This Christmas Morning Wife Saver has been a staple of my families Christmas mornings for over 35 years. Make this delicious casserole the night before, and then on Christmas morning all you have to do is pop it in the oven to bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. It's packed with layers of cheese, ham, bread all soaked in egg and it's absolutely delicious.
Melt the butter in a skillet, add in the mushrooms and yellow onion and saute for 6-8 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and the onion is soft and translucent
Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking dish place. Place 5 to 6 slices of bread in the baking dish so that they fit in snugly and cover the base of the dish.
Top the bread with half of the slices of ham, laying them out evenly over the bread. Next add ½ of the mushroom and onion mixture and finally generously sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the grated cheddar cheese over top. Place 5 to 6 slices of bread overtop, ensuring they all fit in snugly and then repeat with a layer of ham, mushroom and onion, cheese and finally one more layer of bread.
In a bowl whisk together the egg, milk, mustard, chives, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture overtop of the casserole. Cover with aluminum foil and transfer to the fridge to rest overnight.
In the morning preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in the microwave and pour it evenly over the casserole.
Crush the corn flakes into smaller pieces with your hands before sprinkling them all overtop of the casserole. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Leave the casserole to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.