Strata

4 English Muffins or thick slices of day old French or Italian bread, cut into bite size pieces

3 oz. chopped turkey pastrami

2 cups cut up cooked asparagus

2 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed

2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cubed

1 oz. fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

¼ cup plain yogurt

4 eggs

1 cup skim milk

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. hot sauce

Layer one half of the muffins in bottom of a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Add pastrami, asparagus, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses. Top with remaining English muffin pieces.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt and milk. Stir in mustard, hot sauce, and onions. Pour evenly over the layers in the baking dish.  Cover chill overnight, or at least for two hours.

Top with Parmesan cheese and bake uncovered in a preheated 325º oven for 60 minutes or until internal temperature reads 170º F.  Let stand ten minutes before serving with salsa and extra hot sauce.

Food for Thought:

What the heck is Strata?  Trata or stratta is a family of layered casserole dishes in American cuisine. The most common modern variant is a brunch dish, similar to a quiche or frittata, made from a mixture of bread, eggs and cheese. It may also include meat or vegetables. The usual preparation requires the bread to be layered with the filling in order to produce layers (strata). Other recipes merely require that the ingredients are mixed together, like a savory bread pudding. A beaten egg mixture is then poured over the ingredients and then it rests anywhere between one hour and overnight before it is baked.  It is served warm.

Welcome to the 2018 A-Z Blogging challenge.  This will be my fourth year. Every year I take on the challenge with hopes of disciplining myself to keep writing throughout the year as much, if not more than just through the monthly challenge. (It certainly is a challenge.)  Some years are better than others.  Some I just lose track of time.  This year I have decided to put my favorite hobbies together. A recipe that is tried and true as well as some thoughtful insight.  Please note some of these recipes have been shared before, however they have gone through years of testing and this is the perfected recipe.  I really hope one of my recipes or “Food for Thought” inspires you to do something great.  Enjoy the read and the photos, try the recipe, share your thoughts or comments, and most of all, have FUN with the challenge this month!

Cheers,