Pantry Challenged: ANYTHING GOES STRATA
Here’s one of my favorite ways to use up the leftovers! You can serve it for breakfast, lunch or dinner and it’s also a great make-ahead dish you can assemble the night before.
Any kind of stale bread works. I like to use French or ciabatta, if I’ve got it, but don’t rule out hamburger/hotdog buns, English muffins, and bagels. Any kind of melty cheese works (cheddar, fontina, gruyere, gouda, Mexican 4-blend.) Any kind of meat or veggie works (sausage, chopped ham, any greens, mushrooms, peppers, onions- just make sure all are fully cooked before mixing in.
There are SO many options for this recipe. If you don’t have eggs and milk, you can substitute 3-4 cups of chicken stock or broth, which will give you more a stuffing outcome but it will be equally delicious.
You can also turn this into a sweet breakfast/dessert dish, starting with eggs, milk and bread and then adding bananas, raisins, nuts, cinnamon, 1/2 cup of any sugar/sweetener, pouring a glaze or caramel sauce over the top.
The possibilities are endless so let your imagine run wild! :)
Anything Goes Strata
Serves 8
Ingredients
8 eggs
3 cups milk
7 cups stale bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups shredded cheese, divided in half
Add-ins of your choosing:
For this recipe I used:
1 1/2 cups sliced and caramelized onions
2 cups sautéed kale, spinach and swiss chard
1 cup sautéed mushrooms
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, then add milk, salt, pepper and half of the cheese (1 cup) until blended.
Add bread cubes followed by add-ins and toss all until well combined.
Pour into a 12-inch greased skillet (you can also use a greased 9x13 baking dish) and top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese. (At this point, you can cover tightly, pop in the refrigerator and bake the next day.)
Bake for about 35- 40 minutes until top is lightly golden brown and center is set.
Cool 5-10 minutes before serving
