Fiesta Brunch Casserole

This is one of those special breakfasts. The fat content is much higher than most breakfasts so it should be restricted to only once or twice a month max. Unless you have a heart condition, it's OK to enjoy in moderation. That being said, it is loaded with peppers and flavor. Adapted from Barbara Pool Fenzl's "Savor the Southwest", it is a taste of this region of the country. 

One of the best parts of this meal is the fact you can do almost all the work the night before and get all the oohhs and aaahhhs in the morning and even in a family of six, there are always left-overs!

Fiesta Brunch Casserole

1 tbsp butter, melted

5 whole wheat tortillas

12 oz breakfast sausage

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeds removed and minced

8 eggs

1/3 C fat free milk

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 C freshly grated Monterey Jack

Cilantro leaves (garnish)

Salsa (optional)

Brush inside of 8-inch springform pan with melted butter. Center first tortila at bottom of the pan. Arrange remaining tortillas around pan, overlapping tortillas and letting about two inches hang over top. Place pan on baking sheet.

If baking now, preheat over to 350 degrees.

In a heavy skillet, cook sausage. When browned, quickly remove with slotted spoon and rinse under cold water until water is clear (this removes some fat). Place back in skillet with bell peppers until soft. Add garlic and jalepano. Cook approximately 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and spread mixture over tortillas, pressing tortillas to sides of the pan.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt and chili powder. Cook in the same skillet you cooked the sausage (this adds extra flavor to eggs and saves washing time for you!). Cook until the eggs just start to set--they become slightly firm but not quite ready to serve.  Remove from heat. It should look like this:

Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the sausage mixture. Cover this with the eggs and top with the rest of the cheese. Fold tortillas over like a tart. (At this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

Bake for 30 minutes until warmed through and cheese is golden. Let stand 5 minutes and then run a knife between the tortillas and pan. Release the pan sides. Garnish with cilantro and bring to table with salsa.