Brunch sausage strata is packed with flavor

Turn up the heat for breakfast by serving a Mexican sausage strata that’s easy to prep the night before and bake in the morning. This dish caught my eye because of its colorful topping, which makes for an attractive serving – the salsa of your choice. With an eye toward healthful eating, this dish can be made with whole wheat bread, skim milk, and reduced fat cheese, without sacrificing any flavor. It comes from the folks at the Better Homes & Gardens recipe site, which offers up some good reasons to cook at home.

MEXICAN SAUSAGE STRATA

Nonstick cooking spray
5 slices white or whole wheat bread, cubed
6 ounces ground turkey sausage
3 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup light dairy sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers (2 ounces)
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup salsa

Coat 9- or 10-inch quiche dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread bread cubes evenly in dish. Set aside. Crumble turkey sausage into medium skillet; cook until brown. Drain off fat. Pat with paper toweling to remove excess fat. Sprinkle cooked sausage over bread cubes in quiche dish.
In medium mixing bowl beat together eggs, milk, and sour cream. Stir in Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses. Pour egg mixture over sausage in quiche dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Uncover and bake in 325-degree F. oven for 35-40 minutes, or until center is set and top is golden brown. Remove from oven. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting. To serve, cut strata into wedges. Spoon some salsa on top of each serving. Makes 6 servings.
Make-Ahead Tip: Assemble strata. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking as directed above.
Nutrition facts: Cal 254, Total Fat (g) 13, Sat Fat (g) 6, Chol (mg) 134, Sodium (mg) 556, Carb (g) 17, Fiver (g) 0, Protein (g) 18. Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
(Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens online recipe site)

Mushroom sausage bread pudding masks as a "strata"

March has roared in on the New England coast. Snow, wind, and cold, with the promise of more to come. Happens every year. We’d frolicked as we usually do during the tease of a few days of warm, sunny weather in late winter. But we weren’t fooled. Winter won’t really take a hike from this neck of the woods, or seashore as the case may be, until at least May. As for going out like a lamb? I’d be surprised.

So it’s time to curl up by the fire with a big helping of comfort food and perhaps some good wine to go with. Today’s dish, which calls itself a “strata,” contains some of the best ingredients to keep you warm – mushrooms, cheese, sausage, and to add a healthful note, some whole-wheat bread. We can’t ignore that fiber content because everyone’s reminding us of it these days.

What a wonderful dish this would be for breakfast, brunch, or even a main-course meal. I haven’t made it yet, but when I do, I’ll add fresh mushrooms, sautéed just slightly, instead of the canned variety. And, the packaged grated cheeses may be okay in a pinch, but for the best flavor, get some good Cheddar and Swiss, then grate your own. If you’re eager to try it, you don’t really have to refrigerate it overnight either, just an hour or so will do, before baking.

Here’s to the return of winter. We know you never really left. You were just hiding under that seaweed.

MUSHROOM SAUSAGE STRATA

1 pound pork sausage
10 slices cubed whole-wheat bread
1 (4-ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cook sausage and drain. Place bread cubes in greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with sausage, mushrooms and cheeses.In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour over top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees 35-45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.Makes 10 to 12 servings.
Note: If you’re short on time, you can refrigerate for just an hour or so before baking.
(Recipe from "Hey, Good Lookin' What's Cooking? Volume 2,” a fundraising cookbook compiled by the Waverly Junior Woman’s Club of Waverly, IL, to benefit area projects.)

Mushrooms star in hearty bread pudding

Okay, time to put a lid on all those Valentine’s Day sweets. Enough already! Now we must consider some foods that don’t contain sugar. Yes, we must. And believe it or not, we do have other favorites besides chocolate. So today we’re going to whip up a dish that’s full of a very special ingredient, the mushroom. You can never have enough of these heavenly critters, if you ask me, and this one is bursting with earthy creminis, those hearty although younger, smaller cousins of the portabellas. This pudding hits all the comfort food buttons on a cold New England day in February. Nice for a main dish or lunch offering, along with some crisp salad greens.

