Breakfast Strata

Breakfast Strata

I make this dish all the time, and while it’s far easier to do in a home kitchen, I can make it in the trailer with little to no issue.  I’m sure there are some fancy strata recipes out there, but mine is more of a “kitchen sink” recipe.  Anything goes.  Just follow my simple winning equation, and you will be rewarded with delicious breakfast/brunch anytime!

The equation:

Bread + Eggs + Veggies + Meat + Cheese = Seriously Delicious Strata

Ok, while it really is THAT simple, there is a little more to the equation.  First, you need a casserole dish, greased with butter.  Then you’ll need to figure out your components.  The 5 major components are listed above and I’ll go through each one as if you are making a 9 x 13 finished dish.

Eggs

You’ll want about the same amount of milk as eggs.  HOWEVER, one time I used too much milk (even after having used this ratio).  Trust me, you do not want too much milk.  I think it’s perfectly fine to add an egg or two more to the mixture, just to be safe.  Crack your eggs into a measuring cup, check how much you have, then pour into a large bowl.  Measure the milk to a little bit less than where your eggs measured and pour into the bowl.  You’re all set, you now just need to season your egg mixture.

Basic Egg Mixture:  8 eggs + 2 cups milk (8 eggs is about 2 cups) – or if you’re me, you’ll add 1 or 2 eggs to this ratio so you never have to fear a runny strata.  The horror!!!  The HORROR!!!!!

Seasonings:  There really is no rule of thumb here.  Just add in what you like.  Here is a list of items that we have used.  Use just one or use them all!

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dill (crowd favorite)

Salt & Pepper (a must)

1 – 2 tbsp mustard (you can use mustard with seeds, but know the seeds will sit on top of the bread)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (would be nice if your veggies were sun dried tomatoes and zucchini.  Mmmm good.)

Bread

You’ll want double the amount of bread than your eggs, so if you used 2 cups of eggs, you’ll need 4 cups of bread.  If I’m being honest, I just put in as much bread as 2/3 up the side of a 9 x 13 pan.  I never measure this amount, because I live on the edge.  I’m out of control. 

I’m sure this recipe came about from people needing to use their stale bread, which I’ve used over and over and over again.  But sometimes I really just want this for breakfast and I don’t have any stale bread, so I buy some at the store, and it works just fine.  Whatever you end up choosing, just make sure to cut the bread in 1 inch pieces (approx., the measuring police won’t come fine you if these are smaller or larger than they are supposed to be).

Types of bread to use:

Sourdough

French

Croissants (Yeah, I said it.  These are pretty much amazing in strata.  With ham and broccoli and swiss.  So. Dang. Good.)

Leftover Dinner rolls (This girl is on FIRE!)

Veggies

You’ll want to use about half the amount of veggies as bread, or if you like veggies, use more!  I always sauté onions because I don’t want to put them in there raw, but I basically use some common sense to see if I need to cook my chosen veggies.  Lastly, just because it’s not on this list, doesn’t mean you can’t use it.  Use what you like or what your family likes.  You can’t go wrong when it’s something that you already know and love together. 

1 medium onion, sautéed in a little butter or oil and seasoned with salt and pepper (I put this in all my stratas)

2 heads of broccoli (or you can use frozen bags of florets, but try to cook it a bit and drain to make sure the water is out of it)

1 head of cauliflower (if you like this kind of stuff.  Ewww.)

1 package of frozen spinach (defrosted and squeezed to remove water)

1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (yummy with the spinach)

1.5 pounds mushrooms, sliced or chopped and sautéed for about 4 minutes

1 bunch of asparagus, chopped

2-3 zucchini or squash, chopped

2 potatoes, chopped and sautéed, but be careful not to cook them soft.  You’ll want to undercook veggies like potatoes so they don’t get mushy.

Meat

1 pound chopped (already cooked) sausages (We’ve used breakfast sausages, dinner sausages, bulk sausage, Italian sausage, all kinds of sausages. It’s about the flavor bombs and the texture differences.  Don’t overthink it.)

1 pound ham, chopped (this is one of my favorites, works REALLY well with broccoli)

1 pound cooked bacon, chopped

1 pound tofu (Yeah, I went here.  Don’t scrunch up your face.  Well prepped tofu can be just as delicious as sausage-y porky goodness.  Trust.  Read my note below for “well prepared tofu”.

1 pound of any other leftover meat you have in the fridge.  While sausage is one of our personal favorites, we’ve used smoked chicken which was great and I also made an awesome one with bison tenderloin.  If you would put it in a sandwich or on top of a pizza, I’m sure it will work fine.  The only thing we don’t love as much is cooked ground meat.  I don’t love the texture in the strata along with the eggs and bread.  It’s weird.  To me.  But you might like it.  So don’t listen to me.  Just tell me to shut up.

Cheese

You’ll want to use as much cheese as you do milk and eggs, so in this scenario, we would use two cups.  Here are a few recommendations, but any melty or semi melty cheese will work just fine.  I wonder if soft cheeses like boursin or brie would work as well.  Hmmm.  I’ll bet so!

2 cups cheddar

2 cups swiss

2 cups feta

1 cup Monterey jack and 1 cup cheddar

2 cups mozzarella and ½ cup parmesan (go bold or go home)

2 cups manchego

The list goes on and on and on.  Use your imagination and pick a theme.  You can’t go wrong!

*Note

Well prepared tofu recipe:  Purchase extra firm tofu in the cold case.  Remove from packaging, wrap with cheese cloth or linen towels (just something with not a whole lot of lint, but lots of absorbent qualities) place in between two flat objects (like plates or Tupperware lids) and place a heavy object over the top.  Put in your fridge and let sit for a few hours.  Remove from the fridge and marinate using your favorite go-to marinade.  It helps if it’s a bit on the dry side, that way you don’t get the tofu too moist again.  Then you slice and grill it, or sauté.  You absolutely cannot go wrong this way.  Tons of flavor, too.  And try slicing, THEN marinating.  That way you have marinade on all sides.  Even better!