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Ham and Cheese Brunch Squares

This is currently my favorite Pampered Chef recipe to make at my shows.  It’s so simple, it looks great, and it’s really tasty.

This is also a great recipe to take to those morning breakfast gatherings! Bake it before you leave and take it in the stoneware…it’ll stay warm the entire way there. The only change I really found was adding the ham to the egg mixture. When you pour the egg mixture over the hash browns, all the ham tended to stay in the bottom of the batter bowl, so it didn’t spread out evenly. Instead, what I recommend is either pouring the egg mixture over the hash browns and then sprinkling on the ham and onions or vice versa. I think you’ll get a better distribution of ham this way.

Another trick is to microwave the cream cheese before you try whisking it.  Or make sure it’s really thawed because you can end up with some lumpy cream cheese in the egg mixture.  There were some who liked it this way when I first made it (I didn’t think of microwaving it until later), but I’m not a huge cream cheese fan so I prefer it mixed in.

Updated 4/5/12: I’ve probably made this a dozen times now and there is one trick that I do that I didn’t originally mention. The original recipe calls for one (22.5oz) package of frozen toaster hash brown patties and those were such a pain to smash into a layer, that I haven’t used them since the first time I made this.  Instead I use one 28oz package of frozen hash browns or home fries.  You know the ones in the red bags in the frozen breakfast food section – those ones.  They make it super easy since all I have to do is spread them out and viola, it’s perfect.  The other thing you can do is get the Potatoes O’Brien and then you also have onions and peppers in the hash brown mixture, which makes this even tastier.

Ingredients:
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 cups (8oz) grated Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
1 pkg (28 oz) frozen hash browns
8oz cream cheese, softened
12 eggs
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
8oz thickly sliced deli ham
5 green onions with tops, divided (1 cup sliced)
3 plum tomatoes
Additional coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly brush stoneware with oil using a basting brush or oil spritzer. Grate cheese using a mandoline. Crumble hash browns over bar pan; press gently into an even layer. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over hash browns. Bake 13-15 minutes or until crust starts to brown and cheese is melted.
2. Meanwhile, in a batter bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth using whisk. Gradually add eggs and black pepper; whisk until smooth. On the cutting board, coarsely chop ham using a food chopper. Slice green onions, reserving ¼ cup of the tops for garnish. Place ham and remaining green onions into (8-in.) a sauté pan; cook and stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until hot. Stir ham mixture into egg mixture using small scrapper.
3. Remove bar pan from oven to a stackable cooling rack. Pour egg mixture over crust. Return bar pan to oven; bake 6-8 minutes or until center is set. Meanwhile, slice tomatoes in half lengthwise using a knife; scrape out seeds and dice. Remove bar pan from oven; top with remaining cheese, tomatoes and reserved green onions. Sprinkle with additional black pepper, if desired. Cut into squares and serve using a mini-serving spatula.

Yields: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 180, Total Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 3.5g, Cholesterol 15mg, Carbohydrate 18g, Protein 10g, Sodium 380mg, Fiber 1g

Variations: If desired, 2 cups cooked and crumbled bulk pork sausage (¾ pound) or 1 pound bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled, can be substituted for the deli ham.

March 13, 2009 · jackie · 22 Comments
Posted in: Breakfast

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