Kale + Chicken Sausage Strata

The wind today is out of control.  Like trash-cans-flying-around-the-street-and-fences-almost-falling-down out of control.  I made sure both of our cars were parked inside because the last time it was like this a tree fell on my brother's car, right outside my house.

The problem was, he was serving in Afghanistan and we were surfing in Costa Rica. (Who am I kidding?  He was surfing, I was floundering around, trying not to die.)  Good thing we had great neighbors who took pictures and documented the whole thing... Geico couldn't argue with that.

Today I have no fear of the wind destroying a car or a house.  I just don't think that will happen.  What I do hope will happen is some wind gust picking up my neighbors barbecue that smells oh so good and plopping it smack dab in my yard.  Tri-tip would be preferred.

But since that's highly unlikely to happen (fingers still crossed!) I guess I will be having leftovers tonight.

Not too shabby when it's this stuff, though.  Can't go wrong with kale in this house.

So now I eat, listen to the wind, and watch The Voice.  And wait for that tri-tip to fly in...

KALE AND CHICKEN SAUSAGE STRATA

Recipe inspired by Everyday Food’s Sausage and Swiss Chard Strata, April 2011

SERVES 6  •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes

ingredients

• 1 packet chicken sausage, cut into cubes
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 small spring onions, finely chopped (bulb only)
• 1 bunch kale (about 1 pound), leaves torn off into 2-inch pieces and rinsed
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 day-old baguette, cut into ½-inch slices
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup shredded Asiago cheese

directions

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Transfer sausage to a small bowl, leaving behind as much fat as possible. Add shallots and spring onions and cook over medium until translucent, 3 minutes. Add a little water to pan and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with wooden spoon. Add kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Add to sausage and mix together.

2.      Spread half the sausage/kale mixture in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with bread, overlapping slices slightly. Top with remaining sausage/kale mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together milk and eggs, season with salt and pepper, and pour evenly over top. Firmly press on strata to submerge bread in egg mixture. Cover dish tightly with foil and let sit 10 minutes.

3.      Bake strata 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until cheese melts and egg mixture is mostly absorbed and set in center, 6 to 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

 COST: $10.25           COST PER SERVING (6): $1.71

Nutritional Information
calories 332.9   •    total fat 18.8 g    •    fiber 1.2g    •    sugars 5.5g   •    protein 29.2g