Holiday Stratta

On Christmas Morning I usually try to prepare an easy dish that can go in the oven. With the oven doing all the work I can do something else, like enjoy my family. This dish can be mostly prepped the night before minus the apples. A stratta is just another version of bread pudding. It can be sweet or savory depending on your needs.

Serves 8

1 large loaf of french bread, cubed
8 beaten eggs
2 cups 1% milk
1 cup fat free half and half
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 pound turkey or chicken breakfast sausage
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
4 granny smith apples,peeled,cored and cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 325. Spray large baking dish with cooking spray. Place the cubed bread in the bottom of the dish. Mix the eggs, milk, half and half, maple syrup and nutmeg together and pour it over the bread. Make sure you coat each piece of bread with the mixture. If your sausage is uncooked, squeeze it from its casing and brown it over medium/high heat. Spoon the sausage over the bread mixture. Layer the apples on next, followed by the cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.