A hearty, satisfying egg bake from Twin Cities food blogger greens & chocolate, made with ham, Gruyère cheese, leeks and big chunks of French bread. Assemble the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning for an easy weekday breakfast. Great for holiday brunch, too.

There are two types of people: morning people and not-morning people. I happen to be one of those people who truly loves getting up early for a jump-start on my day. Whether it’s to get a workout in, to do some work before I start my all-day-mom gig, or just to enjoy a cup (or two) of coffee in the peace and quiet. There’s something about the morning that is sacred to me.

My husband, on the other hand, not so much. He will stay up way later than he should and snoozes his alarm until the latest possible minute that he can get away with. After a quick rinse in the shower he fills his to-go mug with coffee, grabs a yogurt or granola bar and is out the door.

It just baffles me because, along with being a morning person, I need a serious breakfast. My husband can get through his morning with a granola bar but I definitely need something heartier. Usually it’s a big bowl of oatmeal or avocado toast with an egg on top, but I’ve started a new habit that I’m catching onto.

That habit is baking a breakfast casserole early in the week and eating it all week long. The thing I love about doing this is that not only can I throw whatever meat, cheese and veggies I have on hand in the casserole, but it’s practically a no-brainer every morning. Better yet, I don’t have to think about what to feed my kids for breakfast, either. Just reheat and eat!

This Ham and Gruyère Egg Casserole is my newest obsession when it comes to my weekly breakfast casseroles. It has smoky ham, nutty Gruyère cheese, leeks and big chunks of French bread. I topped it all off with a simple combination of eggs, milk and some Dijon mustard, and breakfast for the week was finished! Well, after some time in the oven.

Another great thing about this egg casserole is that you can prep the entire thing the night before. So if you want to make it for a weekend breakfast/brunch or for Christmas morning when you’ll have other things to occupy your time, you can make it all the night before and then just pop it in the oven when you get up. Now that I think of it, this could be the perfect solution for those of you not-morning people. You can snooze your alarms a few more times because you won’t have any breakfast prep to do.

So, whether you’re feeding your family on Christmas morning or the troops before they head out the door to school, this Ham and Gruyère Egg Casserole will definitely please all of the bellies!