Low Carb Green Chile Breakfast Casserole

Lately I’ve been experimenting with quiche and other egg-based dishes, and my newest fave is the breakfast casserole.  Throw everything in a pan, bake it, done!  It’s great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  And this casserole in particular is a great choice for any meal; it’s delicious, satisfying, and low carb.  And no weird ingredients 😉

For breakfast I serve it with fruit; for lunch or dinner, with a salad.  And the best part is I only make it once and the two of us eat up to 10 meals from it!  Make a big pan of this yumminess, eat up, and then cut what’s left into squares and freeze in a gallon-sized freezer bag.  Then some morning (or evening) when you’re in a hurry and don’t have the time or inclination to cook, simply wrap a frozen casserole square in a paper towel and microwave about a minute on high (varies by microwave).  Instant healthy meal!

To cut down on cooking time I use Jimmy Dean precooked sausage; but you could certainly use uncooked sausage and brown it in the pan rather than just warming the precooked meat.  Make sure to drain the fat before adding the sausage to the recipe if you decide to use uncooked meat.

To make the healthiest version of this casserole:

Use turkey sausage rather than pork sausage (in the above pic I used a cup of each).

Use nonfat milk (or any nondairy milk) instead of the 2% and fat free half and half.

Bon appétit!

INGREDIENTS

Spray oil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
½ large white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 cups precooked Jimmy Dean ground turkey or pork breakfast sausage (or 1 cup of each)
1/8 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground coriander
2- 10 oz cans of whole green chiles
2 cups jack cheese, shredded and divided
10 large eggs
1/4 cup low fat milk (2%)
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
Cracked black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F. (use convection if you have it)

Preheat a skillet sprayed with oil over medium-high heat.

Add mushrooms, garlic and onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the ground pork/turkey, chipotle pepper, garlic and onion powders, and coriander together in a bowl and stir to mix well.  Add seasoned meat to the veggies in the pan; mix well, and cook until warmed through, about 5 more minutes.

Remove the meat and veggie mixture from the heat.  Open and drain the cans of whole green chiles. Slice the chiles down one side and fold them open so they lay flat.

Spray a 13 x 9″ baking pan with spray oil and spread the whole, flat chiles evenly along the bottom of the pan. Layer half of the meat mixture, then 1 cup of the cheese, and then cover with the last of the meat mixture.

Crack and whisk the eggs into a medium sized bowl, whisking in the milk, half and half, flour, salt and pepper. Slowly pour the whisked egg mixture over the entire casserole, ensuring it’s evenly distributed — but do not mix or disturb the layers. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese on top.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes (tent the foil slightly so that it does not stick to the cheese).  Remove foil and bake for about 10 more minutes, or until casserole begins to brown and knife comes out of center clean.

Makes one 13 x 9″ pan or 20 servings

Nutrition per serving:*

With pork sausage:

132 calories, 2 g carbs, 94 mg potassium **, 314 mg sodium

With turkey sausage:

104 calories, 2 g carbs, 94 mg potassium **, 274 mg sodium

*All nutrition info is the result of my internet/product research and should be considered approximate. You can find my favorite nutritional “go-to” sites in my blogroll.

**I was unable to find potassium information on the sausage, but generally speaking if you must reduce your potassium intake, turkey is a better choice than pork.