OPEN ARMS – RECIPES

Savory Strata

Cubed Bread – approximately 32 cups, 1 ½ - 2” cubes

Cream Soup – 3 cans, (celery and/or mushroom)

Evaporated Milk – 2 cans

Eggbeaters –3 ½ -4 cups

Diced Ham – 1 pound (2-8oz. packages)

Chopped Vegetables – 2-3 cups (2-8oz. containers pre-chopped celery, onions & peppers)

Shredded Cheese – 4 cups

Hotel Pan – inside measurement 11 ½”x19 ½”x3 ½” deep

Cooking Oil Spray

Bread: Spray pan with cooking oil on sides and bottom. Use any savory bread first (i.e. onion, cheese, dill or caraway seeds). I have a 4 quart bowl I fill and use that amount for the first layer.

Liquid: Mix the soup, evaporated milk, & eggbeaters in large bowl

Filling: Sauté veggies in a little oil until soft, let cool (never use any filling that isn’t completely cooled to room temperature or colder.) Mix in diced ham and spread on first layer of bread. Pour 3-4 cups of liquid over this layer. Sprinkle 2 cups of cheese on top of this.

Finish: Put enough cubed bread on top to cover filling (about the same amount as the bottom layer.) Pour remainder of liquid on top, wet down all the bread. Cover with remaining 2 cups of cheese. Cover with foil and let set in refrigerator over night. Cook 1-1 ½ hour at 350°, uncover and cook ½ hour until brown on top.

Sweet Bread Pudding

Cubed Bread – approximately 18-24 cups, 1 ½ - 2” cubes

Apple Sauce – 50 oz. jar, unsweetened

Sweetened Condensed Milk – 1 can

Eggbeaters – 2-2½ cups

Raisins –1 ½ -2 cups (or any other dried, chopped fruit)

Caramel Sundae Topping - optional

Roaster Pan – inside measurement 10”x15”x4” deep

Cooking Oil Spray

Bread: Spray pan with cooking oil on sides and bottom. Use any sweet bread you have for this dish.

Liquid: Mix the applesauce, raisins, sweetened condensed milk and eggbeaters together (it can set for a bit to plump up raisins)

Finish: Put a little over an inch of bread cubes in bottom of pan; pour 1/3 of liquid (and some raisins) over bread. Repeat twice ending with liquid. Cover with foil and let set in refrigerator over night. Cook 1-1 ½ hour at 350°, uncover (squirt on some caramel topping if desired) and cook ½ hour until brown on top.

Misc. Insights:

Bread: I get only bread that is sliced; bag it according to type (i.e. savory vs. sweet) as much as possible and freeze it until I need it. I’ve also considered going to my local Publix and seeing what I could get donated to augment the leftovers from Open Arms. So far there has been enough.

Buying ingredients: I’ve shopped at Sam’s Club and gotten good deals on some of the stuff but then had to store large quantities. Now I buy store brands for each week and have found it costs about $30 to make both recipes.

Other Ingredients: I’ve used ground turkey, sage, and some turkey gravy during Thanksgiving & Christmas. Remember to cool down filling completely. For the Strata I’ve also used leftover veggies (chopped), packages of frozen broccoli with cheese (chopped) or ground sausage. For the Pudding I’ve used pumpkin puree or any other pureed, chopped fruit and other sweeteners like maple syrup, cane syrup, etc. I don’t put in nuts.

Baking: I have a stove with two ovens so I can do both recipes at the same time. The only way I could see getting both done if you don’t have two ovens is to bring it in to the Church kitchen early and get them started at a higher temperature to save time.