Strawberry Strata Re-Imagined

First up - Strawberry Strata via Giada De Laurentiis and the Food Network. If you click on the comments and reviews you'll see that many people had problems with this recipe. Mine however came out great! I changed up the directions and ingredients a little, based on what others suggested and it worked!

Ingredients:

4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup ricotta cheese, room temperature

7 eggs

2 cups fat-free milk

1 1/2 packages fresh strawberries, chopped

1/2 cup honey, warmed PLUS extra honey for drizzling

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla

sugar

1 (12 to 16 inch) ciabatta loaf, crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:

- Remove crust from break and cut into pieces, set aside- Wash and cut up strawberries and mix in bowl with small amount of sugar, set aside

- Place cheeses in a large bowl and stir together with a wooden spoon.

- Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing until completely incorporated before adding the next.

- Stir in the milk, strawberries, honey, cinnamon, and bread.

- Pour into an 8 x 12 inch casserole dish

- To bake: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove the foil, sprinkle top with cinnamon, sugar, and drizzled honey and continue baking for 30-35 minutes.

The result? Total success! It was so good! I actually ended up making everything the day before, covering it in plastic wrap and holding it in the fridge, and then baking it the next day. It was finished an hour or two before people arrived; however, tasted great at room temperature. People seemed to be impressed and I was very happy with all the compliments, especially after reading some of the not so good comments on the website. We probably got somewhere between 12-20 servings, people sort of just scooped some on a plate. So I would estimate it's about 4 pts/serving.

before and after being baked

Also, with the crust from the bread we made chips! Drizzled them with olive oil and garlic powder, stuck in the oven at 350 deg F for about 10 minutes and ta da! They were great plain and also a great vehicle for the many dips people brought to break-fast.