Chicken and Goat Cheese Strata.

The past week has been so busy (holidays will do that), I hardly remember everything I cooked in general, let alone with my CSA goodies. I'm fairly confident I did cook, as most of my produce is gone and my family seems well-fed.

I was particularly excited about my week 3 CSA delivery, because it included a number of veggies that weren't just greens. I love greens (except kale, see post below), but I was ready for other produce to experiment with:

• I used the tomatoes and basil for a fresh pasta sauce.
  
• I stir-fried the carrots and napa cabbage (both shredded) with chopped garlic scapes, ginger, scallions and chicken, and sprinkled with crushed red pepper.
  
• I used the dill for another batch of Dilled Potato Salad with Pickled Cucumbers (I seriously cannot get enough of those pickles).

My next CSA delivery is tomorrow, so tonight I found myself staring at my leftover ingredients, trying to decide how I could incorporate all of them into one dish: chunks of rosemary-olive oil bread leftover from Saturday's brick-pressed sandwiches (bread wasn't CSA, but still quite good), a few garlic scapes, a TON of scallions (why so many scallions? They must grow like a weed. Ha.), local eggs, parsley....

STRATA!

Luckily I had half a package of goat cheese and some chicken (which is actually quite a miracle. I often have a mental block against thawing meat in time for dinner), so I got to work.

Chicken and Goat Cheese Strata
Serves about 6
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

2 t olive oil
Garlic scapes (to taste), chopped
Scallions (to taste), chopped
Leftover bread, torn or sliced into cubes (equivalent to about 6 large slices)
6 eggs
2 cups milk (or half-and-half)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper (a few grinds)
Chopped parsley
Goat cheese (I used probably less than 2 oz, but you could definitely use more!)
Shredded chicken (I used about 8 oz)

Sautee garlic scapes and scallions in olive oil until scallions are limp. (This step isn't essential, but I didn't want the flavors to be overpowering.)

Spread half the bread cubes in an 11 x 7 baking pan coated with cooking spray. Combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper with a whisk in a medium bowl. Pour half the egg mixture over the bread, top with half the garlic scapes/scallions, half the goat cheese and half the chicken. Repeat layers.

Cover dish with cling wrap and top with three canned goods (to ensure all bread gets soaked in the egg mixture). Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes. May be refrigerated overnight, but bring back to room temperature before baking.

Bake at 325° for approximately 50 minutes, or until strata is just set. Broil under heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand about 10 minutes before serving.