everyone needs an easy morning
Recipe: green chile bacon egg bake
At last, the cookies are done and gone. If ever I entertain the thought of baking for a living, I need only remember the days of intensive baking in December that make me hate all cookies and chocolate. So why do I keep doing it? Jeremy asked this of me in the car as we drove down the canyon this morning on our way to deliver the cookies. When we started several years ago, it was because buying gifts for his administrative staff wasn’t really in our budget. But each year people loved the homemade cookies and candies so much that it seemed like a cop out to consider buying gifts as opposed to making something from the heart. I suppose I loathe shopping far more than dealing with tempering chocolate. Even now, mere hours after hand delivering the holiday goodies and shipping packages out to some special recipients, the sore back and lack of sleep are but a faded memory. I think as long as I can get outside for a little exercise during the mad frenzy, I can deal with it. After a week with this lingering low-level non-cold, I decided to beat it out of my body by going skate skiing. That felt terrible, but afterward, I felt SO MUCH BETTER.
the start of skate season always hurts so good
don’t forget to shred it on a 9-inch powder day
farewell cookies! go forth and maketh your recipients happy
Now with the cookies out of the way, I can concentrate on what needs to get done in the next couple of weeks. Part of that includes menu planning in Crested Butte because we don’t have access to as many ingredients out there as we do in the Front Range near Boulder/Denver. But honestly, when we are in Crested Butte, I try to avoid involved baking and cooking projects because the whole reason for being in CB is to be outside in all that gorgeousness, not inside in the kitchen. With houseguests coming at the start of the new year, I thought about simple and satisfying things to serve for breakfast. One recipe I settled on was an egg casserole loaded with bacon, green chiles, and cheddar cheese – something quick to whip up before you hit the mountain or the nordic trails!
eggs, milk, salt, roasted green chiles, black pepper, cheddar cheese, bacon
toss the chiles and cheese together
spread the chile-cheese mixture in the bottom of a baking dish
This egg bake is like a crustless quiche, and you can throw almost anything you want into it – especially leftovers! I’m thinking broccoli, kale, asparagus, potatoes, salmon, ham, goat cheese, onions, caramelized onions, mushrooms… The possibilities are endless. So get creative! And while the assembly is ridiculously straightforward, I think you would be totally okay to toss everything together, pour it into the baking dish, and bake away. Call it the bachelor method, but I don’t see why that’s a bad thing here.
scramble the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together
pour over the cheese and chiles
sprinkle the bacon on top
baked up nice and fluffy
I baked this batch in a vessel that is 10% less area than the 9-inch round or 8-inch square pans called for in the recipe. You all know how to calculate the area of an ellipse, circle, and square, right? These are good life skills to know. Geometry is totally your friend. The point is that the egg bake came out about an inch thick, which I liked. So I upped the eggs from 5 to 6 in the recipe below for a similar thickness in the round or square pans, otherwise the egg bake seems a little flimsy and wimpy to me. How did it taste? Amazing. I think of it as a lazy omelette and I like it that way. Make it your way, then get outside and earn those calories!
an easy breakfast
cheesy, eggy, bacony, green chile deliciousness
Green Chile Bacon Egg Bake
[print recipe]
from this recipe
butter to grease the baking dish
1 cup roasted green chiles, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
6 large eggs
2 tbsps whole milk
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup (about 4 slices) bacon, cooked and crumbled
Butter a 9-inch round or 8-inch square baking dish. Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss the chiles and the cheese together in a bowl and sprinkle evenly on the bottom of the baking dish. In the same bowl (why dirty another bowl unnecessarily?) scramble the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together. Pour the eggs over the chiles and cheese. Sprinkle the bacon over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm. Serves 4-6.
more goodness from the use real butter archives
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baked eggs |
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tortilla de patatas (spanish omelette) |
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quiche |
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savory bread pudding |
December 17th, 2015 at 5:31 am
Yum. Looks and sounds delicious! I don’t know why I never think of making this with leftover bits of veggies and cheese, as it seems made for that. Thanks for the nudge. I am sure recipients of your goodie bags are thrilled that you go to the trouble to make them. Have a wonderful holiday in Crested Butte!
December 17th, 2015 at 7:53 am
Yum indeed! In-laws are coming and I needed a good, easy breakfast idea. Thank you! Now, off to find the formula for the area of an ellipse.
December 18th, 2015 at 3:19 am
Thank you for sharing that simple but delicious dish, Jen! I just remembered that I still got some cultivated champignons in my fridge – must be great with the eggs, too. I’ll substitute the chiles, which I do not have in my fridge…
I fully do understand you with doing the baking again and again each year. You cannot please people more than with homemade goodies. And I too understand that you hate them on the other hand… It’s looots of work. Love the foto with that nice cookie bags. Packages full of love and packed with love. Like the bows…
Have a great time in preparing for CB.
December 18th, 2015 at 6:30 am
Yea! Another recipe that I think I could do…and it looks scrumptious. Thank you for the bag of delights you dropped off at Tom’s office. They made it home!!! You are the best!!! I do hope that if I EVER need to calculate the area of an ellipse, that I can call you! And if you ever need anything from us…you can do the same! xo, jill
ps- Was it a better ride for Neva to CB this time? I hope!
December 18th, 2015 at 8:44 am
YUM ~ Thanks for this, Jen. Your gorgeous photos have my mouth watering, and I just checked and
still have some roasted Hatch Chiles in the freezer…Wheee!
December 19th, 2015 at 8:36 am
In the oven now! I happened to have some roasted Hatch chilies on hand and jumped at the recipe.
December 19th, 2015 at 10:20 am
This will be perfect for our Boxing Day brunch with our friends and their families.
December 23rd, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Kristin – thank you! And yes, I am thinking of all sorts of combos to make this egg bake, too! Perfect for leftover roasted broccoli, right?
Kara – yay! and the ellipse formula is pi*a*b where a is the semi major axis and b is the semi minor axis.
Irmi – oooh yes, mushrooms!! :) xo
Jill – you can absolutely make this! I know you can! The ride went better, but she still had a short puke episode (I caught it in the bag as Jeremy drove us over Monarch Pass).
MK – yippee!!!
Gretchen – you are wonder woman! xxoo
Rose – :)
December 29th, 2015 at 7:38 am
I’ve always loved doing these breakfast bakes “crustless quiche” in my cast iron skillet. Green chiles sound like an amazing addition! Will definitely be giving this one a try. :)