Comfort Food

We came to Colorado prepared to relax this week with plenty of sweatpants and t-shirts, a duffel bag full of books and movies, and all of our favorite comfort food. We have macaroni and cheese, cheese grits, string cheese, and lasagna. We made our favorite snack - homemade salsamole. We have moose tracks ice cream, Oreos, and the ingredients to make chocolate eclair, and on the way here we discovered the new benchmark in shakes - Arby's Jamacho Oreo shake. Oh. my. goodness.

For the best meal of the day, we brought a pan of the Pioneer Woman's heart-attack-giving, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls and the recipe for our newest breakfast fave - Cheesy Chorizo Strata.

I first had this breakfast-casserole-with-a-kick at a ladies Bible study event, and we were all so amazed we refused to leave before we received a copy of the recipe. Here it is, slightly edited to go in a 9x13 pan:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. chorizo sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 c. mild green chiles, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 1/4 in. cubes
3 c. French bread crumbs
4 eggs
1 t. cumin powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 2/3 c. milk
1/2 stick butter, melted (I omitted this the last time I made it, and it was still wonderful)

Spread chorizo over the bottom of generously greased 9x13 pan. Top with chiles and jalapenos. Spread half of the cheese cubes over the top. Top with bread crumbs. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the cumin, salt, and pepper, followed by the milk. Drizzle egg mixture over bread crumbs. Top with remaining cheese. Chill overnight. Bake at 350 for about an hour. (The original recipe says to serve with your favorite salsa.)

Enjoy!