strata

[rvwandering]

A friend invited us to lunch a few years ago and made strata, something we'd never eaten before. In fact we'd never even heard of it. It's good!

 We hate wasting food and one thing that often gets wasted is bread. Fresh bread is so good, slightly stale bread makes great French toast and then we don't want to eat the rest of it. Neither of us like sweet bread pudding so that's out but now that I've discovered strata we'll be throwing much less bread away.

 Yesterday I cut three stale rolls in cubes, chopped up some bits of leftover vegetables - onion, pepper, zucchini, mushroom, tomato - and added cheese, eggs and milk. The mixture soaks overnight and gets cooked the next day.  Combinations are endless and it's a good way to use up leftovers.

 Here's a basic recipe from Food.com

 It makes six servings but you can easily cut the ingredients down. I made a two egg amount and mixed it all together rather than layering it. We don't have a regular oven but our little stove top Oveneete works well. You could also use a solar oven or a 12 volt oven.
http://www.food.com/recipe/vegetable-cheese-strata-92347

• 3⁄4 cup diced onion (this should just say onion. I don't know why the rest is in there)
• 1⁄2 cup diced green onion
• 1 (8 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 5 cups Italian bread, cubes 1 inch
• 1 1⁄2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1⁄2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 6 large eggs
• 1 3⁄4 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1⁄2-1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Let oil get hot in a large skillet.
2. Add in onions and mushrooms; saute until tender.
3. Add in bell pepper; cook and stir frequently for 10 minutes or until liquid evaporates.
4. Put 2 1/2 cups bread cubes evenly in a lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish.
5. Top with half of the mushroom mixture.
6. Sprinkle with half the cheddar cheese and half the parmesan cheese; repeat layers.
7. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, salt, pepper, and hot sauce until well blended; pour over the strata.
8. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.
9. Let strata set out on counter for 15 minutes while the oven is preheating.
10. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set.

 

[my_vantasy]

I've never heard of it before, either, but certainly sounds good and worth a try. I prefer to eat meatless dishes, so this would be perfect for me. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[B and C]

Never new there was a name for it other than breakfast casserole.  We have this all the time.  Anything past any type of bread cubed, eggs and milk is all up to what is leftover to throw in.  Out standard is bread on the bottom with the egg/milk poured over it and covered with browned and crumbled sausage, then cheese.  Refrigerate overnight, pull out and throw a can of condensed mushroom soup on top and bake.  Add finely chopped vegs. to your taste before refrigeration if you want to.  Yum

 

[rvwandering]

Yum, sounds good! I'm going to try some different combinations. It seems like you could throw some salsa in and make a Mexican strata or an Italian one with seasoning, pizza sauce and pepperoni, almost anything really.

 

[B and C]

Don't forget to subtract milk for any added liquid that you put in.