Thanks to Kristin Molnar of Canada who gave us the heads-up on this wonderful recipe that comes from Every Day with Rachael Ray. You can always count on Rachael for a recipe that’s delicious and not too time consuming.

CHEESY MUSHROOM BREAD PUDDING

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Two 6-ounce packages cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves, garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and Pepper
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring, until mushrooms are browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in bread cubes and let soak for 10 minutes. Stir in mushroom mixture and mozzarella. Transfer to greased 1-1/2-quart baking dish; sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan on top. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Serves 4. Prep time: 30 minutes. Bake time: 45 minutes.
(Recipe by Christina Stanley-Salerno on Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2009. Photo by Kana Okada.)

Low-cal bread pudding features ham, spinach and Gruyere cheese

After we catch our breath from the holiday hoopla, we plan to give a brunch party, inviting some neighbors and friends who we didn’t get to see last month. And knowing that people are watching their calories, we’re on the lookout for recipes that won’t strain the waistline, but are still full of flavor.

Today’s recipe is at the top of our list. No reason not to keep on feasting, even when trying to trim calories. And believe it or not, today’s dish, rich as it looks, has only 276 calories per serving. Yay!

Excerpted from The EatingWell Diet book, this pudding features whole grain bread and egg whites along with whole eggs, thus cutting down on the number of high-cholesterol yolks. The diet gurus suggest using a high-quality ham, which “infuses the pudding with a smoky flavor.” The aroma is divine, enhanced with Dijon mustard and fresh rosemary along with roasted red peppers. The Gruyere is used as a topping.

I bet the brunch crowd won’t believe this dish is a bread pudding!

HAM, GRUYERE & SPINACH BREAD PUDDING

4 large egg whites
4 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see tip)
1 cup diced ham steak (5 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped, jarred roasted red peppers
3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 11x7-inch glass baking dish or 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.
2. Whisk egg whites, eggs and milk in medium bowl. Add mustard, rosemary and pepper; whisk to combine.
3. Toss bread, spinach, ham and peppers in large bowl. Add egg mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to prepared baking dish and push down to compact. Cover with foil.
4. Bake until custard has set, 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until pudding is puffed and golden on top, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.
To make ahead: Prepare pudding through step 3; refrigerate overnight. Let stand at room temp; while oven preheats. Bake as directed.
Tip for wilting greens: Rinse greens thoroughly. Transfer to large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and punch several holes in it. Microwave on High until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out any excess moisture from greens before adding to recipe.
(Per serving: 276 calories; 10 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 169 mg cholesterol; 25 g carbohydrate; 21 g protein; 3 g fiber; 746 mg sodium; 422 mg potassium)
(Recipes from The EatingWell Diet, © 2007 by Eating Well, Inc. Countryman Press. Order the book from Countryman Press, or call 1-800-245-4151.)

Sausage, apple, and Cheddar bread pudding is holiday fare

We’re counting down the days. Until Halloween. Until the very-long-awaited election. Until the holidays, with their special meals and fixin’s. One recipe that caught our eye this week is rich with the flavors of apples, onion, sausage, and Cheddar cheese. It’s from a 2004 issue of Cooking Light, and while this dish could be defined as a bread pudding, it looks like it would make a great stuffing too. We’re always on the lookout for a new stuffing for the ‘experimental’ end of the bird. This could be this year’s holiday offering.

The folks at Cooking Light suggest leaving the peel on the apple for both color and texture. We’ll take them at their word. It looks like a great way to use leftover sourdough bread too.

SAUSAGE, APPLE, AND CHEDDAR BREAD PUDDING
Yield 6 servings

8 ounces turkey Italian sausage
2 cups chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces (1-inch) cubed day-old sourdough bread (about 9 cups)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in apple and onion. Cover and cook over low heat 5 minutes or until apple is crisp-tender. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
Combine milk, egg substitute, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in sausage mixture. Add bread, and stir gently to combine. Let stand 10 minutes. Spoon into 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until pudding is set and lightly browned.
Nutritional Information -
Calories: 308 (30% from fat) Fat: 10.4g (sat 4.9g,mono 3.4g,poly 1.6g) Protein: 20.7g
Carbohydrate: 32.4g Fiber: 2.7g Cholesterol: 50mg Iron: 2.5mg Sodium: 762mg Calcium: 256mg
(Marie Simmons, Cooking Light, October 2004)

Bacon tomato tartlets are bread pudding wannabees

Did we say tomatoes? Again?

