It's breakfast-Ole!

Hi everybody!  I know, I know…..this is late.  I had a busy day.  My little Paisley had to go to the dentist.  Turns out she hit one of her front teeth on something, at some point, and the tooth is now dead.  And has an abscess……So she has to get the tooth pulled next week.  Yep, my 3 year old will be sans a front tooth.  The dentist could put a fake one in, but really, what would be the point. She will lose that tooth in about 2 years anyway.  There goes all my corn on the cob and rib recipes that I wanted to try out on her……

Not that you would know it from the weather, but summer is approaching.  And summer means house guests, right?  I know it does for me because I live super close to Lake Tahoe.  Plus, I LOVE having people stay with me.  More people to feed and that makes me happy.  I have been trying out new recipes that feed a crowd, and I want to share my new favorite with you.  Breakfast Enchiladas!  They are amazing, and the best part is….they can be made the night before, and baked the morning you need them. 

I like to fatten everyone up before I send them out to the lake.  That way, they don’t look that much better than me in a bathing suit…..So yeah, if you are coming to visit me….be warned.  There will be no light or fat-free here.

Let’s start with the filling…..

I use beef chorizo, “southern hash brown” potatoes (from the freezer section), a small onion, eggs and butter.  I prefer beef chorizo over pork.  Do me a favor….don’t read the label.  Just trust in me that chorizo is delicious.  If you must use something else, use ground pork sausage, but you won’t get the spicy yumminess that is chorizo.

Also, make sure you use Mexican chorizo.  It is a ground sausage that you wouldn’t be able to cut.  It squeezes out of the package.  Spanish chorizo is sliceable (is that word?) and that wouldn’t work as well here.

I start by browning the chorizo with a small, diced onion.  If you have never cooked chorizo before….be forewarned.  It will look like it is the greasiest, messiest stuff ever.  It isn’t.  It will dry up.  In fact, that is how you know it is done.  It will dry out and look crumbly.  This will take about 5 to 8 minutes.

You can see in the picture above that this chorizo isn’t quite done.  All of that orange greasy stuff will go away.  When it is done, remove the chorizo and onion from the pan, but leave some of the drippings that did stay.

Next, you add your potatoes to the same pan….still frozen.  These will fry in the chorizo fat.  You might need an extra tablespoon or two of butter.  These will fry for about 10 minutes….until they are brown and crunchy.

While the taters are cookin’, you can get started on your scrambled eggs.  These are not fancy in any way, shape or form.  I don’t add anything, even salt and pepper.  The chorizo adds enough spice.

I throw the eggs in a pan with a tablespoon of butter and scramble them.  You know how to do that, right?

Once the potatoes are crunchy, I stir back in the chorizo and onion mixture.  In Mexico, Chorizo con Papas is a very popular breakfast taco filling.  (that means chorizo and potatoes)  Do you see how authentic I am?  Don’t worry, I will blow that in a bit when you see what kind of tortillas I am using……

Before we fill these enchiladas, let me show you what else I use for this recipe.  I use flour tortillas, shredded Mexican cheese, red enchilada sauce, salsa and Mexican crema.

Yes, I use flour tortillas.  I know that corn would be the preferred tortilla for enchiladas, but let me state my case.  Number one, I don’t really like corn tortillas.  Number two, they break when making enchiladas unless you fry them slightly.  I don’t want to take that extra step, so I break tradition and use flour.  I apologize in advance to anyone I am offending;)

I like to use a mix of salsa and enchilada sauce because I like the texture that salsa gives to this.  You could use all enchilada sauce, or all salsa, or a combo like me.

And finally, I use Mexican crema because it has a pourable consistency.  It also isn’t as tangy as sour cream.  You could, of course, sub in sour cream.

I like to pour a bit of salsa and enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish that I will be using.  This keeps the enchiladas from sticking.

I fill my enchiladas pretty full.  Remember, I am using flour tortillas!  They won’t break;)  I roll them up and place them, seam down, in the baking dish.

I keep filling, rolling and cramming in until my pan is full.

I cover the whole thing in my enchilada sauce/salsa combo.  I also pour on some crema.  This will make these creamy and delicious.  And yes mom, you can omit this step.

The whole thing gets covered in cheese.  I used Kraft’s new Mexican cheese that has a touch of cream cheese in it.  Seriously….I am pretty sure anything would be better with a touch of cream cheese in it.

At this point, you can cover the whole thing in foil and refrigerate overnight.  The next morning, you take it out of the fridge while the oven pre-heats.  This will cook for about 30 minutes covered, and 30 minutes naked. 

These enchiladas come out gooey, cheesy and delicious.  I think that these make a perfect breakfast.  I can’t wait to have visitors just so I can make these! 

Who wouldn’t love these?  I feel very Ina Garten when I say that…..but seriously…..who wouldn’t?

I will be back on Thursday with some yummy Memorial Day appetizer recipes!!

Breakfast Enchiladas

9 ounces Mexican chorizo

1 small onion, diced

3 cups “southern diced hash brown potatoes”

3 tablespoons butter

12 eggs

28 ounce can red enchilada sauce

1 cup salsa

8 to 10 flour tortillas

2 cups shredded cheese

½ cup Mexican crema

Place chorizo and onion in a large sauté pan.  Sauté, over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, or until chorizo is browned and most of the liquid has evaporated.  Remove from the pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan.

Sauté potatoes in the reserved fat.  Add an additional 2 tablespoons of butter, if needed.  Sauté the potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until brown and crunchy.  Add chorizo mixture back into the pan and stir.

In a bowl, crack all 12 eggs.  Beat eggs with a whisk.  Pour eggs into a large sauté pan and scramble over medium heat until cooked.

In the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish, pour ½ cup enchilada sauce and ½ cup salsa. 

Fill tortillas with chorizo/potato mixture and eggs, about 3 tablespoons of each.  Roll and place in the pan, seam side down.  Roll and fill until pan is full.

Cover the entire pan with enchilada sauce and salsa, about 1 cup enchilada sauce and ½ cup salsa.  Top with crema and cheese.

Cover tightly with foil and chill overnight.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, covered.  Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until top is bubbly and starting to brown.