Let Them Eat Pie...For Breakfast

We take birthdays very seriously at our house. No, we don’t go overboard by celebrating birthday "weeks" or "months," but we definitely make the festivities last all day. To kick-off the special day, my husband prepares breakfast in bed for the birthday girl/boy/wife. He wakes up before the rest of us, cooks breakfast, and then brings it upstairs on a tray for our very own breakfast in bed.

This year was especially fun for me. My birthday was on the same day as Mother’s Day. I received an extraordinary breakfast in bed. He made my favorite: scrambled eggs and turkey bacon. When he brought the breakfast upstairs, my kids and dog decided to join me" in my bed. I had to share my breakfast, but I was ok with it. How could I resist the cute little hungry faces sitting next to me?

For my husband’s birthday this year, my kids and I decided we would make him breakfast in bed. When we were thinking about recipes, my son said, "Mom, remember dad’s favorite food on earth?...PIE." I laughed at first, but realized that my son was on to something. Making a pie was a great idea, even if it was for breakfast. I’m sure my husband would have liked his favorite berry pie, but I wanted to make one that was a little more "breakfast-y." This recipe, Mexican Onion & Chile Pie, is a perfect "breakfast pie" and the flavors are not too strong for the morning taste buds.

We made the pie and served my husband his breakfast in bed. Sorry I don’t have a picture of him eating it; he didn’t want a picture taken of his "I just woke up" look. However, I have a picture of my son carrying the tray of food upstairs and it’s pretty cute. You will just have to take my word that my hubby liked the food and enjoyed his first breakfast in bed.

To get started on the pie, heat the oven to 350° F.

Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet and add the chopped onions. Make sure your onions are chopped pretty small; they may be too strong if the pieces are too big.

Cook the onions over medium heat, for at least two minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour. Set pan aside.

Spray a 9-inch glass pie pan with no-stick cooking spray and cover the bottom (and sides, if you would like) with the chopped green chilies. Note: I only used ½ of the green chilies called for in this recipe because my daughter doesn’t like too much "spice" in her food. I believe you can always add more spice to the final product, but you can’t really make it less spicy if you have added too much.

Add the shredded cheese on top of the chilies (I used Monterey Jack cheese, not hot pepper Monterey Jack - see above note on spice.)

In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs (I either use a fork or a whisk) and gently add the milk, garlic salt and red pepper. Stir until well mixed, and then add the onion mixture and, mix gently again.

Pour the egg mixture into your glass pie pan, on top of the cheese.

Place the pie into the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. You will know it’s done when the top starts to look golden brown.

Put the pie on a cooling rack and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Cut the pie into triangle pieces and serve topped with salsa and maybe a little cilantro. This is the part where you can add more spice to individual servings based on taste preferences. If someone wants more spice, they can add hot salsa, more green chilies, more red pepper, Tabasco sauce, etc.

This Mexican Onion & Chile Pie not only makes an excellent breakfast food (and breakfast in bed), but also would be a great brunch dish. You can make it ahead of time, even the day before, and reheat it before you serve it. Just remember, don’t add the salsa until after it’s reheated.

Enjoy! Make sure to come back and rate and review the recipe once you’ve tried it.

Come back in a few days when Amanda will share a quick lunch idea.

Bridget is paid to write for the Land O’Lakes Recipe Buzz® Blog.