Foodie Friday--Strata or Breakfast Casserole

This recipe is called Strata—no, I have no idea where the name came from—or breakfast casserole, or simply baked eggy-bready-cheesy-goodness-made-from-refrigerator-leftovers.

Whatever it’s called, it’s yummy.

The beauty of this breakfast casserole is that you can make it any way you want. If you want to go a little Italian, then brown Italian sausage (mild or spicy) and add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Or make it using diced ham or bacon, instead of sausage. Add browned onions, or grape tomatoes, diced poblano or jalapeno peppers, or sauté spinach, drain and chop it. If you want more smoky spice then add chipotle powder. Or if you want a herbier type of casserole, add dried sage. Use whatever you happen to have on hand, it doesn’t matter. All you need is the basic eggs, milk, bread and cheese, leave the rest to your imagination.

This recipe calls for white bread slices, but I don’t like white bread, so I used a ½ loaf of French Country bread (weighed—about 8-10 ounces), or use Italian bread, or French bread, it doesn’t really matter. The staler the better since the eggy mixture is absorbed into the bread, like soaking French Toast.

The cheese can be whatever cheese you like. If you don’t have any idea what to use, use a sharp cheddar as the flavor will be a little stronger. And no, the cheese quantity is optional. Personally, I use far more cheese in my strata recipe than recommended . . . like two or three times the amount. This recipe is the perfect way of getting rid of those little chunks of random cheese left over from other recipes. I used a white cheddar cheese and a Mexican cheese blend, but I plan to use my leftover Gruyere and Fontina cheese the next time I make this recipe, which will be Christmas day . . . er, actually, I’ll make it Christmas Eve, but it will soak overnight before I bake it on Christmas day.  

Enjoy!

 

Strata or Breakfast Casserole

8 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard

½ tsp. white pepper

2 cups milk

1 lb. bulk sausage, browned and degreased

6 slices of bread, cubed, about 8 cups

2 cup cheese, grated 

Fry sausage, breaking apart until cooked. Drain fat, blot excess fat with paper towels. Set aside. Cube bread. Set aside.

In large bowl, whisk eggs, salt, mustard, and pepper. Whisk in milk. Fold in grated cheese and bread.

Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake Strata for 35 minutes until browned and set.

Serve immediately.

 

Tips & Tricks

·         Use LARGE eggs

·         I don’t drink regular milk; 2% milk works fine. I added a little cream to the milk to give it a slightly higher fat content.

·         Use spray oil for the pan. It’s easier

·         When I baked this for my work gang, I put the casserole in a cold oven and turned it on to 350 degrees while I showered and dressed. I wasn’t about to putter around while waiting for the oven to preheat.  I added 15-20 minutes to the stated baking time and kept an eye on it toward the end.

·         The dry mustard and white pepper give the casserole a little zing. Put your own spin on the basic recipe. Add whatever seasonings you feel like.  

 

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Parmesan Cheese Grits / Haricot verts

I prefer this cheese grits recipe over the other one that I posted. It actually comes out perfectly every single time. It might be largely due to the fact that this is a Bon Appetit recipe and I have yet to have one of those fail on me.

--Though I must confess that I cancelled my subscription to BA due to the fact they refuse to quit advertising cigarettes. But I’m not here to vent, I’m here to share this recipe!

This recipe was designed to be paired with grilled smoked pork chops. Hormel makes smoked boneless chops, so just look around for them near the ham in the meat section. Toss the chops on a hot grill, and cook until light brown and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. But instead on Sunday night, I cooked a ham steak (warmed up actually) in a pan, high heat to get a slight sear--yum!

And I made  haricot verts (prepackaged in Wal-Mart veggie aisle). Microwave the green beans. Melt 1 Tbls. bacon fat in skillet, toss in one small diced shallot, sauté until translucent, add cooked haricot verts and toss to coat. Salt and pepper to taste.

--For those watching your weight: 1 Tbls. of bacon grease is 3 WW points. This amount of beans is three servings. So you get the yummy flavor of bacon for a mere ONE POINT! Much better than eating dry beans, isn't it?

Parmesan Cheese Grits

4 cups chicken stock

1 1/3 cup quick-cooking grits (Wal-Mart cereal aisle), or yellow corn meal
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup butter, room temp, diced

Bring stock to boil in heavy large saucepan. Add grits in slow steady stream, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until grits are thick, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in cheese and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Enjoy this nice well rounded dinner.

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Fleming's Macaroni and Cheese

A few weeks ago, the hubster took his “girls” to Flemings Steakhouse for a Valentine’s Day dinner. We had an exceptional meal as always, but I need to remember to order my steak medium and NOT medium-rare. Most places will cook meat on the well done side, EXCEPT high-end steakhouses. As much as I love my steak to moo when I eat it, I do draw the line at the “cool red center”.

