Breakfast for Dinner - Sausage and Swiss Strata

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I LOVE breakfast casseroles and Strata has to be my absolute favorite in this category.  I make strata whenever I have a breakfast potluck to attend, and I often make it on Christmas morning for breakfast!  This past week, I got some Swiss Chard from Abbe Hills and then a friend of mine gave me some Rainbow Chard.  While I was trying to decide what to do with all this chard, I was reminded of a strata recipe that my mom used to make when I was a kid that was made with swiss chard.  I couldn't remember the exact recipe, so I just made it up as I went along, mixing and matching other stratas that I have made in the past with beautiful results!  Of course, if you don't have access to chard, you can always swap out for spinach!

Sausage and Swiss Strata

• 12 oz bulk breakfast sausage (I like to use turkey sausage but you can use pork if you prefer)
• 2 baguettes from your bakery, cut into 1 inch cubes (If I don't make them myself, I get them from the grocery store bakery- and I usually get multigrain baguettes when they have them, last night I used sourdough)
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb finely chopped Chard (any variety), spinach or kale
• 2 cups shredded swiss cheese
• 3 large cooked potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. granulated garlic
• 1 tbsp. herbes de provence (or a mixture of any or all of the following: thyme, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, sage, and savory)
• 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a large baking dish (I use my stoneware from PC for strata) generously with cooking spray.  Arrange the bread cubes and potatoes in the baking dish.  In a large, deep sided skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Saute the sausage with the green pepper, onion and garlic stirring frequently to break up the sausage until sausage is cooked through.  Add the chard and cook until wilted and reduced in volume by half. Pour the sausage mixture evenly over the bread.   In a medium sized bowl (I like to use my large batter bowl), whisk together the eggs, milk, granulated garlic, dijon, and herbs.  Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread and sausage, using a spoon to move the bread around so the egg mixture can seep into every part of the casserole.  Top with the cheese.  Cover and Bake for 35-45 minutes, until egg is set and cheese is melted.  Remove cover and bake another 5-7 minutes to allow cheese to become nice and bubbly.  

Happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING everyone!