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agmoneyb
08-01-2005, 10:44 PM
Hi! I'm going to be spending a week at a lake with my husband and 6-7 other couples. Each couple is responsible for making one dinner and one breakfast. I think we have our dinner figured out, but I'd like to make a Mexican style breakfast and I'm looking for ideas. I tried the Chiles Rellenos Casserole from CL and it was fantastic, and I was thinking of doing Corn Bread Muffins with Bacon and Scallions from CI. I was also thinking of doing CL's Red Chile Potatoes. But it took me a while to make the casserole and the muffins, and I'm afraid that if I double each (and the potatoes too), that it will be lunchtime before everything is ready. Does anyone have any ideas for anything quicker? Do you think I could make the casserole the night before?

Here are the recipes. I've tried them all and think they are great. I made a few changes with the casserole - added a jalapeno, used shredded rotisserie chicken, and upped all the spices.

TIA!!!
Amanda

Chiles Rellenos Casserole
From Cooking Light


1/2 pound ground chicken
1 cup chopped onion
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
2 (4-ounce) cans whole green chiles, drained and cut lengthwise into quarters
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded colby-Jack cheese
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed and drained
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups skim milk
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 egg whites

Cook chicken and onion in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Combine chicken mixture, cumin, and next 5 ingredients in a bowl. Stir well, and set aside.
Arrange half of green chile strips in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish; top with half of cheese. Spoon mounds of bean mixture onto cheese, and spread gently, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge of dish; top with corn. Arrange remaining chile strips over corn; top with remaining cheese. Set aside.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl; gradually add milk and hot sauce, stirring with a wire whisk until blended. Stir in eggs and egg whites; pour over casserole. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until set; let stand 5 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 (3 1/2-inch) square)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 292(29% from fat); FAT 9.5g (sat 4.6g,mono 2.9g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 23.3g; CHOLESTEROL 118mg; CALCIUM 242mg; SODIUM 640mg; FIBER 5.2g; IRON 3.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.3g

L. Alyson Moreland
Cooking Light, JANUARY 1995

******

Red Chile Potatoes
From Cooking Light


3 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup Chile Colorado
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Place the potatoes in a Dutch oven. Cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of potatoes; sauté 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and potatoes. Place potatoes, onions, Chile Colorado, and salt in pan, and cook over medium heat 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 177(28% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 3g,poly 1.7g); PROTEIN 3.7g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 23mg; SODIUM 437mg; FIBER 3.6g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.9g


Chile Colorado
From Cooking Light


Traditionally, this chile sauce is made with water, but chicken broth gives it a bit more depth. Look for dried New Mexico chiles in Latin markets, or order from www.chiletoday.com. The sauce may stain some types of pottery and plastic storage containers, so serve and store this in glass containers.
This recipe goes with Red Chile Potatoes, Pork Marinated in Chile Colorado

1/2 pound dried New Mexico chiles
5 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat broiler.

Remove stems and seeds from chiles; discard. Rinse the chiles with cold water; drain. Arrange chiles in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil 20 seconds on each side or until lightly toasted (be careful not to burn chiles).

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in chiles, and cover. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain.

Place half of chiles, 2 1/2 cups broth, and garlic in a blender; process until smooth. Pour the pureed mixture into a large bowl; repeat procedure with remaining chiles and broth. Strain chile mixture through a sieve into a large saucepan, and discard solids. Stir in salt. Cook over medium heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 5 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 61(13% from fat); FAT 0.9g (sat 0.1g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 3.2g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 9mg; SODIUM 474mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 11.5g

Theresa Marquez
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2003

*****
Bacon-Scallion Corn Muffins with Cheddar Cheese
From America's Test Kitchen
Makes 12 Muffins

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
10-12 medium scallions sliced thin, (about 1 1/4 cups)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
1 cup fine-ground, whole-grain yellow cornmeal (4 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

1. Fry bacon in small skillet over medium heat until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add scallions, 1/4 tsp. salt, and ground black pepper; cook to heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to plate to cool while making muffins.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400F. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine; set aside. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl until well combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar to eggs; whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add half the sour cream and half the milk and whisk to combine; whisk in remaing sour cream and milk until combined. Stir 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese and bacon/scallion mixture into wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; mix gently with rubber spatula until batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Do not over-mix. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter evenly among muffin cups, dropping it to form mound. Sprinkle a portion of additional 1/2 cup cheddar ovewr each mound of batter. Do not level or flatten surface of mounds.

4. Bake until muffins are light golden brown and skewer inserted into center of muffins comes out clean, about 18 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in tin 5 minutes; invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, cool 5 minutes longer, and serve warm.

mbrogier
08-01-2005, 10:53 PM
I can't help you with any of those particular recipes, although I have had luck making muffin batter the night before and then just baking the muffins. I know a lot of breakfast casseroles can be made ahead, but I don't have any experience with yours.

