Italian Strata Food

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.

EASY STRATA AND VARIATIONS

Steps:

• Saute mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of oil. Season with salt and set aside.
• Whisk half-and-half, eggs, salt and pepper until smooth. Spray a 9-by-13-inch Pyrex or ceramic baking dish with vegetable cooking spray.
• Line bottom with 6 slices of bread. Scatter half of the ham, and half of the mushrooms over the bread, then sprinkle with half of the scallions and cheese. Pour 1 cup of egg mixture over the top. Repeat layers with remaining bread, ham, mushrooms, cheese and scallions. Slowly pour remaining egg mixture evenly over top. Cover with plastic wrap, then weight down casserole with 3 16-ounce cans for at least 15 minutes to submerge ingredients. (Can be refrigerated overnight, but return to room temperature before baking.)
• Adjust oven rack to middle position. Bake in preheated 325-degree oven until custard is just set, about 50 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil until strata is spotty brown and puffy (watch carefully), about 5 minutes longer. Let stand for 8 to 10 minutes, then serve immediately.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Brown sausage in large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, stirring frequently. Drain. Add broccoli and bell pepper; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
• Place English muffin cubes in sprayed baking dish. Top with sausage mixture. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese.
• Beat eggs in large bowl. Add milk, salt and basil; beat well. Pour over sausage mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Uncover baking dish; bake 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

SAVORY ITALIAN SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Place bread cubes in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with mushrooms, onions and sausage. , In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, mustard and salt. Pour over top; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly.) Let stand for 10 minutes before serving., Serve immediately or before refrigerating and baking, cover and freeze casserole for up to 3 months. , To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake according to directions.

BREAKFAST STRATA

Steps:

• Generously grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir sausage until crumbly and completely browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer cooked sausage to the prepared casserole dish.
• Cook and stir mushrooms in the same skillet over medium heat until liquid has been released and mushrooms are lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes; drain.
• Mix mushrooms, eggs, bread, milk, Cheddar cheese, ham, spinach, flour, mustard powder, salt, butter, and basil together in a large bowl; pour over sausage. Cover casserole dish and refrigerate, 2 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center of the strata comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.

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 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 SAUSAGE CHEESE STRATA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F; grease a 13-by-9-inch pan.
• Trim crusts from bread and cube.
• Crumble sausage into a large skillet; sauté with onion, mushrooms and pepper. Place half the bread cubes in prepared pan, top with half the sausage mixture and half the cheese; repeat layers.
• In a medium bowl whisk eggs, milk, Italian seasoning, garlic and salt; pour over the filled casserole. Let stand 15 minutes so bread can soak up egg mixture.
• Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve drizzled with warm spaghetti sauce.

SAUSAGE, FONTINA, AND BELL PEPPER STRATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2- inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.
• Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Sauteacute; over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.
• Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausagepepper mixture. Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge. Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.