chiles and chorizo bake

We made this for dinner the other night, but this would also be a great breakfast or brunch meal... you know. Because of the eggs. The chorizo adds some yummy savory flavor and the chilies have their smoke and spice... and of course the cheese!

I like combinations of chiles, so these are wax peppers and little serrano peppers as well, both from our garden! I'm sure these will be the last peppers we are able to pick.

For roasting the chiles, you don't need any oil or seasonings... just pop them directly under the broiler and let 'em go. Make sure you flip them half of the way through, as well. Once they are charred and blackened on the outside, remove them from the oven.

Pop those blackened chiles into a ziptop bag and let them chill out for about 15 minutes... that'll make the skins way easier to peel off.

While the chiles are steamin' away, you can start on the chorizo. If you live in part of the country where you can get loose chorizo sausage, I'm jealous of you. What you see above is chorizo sausage that are cased in plastic that you sort of squeeze out like Gogurt (tubed yogurt). It's kind of strange, but the flavor is rockin'!

Chorizo isn't going to brown up like ground beef, but you'll know when it's done. Remove the chorizo from the pan and leave the fat in the pan.

In addition to the fat the has been left in the pan, you'll need to add some extra butter. Actually, you should add in some butter just for the flavor. Butter makes it better.

Frozen hashbrown potatoes make this so much easier. Why spend 45 minutes peeling, boiling, cooling and then grating potatoes when these little delights are just waiting in the fridge? Toss them around in the chorizo fat and the butter and let 'em do their thing.

The binder for this whole dish is going to be egg- this is 2 eggs, milk, salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

Now, normally, I like my hash browns super crispy, but that's not what we're going for here. We want them to be soft and some crispy bits. But not too much.

So while the hash browns are going, here's your chance to peel the skins off the chiles. It'll be easy to do, I promise.

You'll want to remove the seeds and ribs- that'll be easy to do too. Chop 'em up!

So here's how we layer the dish... hashbrowns on the bottom then chilies come next.

Now for our chorizo!

Then it's time for the cheese. It's a combo of Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar cheese.

And finally our eggs and milk. This will go into the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the eggs are set and the cheese is melted and the kitchen smells amazing.

Chiles and Chorizo Bake
Adapted from the awesome folks at Daisy's World!
4 green chiles of your choice
8 oz. chorizo sausage
2 tablespoons butter
8 oz. frozen hashbrown potatoes
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 Tablespoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat broiler in the oven. When the broiler is heated, place green chiles on a tray and place tray directly under broiler and cook until skins are blackened and charred on both sides. Remove from oven and place chiles into a ziptop bag to steam for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, reduce heat in oven to 350 degrees. In a cast iron skillet or other oven safe pan, cook chorizo over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon and leave the residual grease in the pan. Add butter to pan and allow to melt. Add in frozen hashbrowns and toss to coat. Cook hashbrowns until soft and only slightly crispy. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Set aside. Remove chiles from the bag and remove skins, seeds and ribs. Roughly chop and place on top of the cooked hashbrowns. Top with the cooked chorizo, then both the shredded cheeses and then pour over the egg mixture. Pop entire pan into the preheated oven and cook for 25-30 minutes or until eggs are set. Remove from oven and enjoy!