Christmas Enchilada Bake
Christmas morning should be magical. Moments spent with family and loved ones, opening gifts, sharing memories, creating new ones. You definitely don't want to be slaving in the kitchen and missing all of the Christmas magic happening.
This breakfast enchilada recipe is perfect for Christmas Morning! Loaded with flavor and easily feeds a crowd, and can be prepped a day in advance, it checks all the boxes!
Strap on an apron, and let's get cooking!
1 lb ground sausage, plain, country-mild, hot, whatever you prefer will work fine.
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
12 eggs
1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 or heavy cream
10 corn tortillas
1 tsp chili powder
1tsp paprika
2tsp cumin
1 can of red enchilada sauce
1 can of green enchilada sauce
1-2 jalapeños, de-seeded and chopped (optional)
8oz of Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Chopped Cilantro or Green onion (for garnish)
Heat some olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat, and begin to sauté your chopped onions and bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Once the onions and peppers have sweat and start to turn translucent, add your chili powder, paprika and cumin. Continue to sauté 2-3 minutes more. Then add your garlic and jalapeños, allow the aromatics to bloom while cooking 2-3 minutes more or until your vegetables have softened.
To the vegetable mixture, add your 1 lb of ground sausage and begin to brown the sausage with the vegetables. While the sausage cooks with the vegetables, prepare your 9x13 casserole dish, by pouring about 1/2 of the Enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish. For Christmas I like to use red and green enchilada sauce, making stripes of it along the bottom of the dish. Save the rest of the enchilada sauce for use later. Now take your corn tortillas and cut them into quarters, and place about 1/2 of the corn tortillas over the enchilada sauce, being careful to overlap them.
While the sausage continues to brown, prepare your eggs for cooking. In a medium bowl, whisk the dozen eggs with 1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2, season with salt and pepper and continue to whisk until fully incorporated and no striations of egg yolk or white remain. Set Aside.
Once the sausage is fully cooked, set that mixture aside. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and melt 4 tbs of butter in the pan. Once the butter is melted, pour over your egg mixture. Using a flat bottomed wooden spoon, Slowly scrape the bottom of the pan as the eggs cook, turning them over into the pan. Do this slowly and methodically as the eggs cook. This slow and steady motion will create fluffy mounds of scrambled eggs, rather than tiny gravel -sized bits of eggs. Once the eggs are cooked, set aside.
To your prepared casserole dish, layer in 1/2 of your sausage and vegetable mixture, top that with a layer of your scrambled eggs. Finish the casserole by laying in the other 1/2 of the sausage mixture, and then layer over the rest of your quartered corn tortillas. Pour over the remaining red and green enchilada sauce, and top with the 8oz of shredded mozzarella cheese.
This can be made 1-2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
When ready to bake, place in a 350 degree pre-heated oven, and bake until melted and bubbly, about 30 minutes. 15 minutes more if putting the casserole in cold from the fridge.
Top with chopped cilantro or green onion and Enjoy!
I like to serve these with a side of sautéed breakfast greens and here’s what to do. In a large skillet heat 3-4 TBS of bacon grease (or butter or olive oil) over medium high heat. Once that is hot add a large bag of your green of choice. I usually use chopped kale. But a kale blend or collard greens + turnips would work too! Sprinkle over some salt and gently toss until the greens have reduced in volume and softened a bit.
Serve hot and enjoy!
