I’m obsessed with casserole because after one night of work in the kitchen, I have lunch leftovers for every day of the week! (This obviously wouldn’t work for those of you who hate leftovers.) This Sunday’s adventure had my house smelling spicy and fragrant for so long that I almost pulled the strata out of the oven before it was done just to get a taste (bad idea since it has eggs!).

I only made a few changes to the recipe: I couldn’t bring myself to buy (and eat) two whole loaves of bread, so I filled the bottom of the pan and made coarse bread crumbs of what was left to sprinkle on the top. Of course, I added more garlic than called for, used roma tomatoes (no plum at Hy-Vee today), and I didn’t let it sit overnight (missed that direction when I printed the recipe, so I was already planning on indulging for dinner!).

Verdict: Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. It’s a definite ‘make again!’ Be warned though, it took forever to cook so don’t be in a hurry and foil the top to prevent the bread from getting too crisp!