These breakfast casseroles were a hit at a recent Easter breakfast gathering, and are easy to make if you have overnight guests and don’t want to spend the morning at the stove.
All American Style Cheesy Baked Omelet
Adapted from Country Inns of America cookbook, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1982.
6 cups of white bread cubes, about ½ inch in size
2 cups of medium cheddar cheese, grated
12 large eggs
4 cups milk
4 Tablespoons butter, one half of a stick
One teaspoon dry mustard powder
One half teaspoon salt
One half teaspoon ground pepper
Extra butter or cooking spray to grease the pan
9 x 13 cooking pan, glass or metal
Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan or spray it with a cooking spray. Layer half the bread cubes in the bottom of the pan, then half the cheese. Layer the rest of the bread cubes, followed by the rest of the cheese. Break the eggs into a blender, and pulse briefly to break the eggs. Add two cups of the milk and the dry mustard, salt and pepper, and pulse again. Melt the 4 Tablespoons of butter and add to the blender. Add the rest of the milk (if your blender jar is not large enough to hold all the mixture, pour the mixture into a two quart bowl, preferably one with a pouring spout), mix well with a whisk, then pour over the bread and cheese layers in the pan. Push down the bread cubes with a wooden spoon so that all the bread gets wet.
Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours. In the morning, remove the pan from the refrigerator and heat the oven to 350 degrees. If you used a glass pan, make sure the pan is at room temp before you put it in the oven or it may shatter. Bake the omelet at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes uncovered—it will puff up and brown. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Makes 12 generous servings.
Southwestern Style Baked Omelet
Adapted from Country Inns of America Cookbook and cooking.com
6 cups of white bread cubes, about ½ inch in size
2 cups of grated Mexican cheese blend (mix of Monterey jack, medium cheddar, queso quesadilla and asadero cheeses) or your favorite Mexican cheese
12 large eggs
4 cups milk
3-4 Tablespoons butter or oil for frying
One large onion, diced
One large poblano pepper, sometimes called a pasilla pepper—it’s a large green mild chile pepper that looks like an elongated bell pepper.
One jalapeno pepper, two if you like more heat, or even a serrano
One teaspoon ground cumin
One half teaspoon salt
One half teaspoon ground pepper
Extra butter or cooking spray to grease the pan
9 x 13 cooking pan, glass or metal
Cook the onion and chile peppers in butter or oil until soft. Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan or spray with vegetable oil spray. Layer half the bread cubes in the bottom of the pan, then half the cheese. Spread the cooked onions and chiles over the cheese layer. Layer the rest of the bread cubes, followed by the rest of the cheese. Break the eggs into a blender, and pulse briefly to mix. Add two cups of the milk and the ground cumin, salt and pepper, and pulse again. Add the rest of the milk (if your blender jar is not large enough to hold all the mixture, pour the mixture into a two quart bowl, preferably one with a pouring spout), mix well with a whisk, then pour over the bread and cheese layers in the pan. Push down the bread cubes with a wooden spoon so that all the bread gets wet.
Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours. In the morning, remove the pan from the refrigerator and heat the oven to 350 degrees. If you used a glass pan, make sure the pan is at room temp before you put it in the oven or it may shatter. Bake the omelet at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes uncovered—it will puff up and brown. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Makes 12 generous servings.
We served bottled salsa on the side, but you could also layer some in the omelet, just use a little less milk so the omelet isn’t too runny. You could also substitute canned diced chiles for the fresh chiles.
Feel free to experiment, improvise, and use whatever ingredients you like. Substitute bell peppers for the chile peppers, and basil and oregano for the cumin in the recipe above, and sub a mixture of mozzarella and romano cheeses for the Mexican cheese blend, sprinkle some parmesan on the top, and voila—it’s Italian! You can also add cooked meats to the omelet, too. Chorizo for the Southwestern style, Italian sausage or pancetta in the Italian version, or ham or cooked bacon in the all-American. Make sure you cook and drain the meat first.
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