You bet your sweet beefsteaks we did! For one thing, we can’t resist sharing the great and sometimes unique recipes using juicy, flavorful tomatoes, either fresh from your garden or your local farmers’ markets. I was intrigued by today’s recipe, which falls under the category of “Almost Bread Puddings.” It does feature a bread product - biscuits - as well as cheese, and mayo, which of course contains eggs. But mostly I liked the idea of making some small tartlets, which can also be frozen and reheated later. If there are any left.

I found this recipe in a newsletter from Lisa Shively of NC, who’s a fellow foodie, cookbook author, radio personality, and contest judge, among her many talents. Food, once a passion, is now a full-time job for Lisa, who has teamed up with the NC Sweet Potato Commission to write her most recent cookbook, Lisa Shively’s Fat Little Sweet Potato Cookbook , which you can find on her website, www.cookingwithlisa.com.

Lisa’s love of food goes beyond the food itself. She feels that a good home-cooked meal creates “lasting family memories of everyone gathering at the table … .” And while it’s challenging to fit a family supper into a busy schedule, she calls their time together “priceless.” We share her sentiments, and we can’t wait to try this recipe.

BACON TOMATO TARTLETS

1 (12-ounce) can flaky biscuits
6 slices deli bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 medium tomato, seeds removed, and chopped
3 ounces Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Split each biscuit into 3 pieces (the flaky biscuits pull apart easily into their natural layers). Spray MINI muffin tins lightly with cooking oil, Press split biscuits into muffin tins. You may not use all the biscuits. Mix remaining ingredients together and fill each of the pastries with mixture. Bake in 350 F.-degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 24 mini-muffin tartlets. These can be frozen and reheated for unexpected guests.
(Recipe from Lisa Shively’s Kitchen Helpers newsletter, contributed by Jere Ann Ocker, 2008.)

Hot sauce heats up tomato bread pudding

Like the tomato crop, the bread pudding recipes just keep coming in. So many nice ones using tomatoes that it’s hard to decide which one to try next. And some, like today’s recipe, have been around for a few years.

“This dish is sooooooo good, and one can add whatever one wants or simply do it as is,” says MaryLee McAllister of Ohio, who contributed the recipe. She likes to use her heirloom tomatoes in this bread pudding, which she actually found in an article in the now-defunct Cincinnati Post from Joyce Rosencrans, their food editor at the time. “Tabasco Chipotle Sauce adds a nice, different, rather smoky taste,” notes MaryLee, who adds, “I like lots!”

Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheeses also give this pudding an extra kick along with chopped fresh onions and herbs. And, depending on the size of your group, you can enjoy this dish for dinner, and also serve it for brunch the next day.

SAVORY FRESH TOMATO BREAD PUDDING
Prep. Time: 35 minutes
Baking: 30-40 minutes

1 pound fresh tomatoes
12 cups bread cubes (from 12-ounce French bread)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning (or mix basil, oregano, thyme)
4 cups milk
5 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a 13X9-inch baking dish. Set aside. Dice tomatoes to approximately 3 cups (medium dice). (Peel and seed if desired.) Place bread cubes in single layers on cookie sheets; bake until toasted, about 5 minutes, turning once or twice. Add toasted bread cubes to tomato bowl, along with shredded Jack and Parmesan cheeses, onion, and herbs. Spoon into baking dish. In same large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, hot sauce, and salt. Pour over tomato mixture. With pancake turner, press down bread to cover with custard mixture. Let stand 5 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F., uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly before lifting out squares to serve.
Recipe from Joyce Rosencrans, Food Editor, Cincinnati Post, 1998.
(Notes from MaryLee: Tabasco Chipotle Sauce gives a nice smoky taste, and she likes lots. Also, she uses sea salt.)

