Yum at Home: Gringo Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles are my favorite thing to make for a big breakfast. Or brunch. Or even dinner! These are "gringo" chilaquiles because they are my own very inauthentic interpretation, definitely not traditional, and I am definitely a gringa (you can tell by my attempts to demonstrate my Spanish mastery with every ingredient)

But they taste good, and that's the important thing. Also they're very easy to make!

Breakfast, bitches.

I could give you a specific recipe, but really the magic of this dish is that you don't need exact measurements or steps. I'll give you the framework, and then you can improvise.

Here are the basic elements and the way I add them. You may notice that many of them could also form part of a tasty Mexican dinner. In fact, this is a fabulous breakfast to make with the leftovers from last night's burrito or taco extravaganza.

1. Tortilla chips (totopos de maiz): Stale chips are great, broken pieces from the bottom of the chip bag are perfect, and super crunchy fried tortilla pieces from a Mexican grocery are magical.

Mmmmm. Greasy.

Toss them into the bottom of a pan. Works best if you have a lid for said pan, but not necessary.

2. Enchilada sauce: from a can. Let's not get too fancy.

This is red enchilada sauce, but obviously green works just as well.

Pour the sauce over the chips. Very important: make sure you add the sauce right after the chips! Don't wait until after you've added the other ingredients, because then the chips will be too dry and they'll burn. I did this once and I was very sad. We ate it anyway, obviously, but we were still sad.

3. Stuff to throw on top: At this point you can add beans, cooked veggies, meat, or whatever else.

A big pile of awesome!

For beans, I use canned black beans or refried beans:

Kroger did not pay for this product placement.

For veggies, I've used leftover potatoes (cooked home-fries style), leftover zucchini (sautéed), or I've cooked up summer squash in the pan before putting the chips in.  I bet it'd be great with mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, or plenty of other things! When you cook the veggies, you can season them with salt, pepper, and cumin, or throw in some Tony's (Tony Chachere's) or other seasoning salt.

For meat, we usually use soyrizo, which is like chorizo but without the un-kosher part. It would probably be good with ground beef, too (cooked up with taco seasoning), or you could do it with no meat at all.

Squash (from the garden!) and soyrizo (from Save a Lot!). Did I forget to tell you to cook these first, in that same pan, before you put the chips in? Ooops.

4. Eggs (huevos): This is what makes it breakfast. Also: protein!

Fry up some eggs in another pan:

This is where you can cook to order. For example, I like a soft or runny yolk, whereas Girlfriend likes me to cook the heck out of her eggs. Rock hard yolks. Ew.

...and throw them on top of the chilaquile pile.

In an artistic matter, as shown.

5. Cheese (queso): normally I use queso fresco or cotija or some other crumbly Latin American cheese, but my queso fresco went bad so I had to use some pre-grated mozzarella I found in the fridge. Pro tip: when you're cooking with a soft cheese and you've had it for a little while, smell it and taste a little piece before you throw it into your food. Sure, you'll have an awful taste in your mouth for a bit, but that's better than ruining the whole dish with some rank cow curds.

Queso'd.

If you have a lid that fits, cover the pan at this point...

Yes, I wiped down the stove a little bit before taking this glamour shot. You happy?

...until the cheese is melted:

Done!

6. Toppings: now you can plate it up and add whatever you want. I like to add fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, and plenty of salsa (Costco brand or Herdez) and hot sauce (Cholula!!!). This time, I even threw on some fresh tomato from my garden!

Not to brag or anything.

But really, at this point all you have to do is throw your favorite salsa on top and dig in. I usually serve one egg (plus the stuff underneath) per person, and throw the rest into a tupperware for leftovers. It's great the next day (or next meal) reheated in the microwave.

Bonus points if you eat it on the porch looking out at your bad-ass garden, accompanied by homemade cold-brew!

Again, not to brag or anything.