Archive for July, 2010

Green Chile Egg Casserole is a big crowd pleaser.  It’s the perfect dish to serve when you have guests for breakfast or brunch.

I absolutely love this dish.  It makes me happy to smell it cooking.  It makes me even happier to eat it.  And here’s a big surprise, picky eaters and kids love it too, even with eggs and chiles.   The secret to this dish’s success is cheese…. lots and lots of cheese.

I love to serve this dish on mornings when I don’t want to or don’t have time to slave away in the kitchen.  We eat it every 4th of July morning after we come home from the neighborhood parade.  We also eat it every Christmas morning… because who wants to cook on Christmas morning?  Green Chile Egg Casserole is perfect for those special, busy mornings because this dish must be made the day ahead.

Plus it is so good (and bad for you) that you’ll want to save it for special occasions.

Here’s the recipe:

Green Chile Egg Casserole

2 – 4 oz. can diced green chiles

1 lb. shredded jack cheese

1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese

4 eggs, separated

1 can evaporated milk

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. flour

Tomatoes for topping

Salsa for topping

*This dish must be prepared the night before baking.

Beat egg whites until stiff white peaks form, set aside.  In a large separate bowl, beat yolks with a fork.  Add one can of evaporated milk, salt, pepper, flour and green chiles.  Mix well.  Gently fold in egg whites.

Sprinkle mixed cheeses evenly in a 8 ½ x 11 casserole dish.  Pour egg mixture evenly over cheeses and spread with a spatula.  Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Bake for 55 minutes.

Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  Serve topped with sliced tomatoes and salsa on the side.

Serves 12.

Click over to Tasty Kitchen for the printable recipe.

Here’s the step by step:

Separate your eggs.  I never use a fancy egg separating tool.  I just use what nature provides… the shell.  If you’ve never separated eggs before, simply crack the egg in half, gently transfer the yolk back and forth between the two halves of the shell, as the whites drop into the bowl below.  Once separated, place the yolks into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer, beat the yolks into stiff peaks.  I am always amazed that egg whites can turn into something so lovely.  Set the egg whites aside for now.

In the large mixing bowl, beat the yolks with a fork.

To the yolks add evaporated milk.

Is that how you open a can of evaporated milk?  Whenever I do it this way (as opposed to using a can opener) I think of my mom.  That’s how she opens and uses evaporated milk… it seems old school.

Add flour, salt, pepper….

… and the chiles of course.  One of those cans say they are hot fire roasted diced green chiles.  They are not.  Hot, I mean.  If you love it spicy, you could substitute in some jalapenos.  (Or use pepper jack cheese instead of jack cheese later in the recipe.)

Today I’m using a few more chilies than the recipe calls for.  And that’s OK.  Just be sure to drain your chilies before adding them in.

Mix them all together.

Then add the egg whites.

Gently fold them in.  If you stir too hard, you’ll loose all the loft and air you’ve put in by beating the whites to stiff peaks.  Folding is the key.

Sprinkle your mixed cheeses into an 8 ½ x 11 casserole dish.  I love to use a Pyrex dish for this casserole.

Two pounds looks like a lot of cheese.  It is a lot of cheese.  That’s what makes this dish so sinfully good!

Pour your egg mixture evenly over the cheeses and spread it out with a spatula.

Once it’s even.  Cover your dish and place in the refrigerator over night.

In the morning it’s going to look like this.  The mixture has seeped into the cheeses… and magic has happened.

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 55 minutes.  I love when the top starts to brown a bit…

Serve it up with sliced tomato on the top… and salsa on the side.

Ummm… it is mouthwatering good!  Just don’t tell anyone how much cheese is in there… and let them enjoy it guilt free.

One of the best things we’ve done to beat the summer heat is have a ceiling fan installed in our bedroom.  The fan was fairly inexpensive, both to install and to run.

I love sleeping under the cool breeze.   It allows us to keep our thermostat set at a higher temperature at night and saves us big money on our electric bill all summer long.

Here’s a few tips on buying a ceiling fan:

- Look for a model with an Energy Star Rating like the model shown above, called Sea Air from Hunter.

- It’s important to choose the right ceiling fan for your room.  There are excellent guidelines found here.

- If you are replacing a light with a ceiling fan, look for a model with a light option.

- Ceiling fans often go on sale at the end of the summer season… it’s a great time to buy one.

Once your fan is installed here’s a few quick tips:

-Only run the fan when someone is in the room.  Fans cool people not your home, so save energy by flipping off the switch when no one is in the room. (I didn’t know this and used to keep my fan running night and day, duh.)

-Keep your fan dusted to prevent allergens from flying around the room.  Plus it’s much easier to clean it frequently (every couple months) than to wait until the dust has really built up… trust me, I’ve done it the hard way and it’s not fun.

-To clean my fan, I love to use my large Swiffer duster (with my re-usable cover) because it can be set at a 90 degree angle.  After I’ve dusted, I sometimes wipe it down with vinegar water- which is one part vinegar to one part water.  I wet my cloth in the vinegar solution, ring it out thoroughly and wipe down the fan.

-If you’ve let it get really dusty, Real Simple magazine recommends using a pillowcase to dust your fan.  That way the dust goes into the case and not all over your room- brilliant.