Mexican Sausage Strata Food

MEXICAN SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Coat a 9-inch quiche dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Spread bread cubes evenly in quiche dish. Set aside.
• Crumble sausage into a medium skillet; cook until brown.
• Drain off fat.
• Pat with paper toweling to remove excess fat.
• Sprinkle cooked sausage over bread cubes in quiche dish.
• In a medium mixing bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and sour cream.
• Stir in cheeses.
• Pour egg mixture over sausage in quiche dish.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Uncover and bake for 35-40 minutes or until center is set and top is golden brown. Remove from oven.
• Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting. To serve, cut strata into wedges. Spoon some salsa on top of each serving.

MEXICAN CHORIZO STRATA

Steps:

• Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a skillet. Add the chorizo and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned. Drain off the fat.
• Arrange the bread in a casserole dish. Top with the chorizo and then the roasted chiles.
• Whisk together the milk, butter, hot sauce and eggs in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper; pour over the chiles. Top with the cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 2 days.
• To serve, bring the strata to room temperature and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the strata for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, whizz together the sour cream, avocado and lime juice in a food processor and season with salt and pepper.
• Top the strata with tomatoes, cilantro and dollops of the avocado sour cream.

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.

THE ULTIMATE BREAKFAST FOR DINNER: SAUSAGE AND SPINACH EGG STRATA

Steps:

• Defrost the spinach in the microwave, and then wring out any excess liquid.
• Heat the EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown and crumble the spicy breakfast sausage, and then remove the crumbles to a plate. Return the skillet to the heat. Reduce the heat a little and melt the butter. To the skillet, add the onions and garlic and cook to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Then add the spinach and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Turn off the heat and combine with the sausage bits.
• Arrange half of the bread in a casserole dish.
• Whisk the eggs with the milk, Dijon and some salt and pepper.
• Scatter half of the sausage-spinach mixture over the bread, top with half the cheese, pour over half the eggs, repeat. Cover and store in the fridge.
• Bring the strata to room temperature for about 30 minutes before you bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the center of the oven.
• Set the casserole on a baking sheet and bake uncovered 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND BREAKFAST SAUSAGE 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 onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often until golden brown, about 6 minutes more. Set aside.
• Whisk the half-and-half, Parmesan, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper together in a large bowl.
• Layer half of the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the Muenster cheese, followed by the sausage-onion mixture. Cover with the remaining bread cubes and pour the half-and-half mixture evenly over top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (This can also be assembled the day of; just let soak at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.)
• On the day of baking, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Let the strata sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Remove the plastic and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Muenster cheese. Bake until slightly puffed and just no longer jiggly in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

MUSHROOM, SAUSAGE AND GRUYERE STRATA

Steps:

• For the strata: In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the oyster and shiitake mushrooms and chopped thyme and saute until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms to a plate. In the same saucepan, add the sausage and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sausage to the plate, leaving the drippings behind for gravy (refrigerate the drippings until ready to make the gravy).
• In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cheese and reserved mushrooms and sausage to the mixture. Mix in the bread cubes. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Grease a bundt pan with oil. Add a little flour to the pan so the strata doesn't stick. Add the strata mixture to the pan and bake until deep golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a plate.
• For the gravy: While the strata is baking, heat the reserved sausage drippings in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and cook until melted. Add the flour and continue to cook until the mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth while cooking. Add a pinch of salt and some pepper.
• Serve the strata with the warm gravy and garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.

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.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE STRATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F degrees. Cut loaf of bread into 1 inch slices, then roughly tear into large pieces (around 3 inches). Place on baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes tossing once. (You may skip this step if using day old bread, as long as it's fairly dry.).
• Heat large skillet over medium high heat, crumble loose sausage into pan and cook until no longer pink (about 7-9 minutes). Remove sausage from skillet and place in bowl large enough to accommodate sausage and bread.
• Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from skillet and add onion. Cook over medium low heat until soft and brown, 5-7 minutes. Add onion and torn bread to sausage and toss. Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and toss again.
• Butter a 9 x 13 x 2 inch Pyrex baking dish. Beat eggs well then beat in milk and sour cream til smooth; season with salt and pepper.
• Place sausage/bread/onion/cheese mixture into buttered dish and pour milk/egg mixture over, pressing down on the bread with a spatula to insure that the egg begins to soak up the liquid. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese and scallion (if using), cover and place in fridge overnight.
• The following morning (or early afternoon) preheat oven to 350°F Bake until browned and puffy, about 45-50 minutes. Serve hot with a Bloody Mary. Pass sour cream, hot sauce in general (sriracha specifically), ketchup, salsa, or sliced avocados; if you have the energy, top each serving with a runny fried egg.

MEXICAN CHORIZO STRATA

Steps:

• To roast the chili peppers, broil, turning occasionally with tongs and leaving the oven door ajar to allow steam to escape, until the skins are blackened all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let cool. Peel, seed and chop.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet. Add the chorizo and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned. Drain off the fat.
• Arrange the bread in a casserole dish. Top with the chorizo and then the roasted chilies.
• Whisk together the milk, butter, hot sauce and eggs in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper; pour over the chili peppers. Top with the cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 2 days.
• To serve, bring the strata to room temperature and pre-heat the oven to 325°F Bake the strata for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, whizz together the sour cream, avocado and lime juice in a food processor and season with salt and pepper.
• Top the strata with tomatoes, cilantro and dollops of the avocado sour cream.

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.

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.

FIESTA CORNBREAD & SAUSAGE STRATA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain., In a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, layer half of each of the following: cornbread, sausage mixture, corn and cheese. Repeat layers. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salsa and sour cream. Pour over layers. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 325°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, uncovered, 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.