Baked Egg Enchilada Casserole

This is one of those recipes I struggled to name.  I found a version of it in a "Food" magazine (one of Martha Stewart's many enterprises) and made a few changes.  My husband is the kind of guy that needs meat in almost every meal, so for me to serve this for dinner was a little scary.  He accepted though, and ate with gusto.  He even ended up laying down on the couch to avoid a food coma.  I would call this one a success.

My only complaint about this recipe is it's huge.  It makes what Martha says is four servings, but I think it's more like eight.  I guess if you were going to have some folks over for a hearty brunch or are in need of leftovers (or have a full house), then this is the recipe for you!  It was cheap, easy, and fast (I'm not going to say it).

Overall though, I enjoyed it thoroughly as a comfort food, and the eggs came out semi-firm and full of flavor.  If you want to try it with "over-easy" eggs, you could take it out of the oven a bit earlier.  This is a flexible recipe  and could be easily changed to your family's liking (i.e. add pork, subtract onions, add veggies etc.).

Baked Egg Enchilada Casserole

Printable Version

Makes: 8 "one-egg" servings

Takes:  45 minutes total

You Need:

• 2 Tbsp veggie oil
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 medium garlic cloves (2 large), minced
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomato
• few shakes red pepper flakes (to taste)
• one shake comino/cumin for you white people
• 1/2 C half-n-half
• 8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips (cut into shorter strips if using ramekins)
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 C at least of shredded cheddar

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly grease bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish or 8 ramekins.  If using ramekins, place them on a rimmed baking sheet.  In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

2.  Add garlic and green chiles and cook until fragrant, about a minute.  Add flour and stir to coat mixture.  Pour in tomatoes and mix thoroughly, scraping the bottom of the pan for burnt goodness.  Season with salt, pepper, comino and red pepper flakes and stir.  Cook until sauce is slightly thickened and bubbling, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Stir in half-n-half and remove pan from heat.

3.  Spoon a small amount of sauce into casserole dish or ramekins, just enough to coat the bottom.  Layer half of the tortilla strips on top of the sauce, or do all of them if you are using the ramekins.  Repeat with another small amount of sauce and the remaining strips.  Then pour the rest of the sauce on top, making sure it is somewhat even.

4.  Gently break one egg at a time into a small bowl, then slide onto casserole so that eight of them will fit in succession (the bowl ensures that if an egg is bad or funky, you don't spoil your whole casserole!).  Smother eggs in cheese and carefully place into oven.  Bake until egg whites are set and sauce is bubbly, about 25 minutes (may be shorter cook time for ramekins).  Let cool on a rack or trivet for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Though this doesn't have any meat in it, I think you could add ground pork when cooking the onions and make this more Mexican-ish.  If you try something different, please comment!