Italian Strata Breakfast Casserole Food

ITALIAN BREAKFAST STRATA

Steps:

• Grease (or spray with cooking spray) a 9-in. x 13-inch baking dish and set it aside.
• Cook and crumble the sausage with the peppers in a skillet over medium-high heat until the sausage is cooked through. Drain. Return the sausage mixture to the pan and add the sun-dried tomatoes. Set aside.
• Place the bread cubes in a very large bowl.
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and basil. Stir the sausage mixture into the bread. Add 1 cup of the cheese and mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Reserve the remaining 1 cup of cheese for later use. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight - or at least 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sprinkle the strata with the remaining 1 cup of cheese. Spray one side of a piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover the dish with cooking spray and place sprayed side down over the casserole. Seal.
• Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.
• Allow the casserole to cool slightly before serving.

ITALIAN-STYLE BREAKFAST STRATA RECIPE WITH FILLO CRUST

Steps:

• First make the strata filling: Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken sausage. Saute until browned, breaking it up into small bite-sized pieces (about 7 minutes). Transfer the sausage to a large bowl and set aside for now.
• In the same skillet, or a different one if you prefer, heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the chopped onions, peppers and celery for about 4 minutes. Add dried oregano, salt and pepper. Transfer to the same bowl with the chicken sausage. Set aside to cool briefly, then add add the sundried tomato bits, parsley, and diced tomato. Mix everything together until well-combined.
• In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and milk together, set aside for now.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the butter in a smaller bowl and melt briefly in the microwave. To the melted butter, add 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and mix with a fork.
• Prepare a 9" X 13" heavy baking pan like this one or something similar. Brush the pan with a bit of the butter-oil mixture.
• Place 16 sheets of The Fillo Factory Fillo Dough on a clean and lightly damp kitchen towel. Trim the fillo sheets slightly with a pair of scissors, and cover with another clean and lightly damp towel. Keep the fillo covered as much as you can while working.
• Now, line the baking pan with 1 fillo sheet. Brush generously with the butter-oil mixture. Fold in excess fillo. Repeat with next 7 sheets.
• Sprinkle the top of the last fillo sheet with grated Parmesan cheese.
• Lay the next 8 sheets of fillo, one sheet at a time. Brush each sheet with the butter-olive oil mixture, but do not fold. Instead, drape any excess fillo to make a "nest" for the strata filling.
• Now spread the strata filling evenly across the pan lined with fillo dough. Pour in the egg-milk mixture,and fold the excess fillo in to "encase" the strata filling.
• Bake in the 350 degrees F heated-oven for 30-40 minutes or until the eggs dry and the strata filling puffs up. Remove from heat; wait 4-5 minutes and cut into 12 squares. Serve warm with your favorite salad.

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.

ITALIAN STRATA

Steps:

• In large skillet, cook sausage, drain.
• Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
• Cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes.
• In a large bowl, combine sausage, bread and mushrooms.
• Put in prepared pan.
• In same large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and seasonings.
• Pour over bread mixture.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning, preheat oven to 350°F.
• Bake uncovered 1 hour. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses.
• Bake 15 minutes longer.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Using 1/4 cup butter, spread one side of each bread slice with butter. Place half of the bread, butter side down, in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms and onions in remaining butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon half of the mushroom mixture over bread in prepared pan. Top with half of the sausage and cheese. Layer with the remaining bread, mushroom mixture, sausage and cheese. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, Dijon mustard, nutmeg and ground mustard. Pour over cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, covered, at 350° for 50 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with parsley. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

ITALIAN-STYLE STRATA BRUNCH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Grease a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish.
• Spread half of the bread cubes in the bottom of the baking dish.
• Top evenly with the prosciutto or ham cubes, then the chopped roasted red peppers, then green onions and then sprinkle with about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Spread the remaining bread cubes on top, then tomatoes, then olives and the the mozzarella cheese.
• In a bowl whisk together the eggs, full-fat milk, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt and black pepper.
• Pour over the layered ingredients.
• Sprinkle about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or to taste) over the top.
• Cover and chill for a minimum of 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
• When ready to bake set oven to 325°F.
• Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until the center is set and the top is lightly browned.
• Sprinkle with capers (if using) and parsley.
• Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting into squares.
• Serve warm or room temperature.

STRATA BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Brown the sausage. Drain. Brush a soufflé pan (or other baking pan with high sides) with fat from sausage.
• Put 1/3 of bread cubes in the pan. Put 1/3 of cheese over bread. Put sausage over cheese and bread.
• Add 1/2 of remaining bread, 1/2 of cheese and the rest of the bread. Press lightly with hands.
• Mix remaining ingredients together and pour all over. Add remaining cheese.
• Drizzle with 3 tbsp melted unsalted butter.
• Chill overnight, covered.
• Let stand 45 minutes out of refrigerator. Place entire soufflé pan in a larger baking dish. Pour water in the larger baking dish to fill it up half way.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until brown.