Many years ago I was given a cookbook called Better Homes and Gardens Quick & Easy Comfort Cooking. As I thumbed through the pages, one of the recipes caught my eye. The Baked Denver Strata looked delicious. I decided that I would make this dish for my husband and kids on a Saturday morning when I knew they’d be emerging from their beds much later than usual. I was proud of the cheesy, bubbly dish I had produced, but my family weren’t particularly crazy about it. You see, my husband Tom doesn’t like onions or roasted peppers from a jar and my kids were young teens (Was that just a Saturday morning attitude? Did they like anything?).

After listening to Tom list the things he didn’t like about the dish and what HE would choose as ingredients, it occurred to me that the foundation of this recipe was quite solid and provided a formula with which I would only ever be limited by my imagination.

Here is my most recent adaptation.

Baked Strata with Gouda and Andouille

• 5 to 6 English muffins
• 9 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz. cooked Andouille sausage, diced
• 1/4 cup cooked bacon crumbles
• 1 cup red or orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 2.25 oz. can of sliced black olives, drained
• 2 cups shredded Gouda cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9″x13″ baking dish.

Slice and quarter English muffins then line the baking dish with muffins in a single layer.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over muffins and let soak for 10 to 15 minutes.

Distribute Andouille, bacon, peppers and olives in layers over the muffin egg mixture. Top with an even layer of the Gouda cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

I hope you enjoy this dish, but feel free to tailor it to the likes and dislikes of you and your family. I usually stick to a few parameters when changing things up. I use somewhere between 1 and 1.5 cups of meat. I usually use about a cup of vegetables and 2 cups of cheese.