Croque Madame Casserole

Directions

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Melt butter in a large pot, add flour and stir together with a spoon. Cook on low temperature for about 5 minutes until it starts to smell nutty.
• Slowly add milk to the pot, ¼ cup at a time, whisking until it is smooth and has thickened. Continue adding the milk slowly while whisking to ensure you don’t end up with lumps in the sauce. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat. Add cheese, mustard and salt. Continue to whisk until melted together. If the sauce is very thick, add a bit more milk. You want the consistency to be a bit thicker than gravy.
• Slice bread into 1½-inch slices. Cut each slice into 4. Place the bread on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes. Add the baked bread and cubed ham to a 9 by 12-inch casserole dish. Drizzle sauce over bread and ham and top with cheese.
• Bake for another 15 minutes, then take out and crack 6 eggs around the dish. Bake for another 10 minutes so the yolks are still runny. Garnish with black pepper and serve.