We had a lovely weekend up at the rural Dunbar accommodations - beautiful weather and a rainbow of gorgeous fall colors surrounding us. Grandma made this new recipe for one of our breakfasts, and she wanted me to share it with you. It really was very good, and I'm sure it could be easily "tweaked" to use whatever you have in your refrigerator.
ITALIAN SAUSAGE STRATA
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, divided
12-16 slices day old bread, crusts removed
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups sliced onions
salt & pepper to taste
1 pound bulk Italian sausage (she used Jimmy Dean), cooked and drained
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
5 eggs
1 T Dijon mustard
1t ground nutmeg
1t ground mustard
2 T minced fresh parsley
Using 1/4 cup butter, spread one side of each bread slice with the butter. Place half of the bread butter side down, in a greased 13X9 baking dish. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms and onions with remaining butter. Add salt and pepper. Spoon half of the mushroom mixture over the bread in the prepared pan. Top with half of the sausage and cheese. Layer with the remaining bread, mushroom mixture, sausage, and cheese. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, Dijon mustard, nutmeg, and ground mustard. Pour over the cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Uncover, bake 10-15 minutes longer or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 12 servings.
I think you could easily use another kind of cheese - and lots of other veggies. A convenient breakfast for company! Andrew - you could easily make this without the sausage. Happy Cooking! Jackie
