Green Chile and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

When my husband and I lived in California we were periodically treated to the offerings of a certain catering company, La Farfalla. Over the years I had the privelidge of sampling several of their offerings. One of the many dishes I loved were these egg and cheese squares with green chilies. Now that I live in Colorado and don't have the opportunity to experience La Farfalla's catering as often, I wanted to try to recreate this tasty egg dish at home. I'm not saying this is "the" La Farfalla catering recipe. I'm sure it's not because the texture is different. After doing a search on the internet I do think it's close. Whenever I make this for church pot luck someone asks me for the recipe.

Green Chile and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
6 tablespoons of butter, plus 2 tablespoons to butter the dish (1 stick total)
10 eggs
1/2 cup of flour (you can use gluten free, if desired)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt (I use a bit more since I use unsalted butter)
2 (4 oz.) cans of diced green chilies (or the same amount of homemade "Oven Roasted Green Chilies")
1 pint (16 ounces) of cottage cheese
1 lb (16 ounces ) of shredded cheddar, Monterrey Jack or ideally a 50-50 mix of the two

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Crack 10 eggs into a mixing bowl.

2. Wisk the eggs and add the flour, baking powder and salt to the eggs.

3. Gently fold in cottage cheese just until it is incorporated.

4. Gently stir in the green chilies just until they are incorporated. If you have the time and the inclination I highly recommend making homemade "Oven Roasted Green Chilies." If you are in a hurry the canned chilies taste just fine.

5. Melt the butter and gently stir into the egg mixture.

6. Add the shredded cheese and gently mix.

7. Pour the egg mixture into a buttered 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.

8. Place the casserole in the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Bake casserole for 35 - 45 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top.

Note: (In full disclosure there are hundreds of similar posts on the internet so I haven't invented anything new) I don't know who originally came up with this recipe.

• You can cut this recipe in half like Rachel Ray does in her Cheddar and Chile Egg Casserole
• Taste of Home offers their version in their Green Chili Egg Puff Recipe
• Nick Jonas's version adds mascarpone to this already decadent dish (I might have to try that!)