Start Your Day with Sunrise Sausage Enchiladas

If you are thinking spicy breakfast Enchiladas, this is not the one for you. It you are thinking rich and flavorful, then you have come to the right place. My recommendation is to start early because there is a lot of prep work with a long bake or create the Enchilada Casserole a day in advance. Then all you need do is let the casserole come to room temperature, bake and enjoy.

I’ve never had a breakfast enchilada that was teetering on the brink of being sinfully rich. I guess it was the heavy cream egg mixture that was baked to golden perfection that did it. One enchilada is plenty – two and you are stuffed for the rest of the day. I think next time I’m going to do the make ahead bake later approach. This would really be awesome for a brunch and I’d be willing to bet the casserole will travel well, too.

The first time I made this for my family it was as part of a very busy weekend. Hubby and I had big plans for the day – we were putting in a new succulent-cacti garden. Working in the yard meant it was going to be a long stretch between breakfast and dinner. Breakfast had to count in both flavor and substance. These Sunrise Sausage Enchiladas hit the mark on both and then sum.

Just one quick note on the prep work. When it comes time to mince the garlic and chop the pepper, if you have a small food processor, this works great and you can do them together to save valuable time. If not, hand chopping is fine too.

Sunrise Sausage Enchiladas
1 lb crumbled cooked Breakfast Sausage
1/4 cup sliced Green Onions
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
2 large Ancho Peppers, dry-roasted
6 (7-inch) Flour Tortillas
Cooking Spray as needed
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
1 tablespoon Flour
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Jalapeno Hot Pepper Sauce to taste, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 13-inch by 9-inch by 2-inch baking dish. Set aside.

Crumble and fry the sausage. Drain well and set aside. While the sausage is cooking, slice green onions, set aside.

Roast green chilies in a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat until blistered, turned as needed. Remove chilies, stem and split to remove the seeds. Cut each pepper lengthwise into four strips. Set aside 6 strips, dice remaining two strips and set aside.

Drain sausage. Add green onions and 1/2 cup cheese to the skillet. Stir to blend. Set aside.

Lightly spray the tortillas with cooking spray and warm on a flat griddle skillet to make them pliable and easier to roll. Place warm tortillas on a flat work surface. Flatten one pepper strip and place at one end of a tortilla. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the sausage mixture over the pepper. Roll the tortillas around the pepper. Place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas, peppers and sausage filling. Set aside.

Peel and mince garlic. In mixing bowl, combine the eggs, heavy cream, flour, salt, garlic, diced peppers and hot sauce. Pour the egg mixture over the prepared tortillas.

Note: This can be prepared a day in advance. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Bake enchiladas in the heated oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with remaining cheese and return to the oven. Bake for about 5 minutes longer or until the cheese has melted.

To Garnish and Serve
1 Avocado, sliced
1/2 cup Cilantro, freshly chopped
Sour Cream as needed
Salsa as needed

While the cheese is melting, pit and slice avocado. Set aside. Chop cilantro, and set aside.
To serve, plate two enchiladas per plate. Garnish plate with avocado slices. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Serve with sour cream and salsa as desired.

Fresh brewed coffee kissed with cinnamon is delicious with this breakfast.

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The garden turned out lovely . . .