Your breakfast looks wonderful! I would just suggest some less spicy potatoes as a balance. Unless everyone in your group is a chile head, people might like the offset of the spice with the simple crunchiness of the potatoes without all the extra spice. Or a fruit dish sans chiles might be nice to balance the flavors. I like spicy food, but I'm not a total I love everything to be flaming hot type.

skyllo
08-02-2005, 04:22 AM
I would think you could mix up the casserole the night before and bake it that morning along with the corn muffin mix. It sounds great. If you're thinking of other ideas, how about doing breakfast burritos? You could set out tortillas, refried beans, salsas, guacamole and then just scramble eggs with some green chiles and let people ensemble their own.
have fun :-)

Sarah

agmoneyb
08-02-2005, 03:47 PM
Breakfast burritos - I hadn't thought of that! That would save some time. Thanks!

sugaree
08-02-2005, 03:55 PM
Breakfast burritos - yum! We put potatoes and misc. sauteed vegetables (depending on what we have - mushrooms, onions, zucchini, peppers, etc.) in ours, along with scrambled eggs, cheese, and cilantro, then serve salsa and sour cream on the side.

heavy hedonist
08-02-2005, 04:10 PM
The ultimate do-ahead breakfast is a strata, and in that you could use pretty much the same ingredients as your casserole. But definitely mix up the dry parts of your muffin mix ahead; packing the premixed dry stuff is alot easier than bringing all the little containers of stuff along!
Don't forget the mexican penchant for fresh fruyits and baked goods-- mango upside down cake trumps muffins for me anytime-- wait, this is supposed to make your life easier, right? sorry :rolleyes:
Anyway, those potatoes sound fab, I was looking through that CL issue earlier! Garden on a plate issue, springish '99, right? And cowboy cooking. Yum.

swquilts
08-02-2005, 04:43 PM
This is quick and easy. I've made it many times and still love it!

Huevos Rancheros with Zucchini and Green Pepper
From Cooking Light

Entertain at brunch with this casual main dish. Serve a pineapple and melon compote on the side tossed with fresh mint sprigs.

1 teaspoon olive oil
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups diced zucchini
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
4 large eggs
1/3 cup (1 1/4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and bell pepper; sauté 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Add water and next 4 ingredients (water through tomatoes). Stir to combine. Cover and simmer 3 minutes.
Warm tortillas according to package directions.

Break 1 egg into a small custard cup. Slip egg onto tomato mixture; repeat procedure with remaining eggs. Cover and simmer 3 minutes or until eggs are done. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook 30 seconds or until cheese melts.

Place 1 tortilla on each of 4 plates. Spoon 1 egg and 3/4 cup tomato mixture onto each tortilla. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon cilantro.

Yield: 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 248(31% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 2.1g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 13.2g; CHOLESTEROL 214mg; CALCIUM 155mg; SODIUM 679mg; FIBER 4.1g; IRON 2.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.5g

Jean Kressy
Cooking Light, MAY 2003

Salsera
08-02-2005, 05:48 PM
The Cheesy Polenta Gratin with Green Tomatoes (sorry, I don't recall if this is the exact name of the recipe) from this month's CL is easy and quick and has a nice Southwestern flavor.

Dyanne
08-03-2005, 04:12 AM
I make Breakfast in a Cup (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=51470&page=1&pp=30) -- sometimes called Mexican Muffins by my husband -- for breakfast that consists of rice, egg, cheese, and diced (canned) chiles. You can spice it up or down, depending on how you like them. Penzey's chili powders work well, but I always add maximum cumin because I like that flavor.

If you've already cooked and measured the rice and left it in the refrigerator overnight, it goes together pretty quickly in the morning. Just don't mix the rice and egg ahead of time. If you want to lighten it, you can use egg substitute, and slightly less cheese. I make them exclusively with brown rice now because of the fiber benefit. They are very filling so one muffin goes a long way.

Some people on page 2 of that thread found that it cooks delightfully in a casserole, too. I haven't tried that yet because I like them as crispy as possible.

By the way, if you make this be sure to bring a HUGE bowl for mixing. The rice is already cooked, and the rest of the ingredients don't expand much like they do in a regular muffin.

Dyanne

dgeevanson
08-03-2005, 04:28 AM
I second the Breakfast in a Cup "muffins". I have only had that recipe for a month and we've made them twice. Thanks for posting. I like them in mini muffin tins because then you get more crunch. I also make them with brown rice. They are still very tasty microwaved the next day but for company I would make them fresh. They only take 2 minutes to throw together if you have cooked rice in the frig. Good luck with your event. I have to make breakfast for 50 at a campground this Saturday. I'm just making breakfast burritos with sausage, egg, onions, and cheese in a tortilla. Other than salsa to go on top and some drinks - that's it. With the lack of facilities, that's about all I can do. Your event sounds a lot more fun. Good luck. Darla

bobmark226
08-03-2005, 06:42 AM
This is an every other week favorite in my apartment, another indispensable make-ahead, eat-for-several-days dish that lends itself to a lot of variations.

(Dissenting vote: I hate the breakfast-in-a-cup things!)

Bob

******************************


Breakfast Tortilla Strata

Putting this dish together and chilling it the night before gives the tortillas time to soak up the batter, which makes the strips puff when baked the next day.


