Thanksgiving Leftover Strata

Ingredients

• 14 ounce Italian or French bread loaf (cut into 1 inch cubes)
• 2 - 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves (minced, OR 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 1 cup leftover gravy
• 4 oz of cheddar cheese or gruyere (or a mix of both, grated)
• 10 eggs
• 1 ½ cup of milk, or half and half
• ½ tsp of kosher salt (plus more to taste)
• 1 tsp black pepper (optional)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary (stalk removed)
• 3 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
• 3 cups leftover turkey (cubed or shredded)
• 8 - 10 slices of bacon (cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces (optional))
• 12 oz of cheddar and mozzarella (cubed into ½ inch pieces)
• ½ red onion (thinly sliced)
• 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce
• About ½ - 1 cup sauteed spinach (chard or brussels sprouts)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 300°F.

2. 2

   Place the cubed bread in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil (2 tbsp first and more as needed), add the minced garlic cloves and toss to combine.

3. 3

   Place the bread cubes on a baking tray or roasting pan, and allow the bread to roast in the oven for about 20 - 30 minutes, while tossing them occasionally. When the bread cubes are fairly dry and crisp (but not colored), remove from the oven and let them cool down.

4. 4

   While the bread cubes are cooling down, prepare the gravy.

5. 5

   Put the gravy in a small saucepan or a microwave-safe bowl. Heat until hot, but not boiling.

6. 6

   Add the cheese and stir in gently to partially melt the cheese. The cheese should not be completely melted. Set aside until needed.

7. 7

   Add all the eggs, milk, salt and black pepper into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside until needed.

8. 8

   Chop the thyme and rosemary together and place in a small bowl.

9. 9

   Put all of the other fillings in separate bowls as well.

10. 10

    Generously butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish.

11. 11

    Place half of the bread cubes on the bottom of the prepared pan/dish. Sprinkle half of the chopped herbs over the bread.

12. 12

    Next, add HALF of the turkey and HALF of the bacon on top of the bread layer, followed by HALF of the cheese.

13. 13

    Add HALF of the sliced onions, then dollop HALF of the cranberry sauce, followed by all of the sauteed greens of your choice (you can leave out the greens if you like). Then layer the remaining ingredients in the same order (turkey, bacon, cheese, onion and cranberry sauce).

14. 14

    Top it all off with the rest of the bread cubes, chopped herbs and black pepper (optional).

15. 15

    Evenly pour the EGG MIX over the bread. Use a spatula to gently press the mixture into the dish.

16. 16

    Finally, evenly pour the cheesy gravy over the bread cubes. If you don’t have gravy, you can just sprinkle some cheese on top instead.

17. 17

    Cover the dish and let the strata soak up all the flavor for at least 1 hour. You can also cover the dish and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours at this point.

18. 18

    Preheat oven to 350°F.

19. 19

    Bake the strata in the oven (uncovered) for 45 - 50 minutes. Check on the strata half way through, and again occasionally after that. Cover the strata with foil if the bread layer on top is browning too much.

20. 20

    Remove the strata from the oven, and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Serve warm.