessly adaptable, like the weeks themselves. This Colorful Ham Strata lives in the same spirit: layers of eggs and good things baked together until they hold, a dish that asks very little of you and gives a great deal back, the kind of thing you can make on a quiet Tuesday and feel like you fed your people well.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

6 slices white or whole wheat bread, cubed
1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
6 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon butter, for greasing

Instructions

Prepare the dish. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread the cubed bread evenly across the bottom.
Layer the fillings. Scatter the diced ham, red and green bell peppers, and onion evenly over the bread cubes. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the top.
Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder until fully combined and smooth.
Pour and rest. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread and filling layers. Press down gently with the back of a spoon so the bread begins to absorb the custard. Let stand 10 minutes.
Bake. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake uncovered for 45–50 minutes, until the center is set and the top is golden brown. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
Rest and serve. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm directly from the baking dish.

Nutrition (per serving)

Colorful Ham Strata — The Egg Dish That Carries the Thread Forward