Cindy's Christmas Morning No-Fail Egg Soufflé  

My hairstylist, Cindy, often has great recipes to share with me for the holidays, and this one is perfect for those times when you want to have a nice breakfast, but don't have the time to spend in the kitchen.  Cindy says she even prepares the bacon the night before and heats it in the oven the last 10 minutes as the soufflé is baking.  It's a recipe that is easy to modify, which I have done, to suit your morning tastes. 

6-10 slices of sourdough bread or white bread such as Pepperidge Farm Hearty White (the amount of bread depends upon its size; remove the crusts if desired)

Unsalted butter, softened

2 -3 cups grated Colby cheese

8 large eggs

2½ cups whole milk

1 cup diced onions

1 four-ounce can diced Ortega chilies

½-1 teaspoon salt  

½-1 teaspoon pepper  

1 teaspoon dry mustard 

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce 

 

1.    Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225°. Place bread on large baking sheet and bake 20 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 20 minutes until dry and crisp. 

2.    Butter one side of the bread and then cut the bread slices in cubes.  Line a buttered Pyrex 9 x 13 inch baking dish with half of the bread cubes.

3.    Sprinkle half of the cheese on top of the cubes.

4.    Repeat with the remaining half of bread and cheddar.

5.    Whisk together eggs, milk, onions, Ortega's, dry mustard, Tabasco, salt and pepper and pour over bread-cheese mixture.

6.     Press lightly to submerge, cover, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

7.    In the morning take out casserole while oven is preheating to 350° and then bake for one hour uncovered until the soufflé puffs up and is browned.

 

These are the basic ingredients, but you can vary it by adding cooked meat such as 8 ounces cooked bacon,  sausage, or ham.  In place of the chilies, you can substitute cooked vegetables such as chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry or 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms.