Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Egg Enchiladas

My toddler is blessed with amazing teachers at daycare- they are liberal with their hugs and kind words, they keep the kids busy and happy with everything from finger-painting to music and playground games, and never resort to yelling- ahem. It truly takes a special person to be a good daycare teacher (or any kind of teacher at all). After a few hours of running around after one solitary child, I collapse on the couch, while the teachers wrangle a bunch of crying babies and willful toddlers all day long- do they have superpowers?

Anyway, as a small gesture of appreciation this holiday season, I thought of organizing a festive potluck breakfast for all the teachers in Lila's school. When I e-mailed the parents of Lila's classmates, several of them responded enthusiastically. We chose a Monday morning in early December. That would give the parents the weekend to shop/prep. Each family dropped off one dish that Monday morning when they brought in their child. Another mother and I did the set-up and clean up.

We ended up with an appetizing spread: One family brought in flaky biscuits, butter and preserves from a very popular local restaurant. Another came with homemade egg casseroles- one with ham and one with veggies. Others brought in fruit salad, yogurt parfaits, granola, bagels and scones. The table was loaded with food and the teachers seemed to enjoy this little treat.

My contribution to the potluck was breakfast enchiladas. (Yes, you've diagnosed it by now- I suffered a serious enchilada obsession this December.) There's nothing to stop me from eating regular enchiladas as early as 6 in the morning. But with eggs, these are a more conventional breakfast food.

I modified this recipe to make it meatless and to ramp up the amount of vegetables. Basically, you take tortillas and roll them up with your favorite enchilada or omelet fillings. I chose lots of vegetables, some beans and a little cheese. Then you cover the filled tortillas with an egg custard. The casserole can be baked right away or- get this- you can do all of it the night before and just leave it in the fridge overnight. Then you just top with a bit of cheese and bake it- the egg filling gets into the tortillas (magic!) and you essentially have tortilla-wrapped omelets all ready to serve to a crowd.

Egg Enchiladas
(Adapted from this recipe on Inspired Taste)


1. Make the enchilada filling: Saute vegetables- 1 onion, 1 pepper, 2 zucchini/summer squash. Other veggies like mushrooms, spinach or broccoli could also be added. Season with salt, cumin, oregano and garlic.

To the cooled veggies, add 1 can beans (or 1.5 cups cooked beans) and 1/2 cup shredded cheese (Monterey Jack or cheddar is what I usually use).

2. For egg custard, whisk together
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup cream (half and half or whole milk will do as well)
  • 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper to taste
3. Assemble: Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Roll tortillas with the filling and place them seam side down in the baking dish. Pour the custard over the tortillas. At this point you can cover the dish with foil and refrigerate overnight, or bake right away.



4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Scatter 1/2 cheese on the casserole. Bake covered at 350 F for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more. 

5. Garnish with cilantro or green onions. I wanted to make the dish festive in red and green so I chose a garnish of green onions and halved cherry tomatoes.

6. Serve warm with salsa or enchilada sauce.


The last post in this series is an enchilada dip, coming up tomorrow.

20 comments:

  1. You are such a generous person, Nupur- with your time, creativity and thoughtfulness! Funny, I was just thinking this morning as I dropped my child off in her class ( a bit relieved after the no-school days) - how do her teachers deal with 20 small children and still stay patient and smiling?!

    I will have to give enchiladas another try (have a great opportunity coming up to eat Mexican food for a week!) Somehow I always felt they were bland and stuck to burritos or quesadillas while ordering. Obviously I was very wrong. R

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    1. Gosh- this was no big deal. Couldn't have done it if other parents did not jump on board and contribute yummy dishes!

      I find enchiladas way more tempting than a big honkin' burrito. Definitely worth a try especially if you find a good Mexican place on your travels.

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  2. That was so thoughtful and sweet of you Nupur! It was a splendid idea to organize such a potluck. I am sure they appreciated it. The spread sounds scrumptious and these Egg Enchiladas seem so colorful and healthy. I am on a 'roasted vegetable' obsession (along with my 'hearty soups' obsession) at the moment so I might roast the vegetables for the filling when I make this.

    Thank you for such great ideas and recipes. Not only do you inspire me to cook such delicious meals, you also inspire me to share the good things with those around.

    - Priti

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    1. Priti- the potluck was so fun and easy enough to organize- I think I'll make it an annual tradition for Lila's teachers. That's what I love about cooking- it is an easy and simple way to make others happy. Everyone likes to eat good food!

      You're absolutely right- roasted vegetables will be right at home in this dish. Saute or roast- your preference.

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  3. I am loving your enchilada series Nupur. I have not venture much into Mexican cuisine yet. Your posts inspire me to try it out. I recently prepared tacos after having a taco party at home. The child is showing some interest in eating tacos, so he may even try these. Thanks for these posts.

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    1. Shilpa- for me, it is an easy way to use the same ingredients I use in my usual (Indian) cooking- vegetables, beans, rice, a little cheese- and with slightly different seasonings, come up with something a little different. Hope you enjoy the recipes!

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  4. Happy New Year 2014 to you and your family!

    How sweet of you, Nupur! A treat to teachers what an amazing idea. We can share love and happiness through sharing homemade food. You nailed that idea and i loved it.

    This enchiladas I'm gonna to try for sure. Love some good change in routine breakfast. Thanks for sharing :-)

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    1. Thanks Sonia- it was simple to pull off and yes, everyone loves a get-together with good food!

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  5. This looks super yum. Do you think I could make a non-egg version by using some béchamel sauce and cheese instead?

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    1. A version with tortillas smothered in bechamel sauce would be tasty enough and worth a try but I'm not sure it will resemble this dish. Maybe you could try the regular enchiladas I posted earlier this week (they don't contain egg).

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  6. What a sweet gesture! I'm definitely putting enchiladas on our weekly menu soon. The enchilada sauce looks delicious and I can't wait to try it.

    -Anu

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  7. Breakfast Enchiladas looks amazing. I love the garnish of the green onions!
    Wishing you a happy happy new year Nupur. L:ove and kisses to little Lila!

    Shobha

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    1. Happy New Year to you too, Shobha! Hope your kids are doing well!

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  8. I am very late in wishing you , but warm wishes for a happy new year to you, V, Lila and Duncan!
    I loved the idea of showing appreciation for others in the form of a potluck and am doing something similar at my end.
    What better way to show that you care, make delicious food!

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    1. Happy new year to you and your family- and hope this year is a wonderful one! Would love to hear about your potluck as well!

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  9. I think I am now obsessed with enchiladas too! I might have to add this to our meal plan for this week. It sounds so good! And what a lovely gift for the teachers!

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    1. If you try the recipe, let me know if it works for you please :)

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  10. Oh my, did I miss an "enchilada festival" on your blog Nupur. :-). I heart enchiladas very very much and have this desire to make my own sauce for a long time. It is just plain sad that we don't get these fiery, mexican peppers here in India, only the usual red and green ones. :-(.

    What you guys did for the teachers might have thrilled them to bits. Kudos. :-)

    Hugs,
    Siri

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  11. Interesting mix of veggies , cheese and eggs. Meatless!!! Great!!! I must try it!!!

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