Seahawks Sunday recipe: Breakfast strata

The Seattle Seahawks face the Chicago Bears in the NFL playoffs this Sunday at 10 a.m. (PST) on channel 13. What will you be munching on? A breakfast strata? Wings and beer? A family favorite? Share your plans with other readers here.

Sausage, Gruyère and Onion Strata

Serves 8

4 mild Italian sausages (about 1 pound)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

¾ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped red or yellow bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

5 large eggs

2 ½ cups milk (see Kitchen Note)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

7 cups cubed French or Italian bread

2 cups grated Gruyère cheese

1. Lightly spray or oil a 2-½-quart baking dish and set aside. Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Press sausage out of casings into hot pan and cook, stirring often, until done. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Discard fat from pan.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Pour oil into pan and heat. Add onion and stir 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook an additional 4 minutes. Add to meat and stir in parsley. Let cool.

3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until foamy. Whisk in milk, salt and pepper. Spread half of bread cubes in bottom of prepared dish, followed by all of meat mixture, then 1 cup cheese. Top with remaining bread. Pour egg mixture over the bread, pressing down lightly to moisten bread. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

4. Remove baking dish from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and bake, uncovered, on center oven rack 45 minutes or until cooked through in center. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Times Kitchen Note: The lower the fat percentage of milk, the more the dish is likely to become watery when baked. Don't use nonfat or 1 percent milk in this recipe.

From "The Good Egg" by Marie Simmons