Sweet Potato and Sausage Strata

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place bread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, stirring once. Cool on pan 5 minutes.

Pierce potato with a fork. Place potato on a microwave-safe paper towel. Microwave at HIGH 8 minutes or until done. Let stand 5 minutes. Peel potato, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add sausage to pan; cook 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.

Place bread, sweet potato, half of sausage, and half of cheese in a large bowl. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) in a bowl, stirring with a whisk; pour over bread mixture, and toss gently to combine. Let stand 20 minutes.

Scoop mixture into an 8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining half of sausage and remaining half of cheese. Cover with foil lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake at 350° an additional 20 minutes or until done. Let stand 5 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup.