Sausage & Kale Strata

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
6 slices crusty, day-old bread, cubed
1⁄4 pound ground Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1⁄2 pound kale
2 granny smith or pink lady apples, peeled, cored, and diced 2 cups half-and-half
6 eggs
1⁄4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or 1⁄2 teaspoon dried mustard
1 1⁄2 cups grated white cheddar
1⁄2 cup grated parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter. Line bottom of greased baking dish with cubed bread.
2. In a medium sauté pan, lightly brown sausage over medium heat. Once sausage is browned, remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon rendered fat and set extra fat aside.
3. Sauté garlic and baby kale in pan with rendered sausage fat until kale is lightly wilted. Remove from pan and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of drained fat back to pan and sauté apples until beginning to soften.
4. Put sautéed garlic, kale, apples, and sausage into baking dish with bread.
5. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and half and half. Add paprika, mustard, cheddar, and

   parmesan. Whisk to combine. Pour over bread in baking dish. Cover and let rest for 15

   minutes or put in refrigerator overnight.

6. Bake strata until custard is just set, about 30 minutes. If strata was refrigerated

   overnight, pull out and rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes before baking. To

   finish, broil for 1-2 minutes until strata is browned and bubbly.

7. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Cut strata into portions and serve.