Chile Relleno Casserole (Lightened up Slightly)

Submitted by sprout 13

"I wanted to make a chile relleno casserole for a potluck, but didn't love any the recipes I saw. So I combined several recipes and made my own version. It has lots of green chiles and both jack and longhorn cheese, for maximum Tex-Mex appeal. The final dish is great to take for a potluck dinner, but can also be served for breakfast and brunch. It's best just out of the oven when the egg batter is fluffy, but it is still good reheated or even served at room temperature. A few notes about the ingredients. You should try to use the best canned green chiles you can find because they give the casserole most of its flavor. The whole canned ones from a name brand (e.g. Hatch) work well. Store-brand diced green chiles will produce a less flavorful result. Home-roasted and peeled fresh green chiles (like a poblano) would be excellent, but I don't usually have the patience for that. Also, the tomato/chile sauce I'm referring to for topping the casserole is a Mexican-American brand, El Pato. It comes in small (8 oz) yellow cans and has a duck (pato?) on the can. It's quite spicy and is the closest canned product I can find to the relleno sauces I'm used to, which are more tomato-y than a standard enchilada sauce. Leftover El Pato is great on eggs or tortillas or just about any Mexican dish. In a pinch, though, you could use red chile enchilada sauce or blend up some Ro-tel until it's not chunky. Don't substitute plain tomato sauce, it doesn't have enough flavor."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 1 9x13 pan
• Serves: 10

ingredients

• 765.43 g can whole green chilies
• 340.19 g reduced-fat monterey jack cheese
• 113.39 g longhorn cheese, can substitute medium cheddar
• 2 scallions, white and green parts sliced
• 236.59 ml low-fat milk
• 3 eggs
• 78.78 ml flour
• salt
• pepper
• 1.23 ml garlic powder
• 113.39 g Mexican tomato sauce, with chiles

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F Prepare a 9x13 pan by spraying it with vegetable oil spray.
2. Drain chiles, remove any seeds, membrane, or skin you find, and slice lengthwise into 1 inch strips.
3. Slice cheese into very thin slices. They don't have to be even and it's okay if they crumble a bit.
4. Place a layer of chiles into the bottom of the pan. They don't have to cover completely. Cover with a layer of cheese (mix white and yellow) and a sprinkle of scallions. Repeat this, reserving a few cheese slices and scallions for the top of the casserole.
5. Stir together milk, eggs, and flour. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper and the garlic powder. Pour this over the layered mix.
6. Bake in the preheated 350F oven for 25-30 minutes. It's done when it doesn't wiggle when shaken, it won't brown very much.
7. Remove from the oven, top with the tomato-chile sauce and reserved cheese and scallions. Bake 3-5 more minutes, until cheese begins to melt.
8. Let this stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[Sharon123]

Yum! I used fresh poblanos, which I roasted and cut into slivers. I used salsa for the tomato topping. Much enjoyed by my husband and I! Made for Pick a Chef!