Green Chile Strata (with leftover Pimento Cheese!)

Most of us on the east coast have been snowed in this weekend, so we've been drinking wine and eating comfort food.

Enter this baked cheesy, eggy goodness.....the green chile strata.

Adam and I didn't have a lot of groceries going into the weekend.  Although Adam was able to go to the grocery Thursday night before the storm came, there were no carts or baskets left, so he was only able to make it out with milk, apples, and cereal.

So, we had to feed ourselves for 3 days with with the remnants of our pantry and fridge.

I actually sort of love this kind of challenge. I enjoy imagining different recipes using the combination of ingredients we have on hand.  I especially enjoy it when the end result is this delicious and blog-post worthy.

The base recipe for this green chile strata is incredibly simple--corn tortillas, canned green chiles, shredded cheese, eggs, and milk.  However, it's also very adaptable. We only had one can of diced green chiles, so I sautéed some chopped yellow bell pepper from the freezer and added it in. We also only had 2 cups of shredded cheese, so I used a cup of leftover pimento cheese. (This might be the secret ingredient for this recipe....) 

This strata is a very forgiving recipe. Feel free to add other sautéed veggies, black beans, or your favorite hot sauce. 

You can prepare the strata the night before and let it set in the fridge, or just refrigerate it for 30 minutes before baking.  If you're anything like us, you'll be devouring half the pan within minutes of taking it out of the oven. It's that good. 

Green Chile Strata (with leftover Pimento Cheese!)

Ingredients:
8 corn tortillas
1 4 ounce can diced green chiles
1 yellow bell pepper chopped
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 cups shredded cheese (You can use 1 cup leftover pimento cheese in addition to the other cheeses--monterrey jack or cheddar is great!)
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
hot sauce, if desired

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (if you're planning to bake the strata today. Otherwise, skip this step)

Grease a 13 by 9 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter.

Add olive oil to a small sauce pan. Add the chopped yellow pepper and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until starten to soften.  Add the can of diced green chiles to the pan and stir to combine.

Cover the bottom of the pan with 4 corn tortillas. (I ripped two tortillas in half and used them to fill in the gaps) Cover the tortillas with half of the pepper mixture and half of the shredded cheese.  Cover the cheese with four more tortillas. Add the other half of the pepper mixture and top with the remaining cheese.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and hot sauce. Pour egg/milk mixture over the baking dish.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbling.

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for three 4-ounce cans of green chiles. I only had one can, so I used a fresh yellow bell pepper instead.  Feel free to experiment. This is a forgiving recipe!
• I also used 1 cup of leftover pimento cheese in this recipe. It was delicious! If using, consider omitting the salt, as pimento cheese is already salty. 

Adapted from Savor by Shauna Niequist.