Green Chile Casserole
Technically, maybe this is a “strata” rather than a casserole. But whatever you call it, it is always a huge hit around here. I generally make it for breakfast for special occasions or when we have overnight guests. Last time I made it the compliments (and requests for the recipe) were still coming the next day.
The original recipe came from my step-daughter Lori, as I recall. I made it from memory over the next few years and accidentally changed the proportions. I ran across a hand-written version in Mom’s stuff, sharing Lori’s recipe with me! Full circle. Anyhow, now we have the original recipe.
Now that you can buy pre-shredded cheese (I usually buy the four-Mexican cheese blend) this is really easy. The only hard part has been grating the cheese, and now it’s no longer necessary.
We normally make this with canned California Green Chiles (also called Anaheim Chiles). If you want or need to, you could use fresh chiles, and could use Poblano, which would be just a good. If using fresh chiles, however, you need to prepare them first.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. can (or 2 8 oz. cans) green chiles (such as Ortega)
2 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons flour
4 eggs
shredded or grated mixed cheeses, such as cheddar, Jack, or Mexican
instructions
Spray a 9 x9 x2 baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the chiles from the can, don’t rinse, but wipe off any seeds or peeling you find.
Mix the milk, flour and eggs in a bowl using a fork or a whisk. A few lumps won’t matter.
Tear the chiles into strips, lay them out in the dish, and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat for several layers, until you run out of chiles. The photo below shows the second layer about to get the cheese.
Finish off with a final layer of cheese, pour over the milk, flour, and egg mixture, and put in the oven for about 1/2 hour.
In the meantime, make the sauce, prepare bacon (I’m using warmed pre-cooked bacon in the photo at top) or refried beans, if you have some on hand, and warm some tortillas.
When you take the casserole out of the oven, let it sit for at least ten minutes to cool off and firm up some. Slice it into serving pieces, ladle over some sauce, and get ready for the compliments!