“Strata La Florentine”

Master asked: “What is that?” 

The best description slave could come up with was: Quiche Florentine meets a Sausage casserole!

Strata is a brunch dish made out of egg with layers of bread and vegetables and or cheese. A Quiche is an egg custard with vegetables, cheese, and/or meat. Here slave merges the best of both to offer a fantastically hearty dish that even the most masculine of your friends will love. 

 In place of bread cubes – hash browns, green peppers and onions!

slave's techie friends might remember the shirt worn by Arnold Rimmer of TV's “Red Dwarf” that said: "Give Quiche A Chance"

Give this dish a chance to win over your Master!

Ingredients
2½ cups shredded potatoes (the type for hash browns)
1 pound fresh bulk pork sausage (favorite flavor) Well cooked & crumbled
10 ounces finely grated sharp Cheddar. Low fat

1 pkg frozen spinach Thawed and well drained

1 Green Pepper diced

1 yellow onion
2 cups non fat half-and-half
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, lightly beaten

5 drops of yellow food color

Directions

Spray a 9 by 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a medium skillet, brown the sausage over medium high heat until fully cooked and no longer pink. This is important to fully cook the sausage. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with 2 -3 sheets of paper towels to drain the fat. Let the skillet cool but don't wash it yet.

Open the bag of frozen “Hash Brown” type potatoes and pour out 2½ cups worth. This will go over the bottom of the prepared pan.

Dice the green pepper into about a ½ inch dice.

Cut the top and bottom off on the onion, then make one cut right down the middle so that it opens up like a book, peel off the skin and carefully using a mandolin type slicer (With a handle) cut thin slices with the grain of the onion. You will get thin long strings and less tears that way!

Set your skillet on low to mid heat with the tiny bits of sausage left in the bottom. Stir in the onion and “sweat” for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally, or just until the onions start to turn a slight color.

 

While that cooks: Drain the spinach well. If you have what is called a potato ricer, that works well for this. Put in the spinach and bring the handles together. BE SURE it is IN the sink when you try this or else you will squirt spinach juice everywhere! If not, squeeze it by the handful. When you take it out and put on the cutting board it will remind you of what you cleaned out of the lawn mower! However it will taste so much better! Chop this up as best as you can, not perfect.

In a large bowl stir up the eggs and half & half with salt, dry mustard and any white pepper you prefer. I add about 5 drops of yellow food coloring, because you have green peppers and spinach and you don't want green eggs and ham!

  

Now assemble: Sprinkle the green pepper pieces over the potatoes.

Next with your fingers or two forks, shred apart the onions to cover, if you leave blobs, try to make them tiny and spread out! 

Now do the same with the spinach.

Next the sausage --

And the cheese.

 

Carefully pour the egg mixture over everything, cover with foil and put in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or better just overnight.

In the morning, take the dish out to get to room temperature or at least ½ hour, THEN turn on the oven to preheat to 350 degrees F. Wait until the oven is ready and bake the covered casserole until set and slightly golden, about 50 - 55 minutes.

NOTE: the covered pan is placed on a sheet lined with foil before placing in oven. This is just in case there are any spills, they will be caught and disposed of easily.

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Remove from the oven and allow the casserole to set for 15 minutes before serving. This step is also important so that the eggs are completely set.

Besides the wonderful aroma will draw the guys into the kitchen from anywhere in the house!

It is a joy in this ones life to be serving my Master Indy

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon