When Steph,
over at Plain Chicken, posted her recipe for Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole,
it went to the top of my try-soon-list and with Eric and Ann visiting for the
weekend, it was the perfect time to try it out.
Since Jenn, over at Jenn’s Food Journey has been killing me lately with
her various dishes using chorizo I’d bought some the other day just to have on
hand.
3. Drain and cool mixture on paper towels then spoon into a greased 13" x 9" baking dish.
4. Stir together eggs, cheese, and next six ingredients and pour evenly over the sausage mixture, stirring well.
4. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
5. Bake, covered with non-stick foil, at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.
I decided to
adapt Steph’s recipe (check her site for the original) using the chorizo, and I
added a couple of other items to end up with this:
Southwestern
Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
1 lb. raw
chorizo
¼ c. onion,
finely chopped (Recipe calls for onion flakes)
1 small can
diced green chiles
2 ½ c. cubed
boiled waxy 4 potatoes (Recipe calls for frozen cubed hash browns)
5 large
eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups
shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 ¾ c. milk
1 c.
Bisquick
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t.
pepper
1 t. Aleppo
pepper powder
1 T. chopped
fresh cilantro
1. Cook
sausage, green chiles, and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5
minutes or until meat crumbles and most moisture is evaporated from the onion
and chiles.
2. Stir in potatoes,
and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink and potatoes are
lightly browned.3. Drain and cool mixture on paper towels then spoon into a greased 13" x 9" baking dish.
4. Stir together eggs, cheese, and next six ingredients and pour evenly over the sausage mixture, stirring well.
4. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
5. Bake, covered with non-stick foil, at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.
We served it with a slice of melon and a warm flour tortilla.
While it was
baking, I whipped up an easy green chili sauce using the recipe for Mexi-Sauce
from Kathy at A Spoonful Of Thyme. I
made half of the recipe below.
Mexi-Sauce
1/2 cup
onion, chopped
2 garlic
cloves, minced
1/4 tsp
chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt (I omitted the sugar)
2 (4 oz)
cans green chilies, drained
1 cup
chicken broth
1/4 cup
chopped cilantro
Saute 1/2
cup chopped onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves in a skillet over medium-low heat
in a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil.
Add the chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt; cook 30 seconds. Stir in the green chilies and cook 2
minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth and
simmer until thickened, then puree. Stir
in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro. (I forgot to puree it).
The
verdicts:
Everyone
thought the sauce was delicious and the casserole was good.
I thought
the casserole was very good, but needed the sauce. Bev said she would have preferred Steph’s
pork breakfast sausage version. Eric and
Ann thought the potato cubes were too big and it could use more flavors.
I was
hesitant to use more spices as I thought the chorizo would provide plenty, so
for next time to get it up above “just good”, I’ll add a tsp. of my chili
powder, another tsp of the Aleppo pepper, double or triple the cilantro, and either use the frozen hash brown cubes
or cut mine the same size as them. Thanks Steph for the inspiration.
All photos
can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Have a great
day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
One year
ago: Chicken And Tomatoes Ala Mary
Two years
ago: Leftover Grilled Ratatouille
Larry
This is similar to something I like to order when I see it on a breakfast menu. I have only used chorizo once and I'm still learning about it. I too would have been hesitant to add more spices, as I think chorizo is very spicy on its own.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could find the precooked chorizo for paella, but no luck so far other than on the internet.
Sam
As you can imagine, I also bookmarked this one and look forward to making it. I agree, chorizo can be pretty spicy, I probably wouldn't have added much additional spice either.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was good, with and without the sauce. Maybe I had the advantage because it had been sitting there for a while letting all the flavors get happy together. I really liked the sauce, too, and I'm not typically much of a sauce person. But this went very nicely with the casserole.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I can help inspire such a delicious dish! Although now you have me thinking of chorizo again... and there is that last pound of the red gold in my freezer... might be time for a breakfast post??? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Larry, I like spicy so I would probably use your tips of adding additional ingredients.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved a good breakfast casserole - this sounds like a winner!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like another winner for breakfast Larry. Like you, I would have though the chorizo would have added a ton of flavor.
ReplyDelete