Sausage, Mushroom & Pepper Strata

So technically, this is supposed to be a breakfast casserole, but it made for a delicious dinner tonight! I had some semi-squished hamburger buns languishing in the bread box, a sad red pepper and some slightly shriveled mushrooms in the fridge and some frozen breakfast sausage in the freezer. The perfect ingredients for a strata. A strata does not demand perfectly beautiful ingredients.

I used a SkinnyTaste recipe as a guide, but she calls for posh whole wheat ciabatta bread. (Yeah, I don’t think that any of our local stores even sell that.) I used hamburger buns because I’m classy. I also used a lot more veggies in the strata and sautéed them first so it felt like a more legit dinner. This is a super flexible recipe, so feel free to change up the veggies and cheese!

Sausage, Mushroom & Pepper Strata (adapted from SkinnyTaste)

8 ounces bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

12 ounces breakfast sausage, either pork or turkey

2 cups milk

4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

10 large eggs

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan, and cook 7 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add mushrooms and peppers, and sauté for another 5 minutes.

Combine milk, cheese, eggs, parmesan cheese, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Add bread, sausage, scallions and mushrooms and peppers, tossing well to coat bread. Spoon mixture into a 13×9-inch baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover casserole. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Cut into 8 pieces; serve immediately.