Just a little FYI, for those considering a move to California, or any other vacation-ready destination, be prepared for lots of house guests. At times your home will feel like a Bed and Breakfast. While it’s fun to have house guests and show them around Southern California, it can be a challenge to come up with meals to please everyone.

I absolutely, love to feed people but I put a lot of pressure on myself to create meals that not only work for me and my eating preferences and restriction, but foods that will also keep our visitors happy. I am a simple girl. I like to start my day with a green smoothie or some sautéed veggies. I know this type of eating doesn’t always fly for everyone else, so I am always challenging myself to create gluten-free recipes that will work for everyone.

With my husband’s family coming for two separate trips next month, I am already thinking about breakfasts that I can prepare that will work for us all. As a means to still sneak some veggies into the first meal of the day, I created my version of a stratta, with local farm fresh sausage, local pasture-raised eggs and some fresh organic kale from the farmers market – the highlight of this stratta, rather than the traditional bread, are these Gluten-free Ancient Grains Waffles from Van’s.

If you’ve never had a stratta before, it’s a layered breakfast casserole of sorts where savory bread pudding meets a frittata. Traditionally made with bread to produce the layers, I thought a fun way to mix it up would be to use these crispy, nutrient-dense, ancient grain gluten-free waffles, instead. These waffles have a very subtle sweetness to them compared to most frozen waffles (just 4g of sugar to two whole waffles) and they have the perfect whole-grain crunchy bite, making them perfect for this savory dish.

If you are vegetarian, you can simply leave out the sausage or swap in your favorite meat replacement. If you aren’t a fan of kale, try baby spinach, baby arugula or another green! Traditionally strattas include milk and cheese, making them quite rich. I opt for unsweetened non-dairy milk here (almond milk) and I prefer to go cheese-free, but you can certainly opt to add your favorite cheese to the layers. Parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella or even feta cheese.

This recipe is as simple as you want it to be. You can make it the night before, let the waffles soak up all the goodness and just throw it into the oven to bake in the morning, as everyone wakes. Or you can simply make it first thing and bake it.

[print_this]Sausage and Kale Waffle Stratta  {gluten-free and dairy-free}
serves 4-6

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter, for greasing the pan
• 6 Van’s Ancient Grain Gluten-free Waffles, toasted
• 8 large farm-fresh eggs
• 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (or regular milk)
• 3 cups roughly chopped kale, stems removed
• 1lb ground breakfast sausage, pork, turkey or meat alternative
• grated or crumbled cheese, optional
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• red pepper flakes, optional

Options:

• To go full-on savory, sauté some diced onions and/or minced garlic with the sausage
• Vegetarians, you can opt for a ground meat alternative in place of the sausage or simply leave out
• If you like savory/sweet try drizzling a little maple syrup over the stratta when serving

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF if baking right away.

Using olive oil, butter, etc – lightly grease a casserole dish or glass baking pan. Approximately 8-inch square.

In a skillet, over a medium-high heat cook the ground sausage until cooked through and lightly browned. Remove and set aside. Quickly wilt the kale in the same pan. Set aside.

Whisk together the eggs and non-dairy milk, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Dice the toasted waffles into small 1-2 inch squares. Layer half of the waffle pieces into the bottom of your greased pan. Add half of the browned sausage on top of that, and half of the wilted kale. If you are adding cheese, add half of the shredded cheese.

Add the remaining waffle pieces, the remaining sausage and kale on top of that. Pour the egg mixture evenly over top. Top with additional cheese, if using. Salt and pepper, to taste. Red pepper flakes, if using.

You can let the mixture sit overnight to let the waffles soak up the egg mixture, if you’d like. But it isn’t necessary, you can bake right away and it’s just as good.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the eggs have set and the stratta is firm. A knife should go into the middle and come out clean. Bake another 5-10 minutes, if necessary. When done, allow to set for 10 minutes before scooping out or cutting portions to serve. [/print_this]

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