Frittata Goes to Mexico

July 2034. Eighteenth camp. Trevon Ashford's senior year. There's a weight to this camp that I feel and that I'm pretty sure he feels too, though he doesn't say it because Trevon is not a person who makes declarations about his feelings. He shows them in how he runs. He's been running with something extra all week — a focus that's deeper than any previous camp, a sense of intention. He knows what this year means. He knows the scouts are watching. He knows that what he does between now and December will shape the next decade of his life.

He stayed after practice Thursday to run extra routes. I watched him from the bleachers for twenty minutes before he noticed me. He came over and sat down and we talked — not about football, about his mother, about how she works doubles on the weekends to cover his younger brothers' expenses, about how he's going to make sure she doesn't have to do that forever. I told him I knew. I told him that's the right thing to carry and that the boys with something to run toward are always faster than the boys with nothing. He nodded and went back to running routes.

Friday I made green chile breakfast casserole for the coaching staff — layers of tortilla, egg, cheese, roasted green chile, sausage. Eight-by-thirteen pan, feeds ten, bakes for forty-five minutes. I've been making this every Friday of camp since year four. It's tradition now. Coach Miller said it was the best thing about camp. Coach Rodriguez said Miller's easily pleased. They've been having this exchange since year eight. The casserole hasn't changed. Neither have they. I find this reassuring.

That Friday casserole is the one constant I can count on when everything else at camp is uncertain — the heat, the depth chart, whether a kid like Trevon will get what he deserves. This frittata is my version of that dish: eggs layered with roasted green chiles, sausage, and cheese, built to feed ten hungry coaches without complaint. It’s the kind of food that doesn’t ask anything of you except that you show up and make it, which, after a week like this one, is exactly what I needed.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 10

Ingredients

1 lb Mexican-style chorizo or breakfast sausage, casings removed
1 medium white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup roasted green chiles, chopped (fresh-roasted or canned, drained)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
12 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
4 small corn tortillas, torn into rough pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil or neutral oil
Fresh cilantro and sliced scallions, for serving
Salsa or hot sauce, for serving

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with oil or nonstick spray and set aside.
Brown the sausage. In a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it apart with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of drippings.
Sauté the vegetables. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the roasted green chiles and remove from heat.
Build the base. Scatter the torn tortilla pieces across the bottom of the prepared baking dish in an even layer. Top with the cooked sausage, then the sautéed vegetable mixture. Sprinkle 1 cup of the Monterey Jack over the top.
Mix the eggs. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper until fully combined and slightly frothy.
Assemble. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the layered ingredients in the baking dish, pressing gently so the tortillas absorb the egg. Scatter the remaining 1/2 cup Monterey Jack and all of the cheddar over the top.
Bake. Transfer to the oven and bake uncovered until the eggs are fully set in the center and the cheese is golden and bubbling at the edges, 40–45 minutes. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
Rest and serve. Let the frittata rest for 10 minutes before slicing into squares. Top with fresh cilantro, scallions, and salsa or hot sauce as desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Frittata Goes to Mexico — The Friday Casserole That Became Camp Tradition