Cookbook author, Susan Ritts, shares how you can spice up your Easter leftovers. Click here for more information on Susan’s book here.

Ham Strata
(Note: This needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight)
Ingredients:

• 10 eggs
• 2-1/2 cups skim milk
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 pound ham, thinly sliced or bite-sized chunks
• 1 loaf white bread, preferably unsliced from your favorite bakery (I like Italian)
• 10 ounces Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 5 chopped green onions (optional)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Butter to grease casserole dish

Directions:

• Butter a 9×12 inch casserole dish
• In a large bowl, beat eggs and add milk, salt, pepper and mustard. Mix well. Add onions if using, set aside.
• Cut or rip bread into 1 inch pieces. Put half of bread into the casserole dish. Top with half of the ham and half of the cheese. Layer remaining bread and repeat toppings.
• Pour egg mixture on top of bread/cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Half an hour before cooking, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove strata from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
• Cook strata for about an hour and 15 minutes. Check it after 1 hour. It should be puffy and light brown.
• Strata shouldn’t be “jiggly” in the center. Cook longer if needed. Cool slightly and serve. Great for brunch and dinner.

Crazy mixed-up salad
Ingredients:

• 1 lb medium to large uncooked shrimp
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 4-5 hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 1/3 cup capers, green onions (or red if preferred) cut up
• 10-12 small potatoes, boiled with skins on, cooled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• CGD Seasoned Olive Oil, Original

Directions:

• Put shelled shrimp in medium sized bowl. Add enough CGD seasoned oil to coat shrimp. Let sit for about 20 minutes.
• Combine lettuce, olives, capers, feta, onion and potatoes in a large salad bowl and toss evenly mix
• Heat with a non-stick frying pan to medium-high heat and add shrimp with the CGD oil. Pan-sear about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove. Add shrimp to lettuce mixture. Dress salad with CGD and toss to evenly distribute the oil. Cut hard-boiled eggs into quarters and arrange on top of salad. Drizzle a little more CGD on top. Enjoy.

Blackberry Cocktail
Ingredients:

• 1 cup blackberries
• 1/4 cup mint sprigs
• 12 cucumber slices
• 8 tsp fine baking sugar
• 3/4 cup lime juice
• 1 cup gin
• 1 cup club soda
• ice

Directions:

• Combine first 5 ingredients in a pitcher
• Using a large spoon, press ingredients and “smash” together to release and combine flavors
• Stir in gin and club soda. Serve over ice and garnish with blackberries, cucumbers and mint