1 cup bottled salsa
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
10 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend or Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 cup fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Combine salsa and beans in a bowl. Place one-third of tortilla strips in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with 1/3 cup cheese and about 1 cup salsa mixture. Repeat procedure with one-third of tortilla strips, 1/3 cup cheese, and remaining salsa mixture; top with remaining tortilla strips.
Combine sour cream and next 4 ingredients (sour cream through egg whites); stir with a whisk. Stir in onions. Pour over tortilla strips; sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove dish from refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield: 6 servings

CALORIES 292(28% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 4.5g,mono 2.7g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 17.7g; CHOLESTEROL 93mg; CALCIUM 335mg; SODIUM 755mg; FIBER 4.7g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 36.5g
Cooking Light, MARCH 2001

agmoneyb
08-03-2005, 08:48 AM
Bob - I was just looking at the Strata you suggested last night! Thanks for the review. Thanks everyone for your input!!
~Amanda :p

laurachoc
08-03-2005, 04:16 PM
When I lived in Mexico we would frequently have chilaquiles for breakfast. Yum-o. I think there a couple reciples on the board, but it's basically corn tortillas, onions, tomatoes and cheese (maybe eggs too...I forget)that you make in a pan on the stovetop. It's kind of like the Mexican breakfast casserole. However, if you're having muffins, you might not want another dish that's pretty high in carbs.

Beth
08-03-2005, 04:31 PM
The strata that Bob posted is a favorite around here too. We make it for ourselves and when we are expecting guests and don't want to be doing a lot of cooking. We serve it with plain yogurt (instead of sour cream) and additional picante sause, salsa or pico de gallo.

Beth
08-03-2005, 04:32 PM
When I lived in Mexico we would frequently have chilaquiles for breakfast. Yum-o. I think there a couple reciples on the board, but it's basically corn tortillas, onions, tomatoes and cheese (maybe eggs too...I forget)that you make in a pan on the stovetop. It's kind of like the Mexican breakfast casserole. However, if you're having muffins, you might not want another dish that's pretty high in carbs.

That sounds similar to migas, but does migas have sausage or a meat in it?

gardenmom
08-03-2005, 04:48 PM
I was thinking chilaquiles too. I fry the corn tortillas or spray the tortillas with cooking spray and bake, then scramble the eggs and put in cheese and fresh salsa and the chips. Fresh chips and great salsa are the key (The authentic salsa is a cooked chile sauce similar to an enchilada salsa). You could premake the salsa and freeze.

I would serve some beans, which could be premade and frozen too. Whole beans would be lighter than refried. I have a Rick Bayless recipe that is yummy for whole pintos.

I had a lot of fresh fruit in Mexico for breakfast (I loved Papaya with lime wedges.)

How about some small mexican hot chocolates for dessert?(I would grate the mexican chocolate ahead)

Not really what you were thinking, but this breakfast is making me hungry just thinking about it, and a lot could be prepped ahead.

If you're interested in recipes, I could type in the Rick Bayless and/or Diana Kennedy recipes. (I am a typing wimp.)

Good luck on the cooking weekend!

agmoneyb
08-03-2005, 09:01 PM
gardenmom - could you post the recipe for the whole pintos? thank you thank you!!

gardenmom
08-04-2005, 04:42 PM
Agmoneyb, no problem :)-

From Rick Bayless' book, Mexico One Plate at a Time

Mexican Beans- from the pot or the skillet
(Frijoles Mexicanos - De la Olla o Refritos)

For the Brothy Beans

1 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) dried beans (any color you wish from black to red, tan, white or speckled)

2 Tablespoons rich tasting pork lard (or even bacon drippings or fat rendered from chorizo sausage) or Vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, chopped

1 large sprig fresh epazote (optional but delicious - especially with black beans)

Salt


1. Preparing Simple Boiled Beans- Frijoles de la Olla.

Though beans in the United States are sold very clean, it's always a good idea to pour them out onto a baking sheet and sort through them, removing any little stones or debris you encounter; scoop the beans into a colander and rinse.

Pour the beans into a deep medium-large (4-6 quart) pot (preferably a heavy Dutch oven or Mexican earthenware olla). Measure in 2 1/2 quarts water, then remove any beans that float (they are the ones that are not fully formed). Add the fat or oil, onion and the optional epazote. Bring to a strong rolling boil, then reduce the heat (low to medium-low on most stoves) to keep the liquid at a very gentle simmer- any more than a slight rolling movement will cause the beans to break up during cooking. Set a cover slightly askew (No need to cover the Mexican olla - its design takes care of maintaining even heat and controlling evaporation) and gently simmer, adding water as needed to keep the liquid level roughly the same, until the beans are thoroughly tender, about 2 hours.

Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and simmer for 15 minutes longer to allow the salt to be absorbed, then taste and season with additional salt if you think you necessary. The beans are now ready to be served or to be mashed and fried for refritos.


P.S. I used canola oil and no epazote. Very reliable recipe, improves with a day in the fridge. Good Luck!

heavy hedonist
08-04-2005, 05:13 PM
Wow, I grabbed that strata fast-- I've been looking for something like it, and I had it all along! But I don't feel up to the great mag slagpile search. Thankee.