Mashed Potato Veggie Strata

This scrumptious strata packs in a rainbow of nutritious veggies in one easy-to-serve dish. It’s a great meal to prepare in advance! This recipe comes to us from our friends at Potato Goodness.

Serves 10

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup jarred roasted red sweet peppers
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. basil pesto
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 medium zucchini, halved lenghtwise and sliced
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 3 medium red, green and/or yellow bell peppers, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

Cooking Tip of the Week: Before you boil your potatoes, make sure the pieces are about the same size. This will ensure that they all finish cooking at the same time!

Food for Thought: What makes a bell pepper red, green or yellow? Just like hair, eye and skin color in people, the color and flavor of a vegetable is determined by its genes. So a red bell pepper grew from the seed of another red bell pepper plant and the same goes for yellow, orange and even purple peppers! There’s one big exception though: All bell peppers start out green when they are young, so green bell peppers are usually just younger versions of another color!

Family Dinner Conversation Starter: What are some things that you have in common with people who don’t look the same as  you on the outside?

Directions

Adult: Preheat oven to 350 F.

Kid: Lightly coat a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Adult: In a large saucepan, cook potatoes in enough lightly salted water to cover for 20-25 minutes, until tender.

Together: Drain potatoes. Return to saucepan, mash, then spread evenly in baking dish.

Together: In blender or small food processor, blend roasted sweet peppers until smooth. Transfer to medium bowl.

Kid: Whisk in sour cream, pesto and 1/4 tsp. salt until smooth. Spread sweet pepper mixture on mashed potatoes.

Adult: In 12-inch skillet cook zucchini, summer squash, sweet peppers and onion in hot oil over medium-high until crisp-tender.

Together: Season with 1/2 tsp. salt. Spoon vegetables on roasted pepper layer.

Kid: Sprinkle with cheese.

Adult: Bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until heated thoroughly. Let stand 20 minutes before serving.