Roasted tomatoes star in bread pudding

As we marvel at the skills of the Olympic athletes this week, we also make note of a different competition. That is, which will take the prize in the garden for sheer volume of produce? The ever-prolific zucchini? Or the crop of tomatoes, which are, of course, again managing their annual accomplishment of ripening all at once, so you can’t pick them fast enough or use them up before they turn to a mushier state than you desire.

So thank goodness for good friends such as Jean Donnelly of Carlisle, MA, who sent a recipe from the July 2008 issue of Gourmet. Simply called “Tomato Bread Pudding,” this dish is anything but simple, as it features roasted Roma tomato halves, garlic, and two fragrant cheeses, an Italian Fontina, and some Parmigiano-Regianno.

The author of the Gourmet article, Paul Grimes, stated that this “homey dish made everyone in the test kitchen swoon.” In addition to serving it as a side dish, he suggests the possibility of making it a vegetarian main dish along with a green salad.

Now, even though we don’t have plum tomatoes among our own tomato crop, we’re going to use our garden variety to try this one. We have the tomatoes lined up on the counter, all ready to go.

TOMATO BREAD PUDDING

3 pounds plum tomatoes such as Roma, halved lengthwise

1 1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 head garlic, left whole

10 cups cubed (1-inch) country-style Italian bread (1 pound)

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

8 large eggs

2 cups coarsely grated chilled Italian Fontina (9 ounces)

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter 3-quart shallow baking dish (about 13 by 9 inches). Toss tomatoes in bowl with herbes de Provence, 1 tablespoon oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in a large heavy 4-sided sheet pan.
Cut off and discard 1/4 inch from top of garlic head to expose cloves, then put on a sheet of foil and drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Wrap garlic in foil and roast in pan with tomatoes until tomatoes are browned but still juicy and garlic is soft, 50 to 60 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Cool garlic to warm, then force through a medium-mesh sieve with a rubber spatula, discarding skins. Reserve purée.
While garlic cooks, toss bread cubes in large bowl with remaining oil until coated, then spread out in large 4-sided sheet pan and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
Whisk together milk, cream, eggs, garlic purée, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir in cheeses. Transfer bread to baking dish, then pour egg mixture over bread and add tomatoes, pushing some down between bread cubes. Bake until firm to the touch and golden brown in spots, 50 to 60 minutes. Serves 8.
(Recipe and photo from Gourmet, July 2008.)
Cooks' note: Bread pudding is best the day it is made but can be made 1 day ahead and chilled (covered once cool). Reheat, covered with foil, in a 350°F oven.

Mexican bread pudding with cheese is sure to please

Sometimes I wish there were a way to transmit a lovely scent from my kitchen into cyberspace and have it arrive in someone’s e-mail box. As the recipient, you could turn it on or off as you wished, like your volume. If you liked chocolate, you could just inhale the aroma of those gooey brownies and not risk the tasting calories. And if you couldn’t stand scallops, you could just adjust the odor knob to zero.

Today’s bread pudding filled the house with such an incredible aroma of nutmeg and cinnamon that I wished I could have shared it with you all. The recipe comes from Anne Murch Guiterrez, who’s waving from South Texas. She adapted this recipe for Capirotada con Queso, or Mexican Bread Pudding with Cheese, from a source that she has lost track of – one of those recipes you keep in your drawer and remember to try long after you have copied it.

One nice thing about this recipe is that you don’t have to heat up the whole house while the pudding bakes in the oven. It’s done in just minutes in the microwave. And even though this dish contains a whole cup of grated Cheddar, that flavor is masked by the spices, raisins, and brown sugar. It just adds to the richness. Anne suggests using good-quality Cheddar when you make this dish because some of the pre-packaged brands of grated cheese can produce an oily result.

I tested this recipe this morning, assembling the ingredients in order ahead of time so they were ready to nuke and mix when ready. The pudding set nicely and pulled away from the edges of the pan. I didn’t have a glass or ceramic pan with a center post, so I set a small glass filled part way with water in the center, which worked just fine. Also, I checked the pudding for doneness along the final nuking step, taking it out after it was firm. I think this sweet treat would be wonderful topped with a big scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Thanks Anne for sharing your delectable bread pudding!

