If you are like us this time of the year, you are entertaining more in a week than you have in the last three months. With family in town, every meal starts to feel like its own holiday! While we normally make this recipe for our Break the Fast dinner on Yom Kippur, we thought we would share it with you now because it’s great when you need breakfast for a crowd. 

What we love about this Green Chile Egg Bake is how versatile it is. You can opt to make this dish the morning you want to serve it or make it the night before depending on your schedule. We add green chiles because we like to add green chiles to just about anything, but the base of the recipe can be used for nearly any flavor profile. For example, sub out the chiles for feta cheese, kalamata olives, and sun dried tomatoes and now you have a Greek version. Add sausage to make it an even heartier entree. There are so many things you can do with this recipe- we can’t wait to see where you go with it! 

Green Chile Egg Bake                                                                                                      
Makes: 8-10 servings                                                                                                       
Prep Time: 15 minutes    Bake Time: 70 minutes   Total Time: 90 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 challah 
• 8 eggs 
• 2 cups 2% milk 
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper 
• 12 oz cream cheese (you can use a less-fat option if you want) 
• 2 cups shredded cheese- match the cheese to the flavor profile you pick for the dish! We used shredded cheddar and pepper jack 
• 8 oz – green chiles 
• fresh parsley for garnish, chopped (optional) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside. 
3. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk to blend. Add the milk, salt and pepper. Whisk well to combine. 
4. Peel the challah crust away from the top and bottom of the challah. Discard the crust and tear the challah into large flat pieces. Layer the pieces into the baking dish. 
5. Add the chiles to the top of the challah, spreading evenly throughout. Use a knife to cut the cream cheese into small pieces and do the same, layering on top of the chiles around the baking dish. There’s no need to go crazy over how evenly you distribute- it all bakes and blends together! 
6. Sprinkle half of the cheese on top of the green chiles and cream cheese. 
7. Pour the egg mixture over top of the challah. Give the entire dish a firm press so that the challah absorbs the liquid of the milk and eggs. Add the remaining cheese to the top of the egg mixture. 
8. Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray.* Place on top of the egg bake and bake in the oven for 60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the egg mixture is baked through in the center. 
9. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing. 

* At this point, you can refrigerate the egg bake and bake the next morning if it works with your schedule better. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking and add an extra 10 minutes to your bake time.