Dinner @ my place..

Making dinner for 2 @ your place may sound like an intimidating task, but don’t let it be. You don’t have to be a master chef or be willing to spend all of your cash on your romantic dinner. You can show that you care through a creative, relaxed night. It’s simple, and that special other can even help — after all, the dinner @ your place...

Sausage, Fontina, and Bell Pepper Strata

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch wide-strips
• 1 1-pound loaf rustic French bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 cups (loosely packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.
• Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Sauté over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.
• Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausage-pepper mixture. Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge. Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.