Breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out. It’s also my favorite to make at home. At least it is when it consists of more than just a quickly downed bowl of cereal or a container of yogurt. Usually to meet that criterion it has to be a weekend breakfast, since I am about as far from a morning person as you’ll find and barely manage to down a glass of juice before I need to run out the door or risk being late for work.
Because I need to be vigilant about getting an ample amount of protein consumed daily, breakfasts like pancakes and waffles have become a rare treat. Instead I search out or try to create interesting egg and cheese combinations (sometimes throwing in a bit of bacon or sausage for added variety). This Cheddar & Green Chile dish is adapted from a recipe I’ve had hanging around for at least a few years. I know the original came from a Rachel Ray magazine, which I had a subscription to the first year it was published… so I’m guessing this is from about 4 years ago. Of course it was torn out and saved, so I can’t give any more credit than that.
I made a few adjustments to the ingredients which are already reflected in the recipe below. The one change I made that is not reflected is that instead of the 8” square pan called for, I used one of my favorite pieces of stoneware: a 7” round deep dish baker, resulting in a deeper, denser casserole. The original recipe also says it serves 4. That may be true if it’s the only thing you’re serving, but how often does that really happen?
I made this on Sunday for brunch and have been bringing individual slices to work every day since for breakfast. I’ll have my last slice tomorrow morning. It’s been delicious every day, so know that it reheats well…
Enjoy!
Cheddar & Green Chile Egg Bake
5 large eggs, beaten
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 – 4 oz. can diced green chilies, drained
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, chilies, flour, baking power, melted butter, salt, and pepper. Pour into the prepared dish and bake until set, about 35 minutes.
Makes 5-6 servings.
