So, I’m dieting.  Shocker, I know, if you have seen some of my recent posts, but the truth is, I rarely eat the things I bake, and I still have 20lbs to lose to get down to my pre-baby weight.  I cooked a Father’s Day brunch for my husband and my in-laws on Sunday, and boy is it hard to cook a crowd pleasing but healthy breakfast.

Most breakfast casseroles are loaded with hashbrowns, cheese, cream of mushroom soup, sausage, bacon, or ham… You name it.  So, I did one naughty thing, these Cinnamon Filled Gooey Breakfast Biscuits, and then I used my mom’s classic strata recipe but made it healthier by using reduced fat cheese and chicken sausage, and i have to say- it was delicious, and even when I’m not dieting, I will never make it the old way again.  You could take this a step further and use a whole grain bread- I used a white bread because I didn’t want to take it too far (there were kids eating this too) but that would make it even better. 🙂

*This recipe is best if it is assembled the night before and cooked the next morning.

Ingredients:
14 slices of bread (I used white bread)
1 lb of Italian Chicken Sausage
1 small onion, diced
14 eggs
1/4 cup of milk (I used 1%)
8oz of reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Brown your onions in a pan over medium heat until they are soft, and add the sausage until it is cooked through.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Cut the crusts of of all your bread.  Dip each piece of bread in the egg mixture, coating entirely, and place a layer of bread on the bottom of a 9×13 inch casserole dish, sprayed with cooking spray.  Top that with all of the sausage, and half of the cheese.  Cover with another layer of egg soaked bread, and push everything down with your clean hands.

Pour the remaining egg mixture evenly over the casserole and top with the remaining cheese.  *Cover and REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT*

Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes until eggs have puffed up and cheese on the top is melted.  Enjoy!