Taco Tuesday

Sausage Tortilla Breakfast Bake

This casserole combines the spices of the Southwest with the comfort of a hearty breakfast, perfect for brunch. You can spice it up by adding cayenne and hot peppers or mellow it out by replacing the tomatoes and green chiles with mild salsa. It’s a versatile and easy-to-prepare dish, and we enjoyed it for dinner. Be sure to use a deep pie pan, as the mixture in the pan is full. To be on the safe side, I put the baking sheet on the rack below the pie pan just in case any drips needed to be caught. 

SausageTortilla Breakfast Bake 

Cook's Notes: The recipe was adapted from tasteofhome.com. I thought it was unique to use these ingredients to create this casserole with a Southwest flair. It was a creative twist on Taco Tuesday. Using lean turkey breakfast sausage and fat-free milk can save calories.   

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups lean-cooked turkey breakfast sausage or Italian sausage (8 oz.) 
• 3/4 cup onions, diced
• 3/4 of a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 8 corn tortillas (6 inches)
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese and 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese or use  1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 cup fat-free milk or 2%
• 1 teaspoon Elote seasoning or ground cumin 
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• Optional: Reduced-fat sour cream, salsa, and additional chopped green onions

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage with onions over medium heat until no longer pink, 4-6 minutes. Move the meat and onions to one side.  Wipe the pan free of grease, stir in tomatoes and green chiles, and mix together.
• Coat a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray. Line the pie plate with 4 corn tortillas (overlapping). Sprinkle with half the sausage-tomato mixture and cheese. Repeat the layer one more time.

• In a blender, mix eggs, milk, paprika, and cumin or Elote seasoning.  Pour the egg mixture over the corn tortilla layers.

• Bake, uncovered, until just set, 30-40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges. If desired, serve with sour cream, salsa, and green onions. A slice of watermelon is a good side for this casserole.