Anyhoo, Fleming’s Macaroni and Cheese was a huge hit with the family . . . again. Hubster looked it up online--doncha just love the Internet?!--and found three similar, but different recipes. We went with this one from food.com.

Hubby is the chef on this recipe!

The pasta we used looked like an octopus arm with suction cups. J

If you want more heat with the bread crumbs, add up to 1 more teaspoon of chipotle powder.

And this recipe is E-V-I-L!! Roughly, one cup of this mac and cheese is almost 1,000 calories! You have been warned!

Fleming’s Steakhouse Chipotle Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

Pasta:

1 lb pasta (cavatappi or curly, or a sturdy large shape.)

2 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. vegetable oil

Sauce:

¾ cup diced onions (green onion, leeks or shallots)

½ cup butter
3 Tbls. flour
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups half-and-half
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground white pepper
¾ lb smoked cheddar cheese; grated (it’s a white cheese) each pkg was 7 oz, so we used all 14 oz.
¼ lb cheddar cheese, grated

Bread Crumbs:

1 Tbls. vegetable oil

1 tsp. dried chipotle powder (gives heat, but not much flavor)
¾ cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In large pot, bring 1 gallon of water to boil. Add 2 teaspoons salt and pasta and cook for 8-9 minutes. Drain pasta and cool under cold running water. Pasta should be slightly firm. Toss drained pasta in oil and reserve.  

Melt butter in large sauce pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add flour and cook 1-2 minutes but do not brown. Add cream, half-and-half, kosher salt and white pepper.

Bring pot to a simmer. Cook until sauce is thick about 5-6 minutes. Blend cheese into sauce (cheese will thicken it even more) and add cooked pasta.

Pour pasta and sauce into 9 x 12 - inch baking dish.

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add oil and chipotle chili powder. Heat for 30 seconds, until pan starts to smoke. Remove from stove and stir in bread crumbs.

Sprinkle bread crumbs over the pasta and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool slightly before serving.

 Enjoy!!

Yesterday, I had a nice, long lunch with writer MarilynPappano and her hubby, Bob. We talked about everything, writing and non-writing, but when we were leaving I mentioned that I needed help deciding what type of recipe to post. Marilyn said, “Appetizer.” So that’s what’s up for today!

This recipe has been changed from the original. (no surprise there!) It’s a wonderful hot appetizer for gatherings. Yes, my friends, this is another one of my infamous Thanksgiving recipes. I know my family will recognize it.

Spicy Cheese Rounds

½ cup flour

1Tbls chopped parsley

½ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. salt

Large pinch cayenne pepper

1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese

¼ cup butter

Mix first 6 ingredients together, put aside. Combine cheese with butter. Using hands, thoroughly work seasoned flour into cheese mixture until stiff dough forms. Chill 15 minutes. Break off a bit of dough and roll into ball about 1-1 ½ diameter. Continue until all dough is used. Freeze on flat surface. Can store rounds up to 6 weeks in freezer bags.  Bake at 400 degrees F until rounds just begin to brown, about 20 minutes.

FOODIE FRIDAY--Cottage Pie (meat entree)

Quite a few years ago when our daughter was two going on three, we traveled to Disney World—mainly to take advantage of their ‘kids under 3’ are free policy.  She was potty trained and a real trooper. We did take an umbrella stroller that first year, but in the years afterwards she walked or Daddy carted her on his back.  Even today at the grand age of ten, she’ll fuss and complain when we walk around the block, but take her to an amusement park and she leaves us in the dust!

Our first night at Disney, we had reservations at the Rose and Crown Pub at EPCOT.  We were eating when a waiter came up to use and asked if our daughter wanted to start the Illuminations: Reflections of Earth a laser/fireworks show on the lake. Of course, neither my hubby nor I thought to bring a camera! Rachel held the wand, and when told to point it over the lake, she did. A single flare burst out and the 12-minute show started. Though we were unable to document it with pictures, it was truly an experience.

Out of the Cooking with Mickey cookbook with only slight modifications:

Rose and Crown’s Cottage Pie

¼ cup butter

1 cup onion, diced

1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef

Salt

Pepper

¼ tsp, savory, ground

1 cup brown gravy (McCormick’s brown gravy mix works best)

2 cups potatoes, mashed (I always have boxed potato flakes to use)

Grated cheddar cheese

Heat butter in 9-in. skillet. Add onion and cook until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add beef, salt, pepper, and savory and continue cooking 5 minutes longer. Stir in gravy and heat until bubbling. Spoon mixture into a buttered 8-cup flat casserole dish. Top meat mixture with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are lightly browned.

Enjoy!