Cooking: Green Chile Breakfast Casserole

I'm a big fan of recipes that work for any meal. Such as my mother's "Puffy Oven Pancake" (good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!). It's great to have something in the repertoire to serve the family when you need a sure thing. Or when you are too tired, or busy, to think of something more appropriate for dinner but have a bunch of eggs on hand!

That is not to say this Green Chile Breakfast Casserole is just for times when you are in a pinch. It's definitely guests-for-brunch caliber. It's full of green chiles, and cheese and has a tiny kick to it. It's great with salsa. My husband also likes it rolled in a fresh tortilla. It rewarms nicely too (if you have any leftover) so you can serve it for an after-school snack. I love it!

I love it especially because of it's origin. One of our dear family friends, Sally, made this for us a couple years ago when we were visiting her for brunch. She is one of those women whose creativity and great style is equaled by her generous heart. I'm so grateful to have her in our lives. 

So now when enjoy this dish she calls "Chile Cheese" I can also enjoy warm memories of her.

She prepares this and lets it stand in the refrigerator overnight but I was pressed for dinner so I made it, set it in the refrigerator while I took my girls to swimming lessons, and then baked it when I got home and it was great. So this can be prepared the night before a brunch, or an hour before everyone in your home is asking for dinner. It would even work baked immediately--it just may bake a bit faster as it wouldn't be chilled to start. You can't go wrong!

Click through for this recipe.

 GREEN CHILE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE (CHILE CHEESE)

• 1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (or you can use 2lbs of a shredded mix)
• 1 to 2 cans of 27 oz Hatch whole green chiles (use 1 to 1-1/2 cans depending on your taste for green chiles; I like to create a solid layer of them)
• 4 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1 can of evaporated milk
• salt and pepper
• a dash of Tabasco sauce

Drain the chiles. Scrape out the seeds and dry the chiles on a paper towel.

In a greased 9"x13" pyrex dish, create a layer of green chiles, top with 1/3 of the cheese, then create another layer of green chiles, top with 1/3 of the cheese and create a final layer of green chiles topped with the remaining 1/3 of the cheese.

Whisk together the eggs, flour and evaporated milk. Add the salt and pepper and a dash of Tobasco sauce.

Pour the egg mixture over the layers of chiles and cheese.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight. (Or bake immediately but watch the cooking time as it may cook more quickly)

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.