We had this for dinner tonight, and it was mighty tasty! I got this from Diana Shaw's wonderful Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. It does call for whole eggs, and I used them because the overall fat content of the dish was still within IBS diet guidelines, but you could always substitute 3/4 cup Egg Beaters for the eggs and egg whites called for, and reduce the fat to next to nothing.
Slices of bread makes a strata; chunks of bread makes a bread pudding.
6 cups loosely packed day-old French bread chunks, crusts removed, or 8 thick slices white bread
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup low-fat soy milk
1/4 cup soy Parmesan OR 1/2 cup shredded soft soy cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, swiss, etc)
2 cups filling (see NOTES for ideas... I used 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 large zucchini chopped, and at least a cup of thin sliced portabello mushrooms, sauteed together and seasoned with basil, salt, and pepper)
Heat the oven to 350. Spray an 8" baking dish with cooking spray.
Place half of the bread chunks or 4 bread slices in a single layer at the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, cheese, and filling of your choice. Pour half of this mixture over the bread in the baking dish. Place the remaining bread on top and cover with the rest of the egg mixture.
Bake, uncovered, until brown, bubbly, and firm but springy to the touch, about 50 minutes. If the top seems to have browned before the pudding is firm, drape foil loosely over the dish and continue baking.
Transfer the strata to a rack and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 4. Approximately 260 calories and 6.5g fat per serving, 22% calories from fat.
NOTES: The general idea of a strata is to use up stale bread and leftover vegetables.  Use whatever you have on hand - or whatever you think would sound good in a casserole! - just be sure to season them well, because you don't add any spices or even salt to the rest of the casserole.
Some suggestions given in the cookbook are: sauteed sliced onions and cabbage; mushrooms; steamed fresh vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus, corn; sliced peeled roasted bell peppers; thick tomato sauce; ratatouille. If you don't have leftovers to use up, you can use prepared ingredients such as chopped dry-pack sun-dried tomatoes (about 1 cup) or marinated artichoke hearts (about 1 cup).
Mine came out kind of on the dry side... tomato sauce would have been really good on top, too.
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Strata - A Basic Savory Bread Pudding
