Chorizo Egg Bake — Status: ROGUE

I had a group of my grad school friends for a weekend recently. It was the first time I hosted this group, so I wanted to make sure there was enough food for everyone. A few of them had not experienced the brunch culture of the DMV, so I wanted to make sure we enjoyed it...especially the bottomless mimosas! But I also wanted to make sure the weekend did not get too expensive, since we are all social workers and that life makes you super money conscious at times. So I made a couple of meals for us to enjoy. One were the nachos from the last post and the second was Rachael Ray’s Mexican Chorizo Strata. I had not made any of her recipes in a while, but I was gifted one of her cookbooks for my birthday—thus, I had to use one of her recipes.

Needless to say, my girls loved it and enjoyed the flavors. I served it with country potatoes and spiced fruit. We spent this time just being together and catching up on life. It was our last day, so having the moment to pause and breathe before having to get back to life was much welcomed.

Money Matters
It cost me about $20 to make this dish for 8, which comes out to about $2.50/serving. The cost does not include the country potatoes or spiced fruit. Add another $10 for the full meal.

#ROGUElyfe

I did not use fresh chorizo so I chopped it up in small bits and cooked it.
I did not use as much bread as the recipe called for. I used 4 dinner rolls instead.
I also did not make the cream sauce. Instead, I used fresh avocado and cilantro as a garnish.

My Take
Olive oil
¾ lbs chorizo or other spicy bulk sausage
4 dinner rolls, cut into large cubes
4-ounce can chopped green chilies, well drained
2 cups whole milk
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled
Hot sauce for taste
6 large organic eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1 ripe avocado, for serving
Diced tomato, for serving
Fresh cilantro leaves, torn, for serving

Direction

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Heat a drizzle of oil in a skillet. Add the chorizo and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned. Drain off the fat.

Arrange the bread in a casserole dish. Top with the chorizo and then the chiles. Whisk together the milk, butter, hot sauce and eggs in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper; pour over the chiles. Top with the cheese.

Bake the strata for 1 hour. When done, let it sit for 10 minutes to cool off. Top the strata with tomatoes, cilantro, and sliced avocado. Now serve it up and enjoy!

Happy Cooking Y’all :)