CAPIROTADA CON QUESO (Mexican Bread Pudding with Cheese)
(Recipe adapted by Anne Murch Gutierrez)

2 cups milk
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, cubed and softened
5 slices lightly toasted white bread or French bread, cubed
1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

In 2- or 4-cup glass measuring cup, stir together milk and cream cheese. Microwave on HIGH 4 minutes, stirring once. Place bread cubes in well-buttered 2-quart microwave-safe dish. (Note: use a dish with a center post; or place a small glass or custard dish in the center.) Pour hot milk mixture over bread cubes and let soak 10 minutes.
Micromelt butter in 4 cup measuring cup on HIGH 1 minute or less, until melted. Stir in brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and beaten eggs, mix well. Add vanilla, pecan, and raisins. Pour mixture, along with shredded Cheddar cheese, over bread cubes and stir lightly until blended. Microwave on HIGH 7-8 minutes. If needed, rotate dish 3 or 4 times. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Jalapeno cornbread pudding is zesty brunch dish

Okay, we admit it. We have a sweet tooth. We can leave the main course to another cook, and just focus on dessert. We’re not too picky when it comes to dessert ingredients either. And while we jump at the first chance to add chocolate, other ingredients beckon – apples and cinnamon, fresh strawberries, cream cheese, pears, blueberries, brandy – well the possibilities are endless when it comes to great dessert ingredients.

But, oh no, I’ve done it again. Gotten sidetracked by the dessert tray.

Today’s post is about a hearty bread pudding. Honest. And to prove it, here’s a recipe for a wonderful bread pudding that’s made with cornbread and enhanced with the addition of sweet onions, jalapeno jack cheese, and also fresh or frozen corn. For those who like a little zip in their bread pudding, this dish should hit the spot.

JALAPENO CORNBREAD PUDDING

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1-1/4 cups fresh cut corn (or frozen, thawed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups half & half
6 cups crumbled cornbread
1-1/2 cups shredded jalapeno jack cheese, divided (1 cup, and 1/2 cup)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced (optional)

Saute onion and corn in oil until onion is translucent. In large bowl, combine eggs, half & half, cornbread, 1 cup cheese, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into greased 8- or 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese and jalapeno pepper slices if using. Let stand about 20 minutes.
Set pan in larger pan filled halfway up with hot water; bake in preheated 325-degree oven 50-60 minutes or until pudding is firm and browned on top. Serves 6 to 8.

Chicken bread pudding makes a hearty supper dish

You know, in the 'olden days, when life was simpler (we suppose), people used to just make do with whatever leftovers they had on hand. Such as bread, veggies, chicken, and cheese. I bet they came up with some really ingenious dishes too. Such as this Chicken bread pudding.

On a cool, gray day in Rhode Island, this looks like a good bet for supper. Will have to dash out to the local super for the celery soup, but other than that, we have the ingredients on hand. Thanks to my Internet friend Kathy, for sending this recipe, which she found in the Best of the Best from California cookbook.

What to go along? How about a spinach salad tossed with fresh orange segments, some sliced almonds, and a honey-orange dressing? The crisp spinach and fragrant oranges will make a nice contrast to the creamy pudding.

Chicken-Bread Pudding

6 slices white bread, crusts trimmed
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
4 tablespoons butter, divided
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup mayonnaise1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
1 (10-ounce) can cream of celery soup
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons chopped pimento
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Line bottom of buttered 9x13-inch baking dish with bread slices, cutting to fit. Top with chicken. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet. Saute mushrooms in butter until browned; remove from heat. Stir in water chestnuts and mayonnaise. Spoon over chicken layer. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine next 6 ingredients in bowl; mix well. Pour over cheese layer. Bake at 350 F. for 1 hour or until set. Sprinkle with bread crumbs; dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bake for 10 minutes longer or until crumbs are browned. Yields 8 servings.
Original cookbook source: California GoldSource: Best of the Best from California Cookbook