Fabulous Frugal Breakfast Strata

I often find that I will buy a loaf of French bread and will only use half or less with dinner. Because the shelf life of a fresh French loaf is so short the bread often can go to waste.

If we have a stale loaf around on the weekend we often make a strata with whatever we have in the house. It varies from vegetables one week to sausage the next. Stratta is almost always better if prepared the night before and baked the next morning. It's a great option when you don't want to spend your morning cooking. Stratta is also a pretty food and makes for a great presentation for Sunday brunch. Not to mention this fabulous stratta only costs about $7.00! You will get about 8 generous portions, for about $.87 per serving. Not too shabby!

To enjoy this wonderful strata you will need:

1 half loaf of French bread. (preferably a few days old). - approx $.50

8 eggs - approx. $.66

1 1/2 cup milk- approx. $.50

8 ounces shredded cheese - $2.79

10 oz ground sausage - $2.50 with coupon

1 half yellow onion, chopped

Louisiana style hot sauce to taste

chopped green onion to taste

Begin by browning sausage in skillet. Add onion once sausage is beginning to cook through. Cook until sauage is fully cooked and the onions are translucent. In a mixing bowl beat together the eggs and milk and hot sauce. Spray casserole dish or glass baking pan with cooking spray. Tear up French bread into bite sized pieces arranging half in the bottom of the dish. Layer half of the sausage mixture, half the egg mixture, and half the shredded cheese. Repeat this process for your final layer. Refrigerate for a least 1 hour, but preferably longer. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes at 375. Test with toothpick to ensure middle is cooked. Garnish with chopped onion during the last 10 minutes of baking. I like to serve my strata with a side of fresh fruit.

Yummy!