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Christmas Morning Wife Saver

A casserole of bread, bacon or ham, cheddar cheese, eggs, milk, and seasonings baked to a golden top.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Christmas Morning Wife Saver

Oven350°F
Time1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Assemble

  1. Butter a 9 x 13" baking dish and arrange 8 pieces of bread to cover the bottom.

  2. Cover the bread with cooked bacon or ham slices.

  3. Lay slices of cheddar cheese on top, then cover with another layer of bread to make a sandwich.

  4. In a bowl, beat eggs, salt, and pepper; add dry mustard, onion, green pepper, Worcestershire sauce, milk, and Tabasco.

  5. Pour the egg mixture over the sandwiches.

  6. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake and serve

  1. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350°F.

  2. Melt ¼ lb butter and pour it over the top.

  3. Sprinkle crushed cornflakes or Special K cereal over the butter.

  4. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F.

  5. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1275Calories
68 gProtein
53 gFat
127 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pork100g cooked242
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  3. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Cheddar cheese + mustardtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together708 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bread
Forms the base layers that soak up the egg custard and set into a tender, sliceable structure.
Eggs
Set when baked, binding the bread, meat and cheese into a firm, custard-like casserole.
Milk
Dilutes the eggs into a custard that soaks into the bread and keeps the casserole moist.
Cheddar cheese
Melts between the layers, adding richness, savoury flavour and a binding, gooey texture.
Butter
Adds fat that helps the crumb topping brown and gives a rich, golden finish.

The step that matters

Refrigerating overnight before baking. The bread needs hours to soak up the egg mixture fully; skipping this rest leaves dry pockets and a loose, uneven custard once baked.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, ham, cheddar cheese, egg, pepper, mustard, sauce):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, ham, cheddar cheese, egg, pepper, mustard, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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