Baked Chilaquiles with Chorizo and Eggs-Lightened Up

I mentioned last week that I was desperately missing Mexico, but this week, it’s gotten worse – I’m having full on withdrawals. Every five minutes I look over at Kevin and remind him that this time last year we were laying on the beach, or this time last year we drinking margaritas, or this time last year we were sitting on our balcony watching the sun set behind the Pacific – ahhh what a lovely mental picture… My skin is so pasty and white; I almost don’t even recognize myself. I know, I know, it’s human nature to hibernate in the winter and lose the tan glow that the summer sun bestows upon us, but I don’t like it — not one bit.

Never again am I withholding a beach vacation from myself in January. In my opinion, January is the worst of the worst of months. It’s the first month it’s officially FREEZING, it’s the first month that Kevin’s busy season starts at work, and it’s four whole months before we even feel a glimmer of warmth. But, fortunately or not fortunately for me – depending on the way you look at it—what I lack in Mexican sunshine and heat, I make up for in Mexican food, ten fold. Seriously.

If you need proof here it is:

I made these carnitas last week.

Last night I was craving quesadillas and margaritas, so Kev and I headed over to our local Mexican joint where we proceeded to individually consume an obscenely large fish bowl margarita and copious amounts of chips and guacamole.

This morning I was still craving something spicy, so I made today’s chilaquiles; AND later this week I have another Mexicanish post coming at you. I’m telling you, I can’t get enough.

These chilaquiles are everything I love about Mexican food and more, but are totally acceptable to eat in the morning. If you’re not familiar with this traditional Mexican breakfast dish, you’re not alone. It’s definitely not as well known as the enchilada and doesn’t get as much love as the burrito or taco, but if you have an affinity for crispy tortilla chips, gooey cheese, runny eggs, and a fiery kick; I think it’s safe to say you’ll fall in love with chiaquiles as I have.

Chilaquiles are kind of like omelets in that you can do whatever you want with them. At their simplest form they are just fried tortialla chips, tossed with red or green sauce, then smothered in cheese. Some people opt to add eggs, chicken or some other type of protein. I prefer them to be a little bit more on the hearty side, so I fried up some chorizo, tossed it with the tortillas and enchilada sauce, then cracked the eggs on top and baked the whole dish.

Since I’m trying to watch my waistline just a bit, I lightened the dish up by baking my tortilla chips instead of frying them, used a low-fat mozzarella, and used a scant portion of chorizo. While I wouldn’t call it a “health food” by any means, it’s still healthy enough to not hate yourself if you’ve consumed half the batch…not that I’d know or anything. 🙂