I had to work late tonight so I decided to make something my husband could just throw in the oven for himself and the kids. I saw a recipe for this breakfast casserole in the August/September 2010 issue of Taste of Home magazine. I usually enjoy the recipes from Taste of Home but this one was pretty bad. The potatoes were hard and bland and the whole casserole seemed to be missing some key ingredient. I will post the recipe so you can see it for yourself and then write some ideas on how I will try to make it better next time.
Wake Up! Breakfast Casserole
1 lb uncooked chorizo (I used pork)
9 eggs
2 1/2 cups low fat milk
1 Tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( I used 1/2 tsp for my non-spicy loving kids)
1 pkg (28 oz) frozen O'Brien potatoes
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 jar (16 oz) black bean and corn salsa
Crumble chorizo into a large skillet; cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until fully cooked. Drain.
(Chorizo is extremely greasy so I try not to make it too often. When I do make it, I line a plate with paper towels and place the cooked chorizo on the plate. I also pat the top of the cooked chorizo with paper towels to try and get as much grease as possible off the meat and onto the napkins)
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard and cayenne. Stir in the potatoes, cheese, salsa and cooked chorizo. Transfer to a greased 13 in x 9 in baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
(My next complaint about this recipe was that they tell you to use frozen potatoes. When I put the frozen potatoes into the egg mixture they were clumped together. I had to get a knife and stab at the potatoes till they fell apart. To get around this problem next time I would thaw out the potatoes beforehand. If I have more time to cook I would prefer to peel, dice and pan fry 3 medium russet potatoes. I think it would really help with the flavor issues this dish had. Unfortunately that turns this recipe into a more labor intensive dish, great if you have the time, off putting if you don't.)
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
(My husband had to bake this casserole TWO hours instead of the one hour stated in the recipe. I have no idea why it took so long since our oven cooks on the hot side. Usually we know to check any items we are baking about 10 minutes before the recommended cooking time or we risk items being overcooked. It throws a wrench into the evening when dinner takes two times as long to cook as you are expecting. Hungry children whining for their dinner makes it even worst. If you decide to risk this recipe please know it might take awhile to get on the table.)
Yield: 12 servings
With all the bad aspects of this recipe it is doubtful I will try to make it again. There are too many other things I want to try cooking. I did want to post the recipe and my fixes to show you how to play around with recipes to (hopefully) keep making them better and better.
Till tomorrow...
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