Easy Sausage Strata Food

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPER STRATA

Steps:

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon, until brown, about 5 minutes; transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the bell peppers to the skillet with 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
• Whisk together the half-and-half, Parmesan, parsley, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl.
• Layer half of the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella, followed by the sausage and peppers. Cover with the remaining bread cubes and pour the custard evenly over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let soak at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour. (To make ahead, after adding the custard, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight and then let the strata sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.)
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the plastic and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake until slightly puffed and no longer jiggly in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

HOLIDAY SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat, crumbling it with a spoon, until mostly brown but still a little pink, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel; reserve the sausage fat separately.
• Butter both sides of the bread with the butter. Arrange half of the bread in 1 layer in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with half the sausage, followed by half the Gruyere. Repeat with another layer of the remaining bread, sausage and cheese.
• In a bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, 2 teaspoons of the salt and some pepper. Pour the mixture over the layers of bread, sausage and cheese. Cover in plastic wrap and weigh down the strata with a couple sacks of rice/beans in a zipper top bag to compress it. Refrigerate overnight.
• The morning of baking, remove the plastic wrap and weights. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Toss the broccoli with the reserved sausage fat, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Dot the top of the strata with the broccoli florets so the broccoli tops are still visible (to look like trees) but the stalks are submerged in the custard. Bake until the edges pull away from the dish and the center is puffed, about 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Right before serving, sprinkle with the Parmesan to mimic snow on trees.

EASY BREAKFAST STRATA

Steps:

• Place bread cubes in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. In a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage with pepper and onion over medium-high heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, place sausage mixture over bread. Sprinkle with cheese., In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard and milk; pour over top. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats., Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casserole. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

SIMPLE SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Place bread in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish; set aside. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in mustard. Sprinkle sausage and cheese evenly over bread. , In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk, cream and pepper. Pour over cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve immediately.

SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• The day before:.
• Grease a 9"x13" baking pan.
• In a large skillet, saute sausage and peppers. Break up the sausage, stirring and frying until it is well-browned. Drain off the fat. Stir mustard into the sausage.
• Arrange 6 slices of bread on bottom of baking pan. Top with 1/2 of the sausage and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining bread, sausage, and cheese to make a second layer.
• Beat eggs in large bowl. Beat in milk, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour beaten mixture over layers in the baking pan.
• Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
• On serving day:.
• Remove baking pan from refrigerator one hour before cooking to reach room temperature.
• Bake uncovered at 350F for 40-50 minutes or until center seems set. Serve immediately.

EASY SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Spray a 13x9x2 pan with cooking spray.
• Whisk the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle with pepper. Set aside
• Remove casings from sausage and place sausage in a large non-stick skillet. Add chopped red bell pepper. Saute on high, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon until the sausage is cooked about 7 minutes.
• Cut bread into 1/2 " cubes and arrange a row of bread cubes on the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
• Sprinkle with 1/2 cheese, then half the sausage/pepper mix. Repeat layers.
• Pour egg mixture over the top. If serving that day, let it stand for 20 minutes for the bread to soak up the mixture. If serving the next day, refrigerate.
• Bake strata until puffed and brown about 1 hour at 350°F Cool slightly and serve.

EASY SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside.
• Layer bread cubes, sausage, and Cheddar cheese in a lightly greased 7x11 inch baking dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt, and mustard. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cube mixture. Cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

SIMPLE SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Arrange bread slices in single layer on bottom of 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray; top with sausage, vegetables and 1/2 cup cheddar.
• Beat eggs in medium bowl. Stir in cottage cheese; pour over ingredients in pan.
• Bake 25 min. Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar. Bake an additional 5 min. or until center is set. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

BREAKFAST STRATA WITH COUNTRY SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Brush a large gratin dish with some of the oil.
• To cook the sausage, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until it begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and red and yellow bell peppers and saute until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds.
• To assemble the strata, place half of the bread cubes in the prepared gratin dish and top with half of the sausage mixture. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the grated cheese over the sausage mixture and top with the remaining bread cubes and sausage.
• Whisk together the eggs, milk, sage, and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the custard over the strata. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Let the chilled strata stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Bake the strata for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese; continue baking until the strata is puffed and golden brown, an additional 20 to 25 minutes. (If the top of the strata starts to get too brown, cover it with aluminum foil.) Remove to a rack to cool slightly. Serve hot or warm.