Not only do I love August for the long hot summer days, but it is also peak hatch chile season! I am usually one of the first people in line for Hatchfest at Central Market and will spend the rest of the month adding hatch chiles to every dish I make. Creating a Hatch Chile Breakfast Casserole was as easy as swapping potatoes for tortillas and adding hatch chiles to my classic recipe. I used fresh chiles this time, but I am headed back to Central Market for some roasted chiles to throw in next time. Enjoy! xoxo
2-4 Hatch Chiles, seeded and diced (roasted or fresh)
10oz can of no salt Rotel
8 large eggs
2 cups of low-fat milk
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
9-12 Flour Tortillas
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
In a large skillet, cook the sausage until browned. Add onion, hatch chiles, and Rotel to sausage and cook until vegetables are tender. Whisk together the eggs, milk, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a separate large bowl.
Line a large casserole dish with flour tortillas and top with half of the sausage and vegetable mixture. Pour a third of the egg mixture over the sausage and tortillas, then top with another layer of flour tortillas the second half of the sausage mixture, and another third of the egg mixture. Finish with another layer of flour tortillas and the remaining egg mixture, and top with Monterey Jack cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let the cheese brown for another 10 minutes. Serve warm.
Looking for more breakfast recipes? Check out my posts here:
A few weeks ago I took a long weekend trip to Los Angeles with my friend Monica. It had been years since I visited LA, so I wanted to share my recommendations and a mini Los Angeles travel guide as a starting point for any weekend trip to downtown LA.
We stayed at The Conrad Los Angeles, which I cannot recommend enough! You can read my review of The Conrad Los Angeles property, restaurants, spa, and pool in my blog post. This was my first time staying in downtown Los Angeles, and it was a nice change of pace from Beverly Hills or the cost. The Broad and MOCA were walking distance from our hotel and both had fantastic (and free) collections. Other places we explored downtown included Grand Central Market, The Last Bookstore, and Hauser & Wirth galleries where we had brunch at Manuela.
No trip to LA is complete without a meal at Sugarfish, which was our first stop upon landing. Everything on the menu is fantastic, but the “Trust Me” lunch is a personal favorite. While we stayed downtown for most things, we did venture to Beverly Hills for some hard-to-beat meals. The patio of The Ivy is hard to say no to, so we stopped by for dinner before enjoying a nightcap at the Rooftop by JG. The views from the Rooftop by JG were incredible and I am dying to go back during daylight for another look. It is also impossible to say no to lunch at the Polo Lounge, especially the McCarthy salad, which disappeared in record time.
It has always been on my LA bucket list to see a film at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary. They were showing Almost Famous, one of my favorites, while we were in town so naturally we made an evening of it. The Conrad Los Angeles generously let us borrow a blanket and we made ourselves a picnic at Bristol Farms.
If you follow along on Instagram, you saw that I recently spent a long weekend in Los Angeles with a friend. While we ate fantastic food and enjoyed the much cooler weather, our hotel, The Conrad Los Angeles, was easily one of the best parts of our trip. The Conrad Los Angeles is located in downtown LA and is a part of The Grand LA, a Frank Gehry-designed retail, residences, and hotel development. The Grand is a stone’s throw away from The Broad Museum, and MOCA, and directly across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Every inch of the hotel was perfectly designed and felt cozy yet upscale at the same time, but this particularly applied to our room. I booked a premium view one king bedroom, and we had the perfect view overlooking downtown and the rooftop pool. The room was complete with a sitting area, smart TV, mini bar, blackout shades, extra closet and counter space, and Byredo Mojave Ghost bath products.
All of the restaurants on the property were fantastic! Our trip started with a late breakfast at San Laurel, where chef José Andrés won us over with Spanish-style eggs. We were excited to try new items on the San Laurel menu every morning and our waiter, Daniel, always had our coffee waiting for us. The afternoon we spent at the pool was completed by delicious shareable plates and service from Airlight. We also enjoyed the view and signature cocktails at both Agua Viva and The Beaudry Room.
Since The Conrad Los Angeles had just opened a few days prior, the spa was not entirely up and running. I worked with Alina, the director of the spa, to book a 60-minute intuitive massage, which was long overdue post-pandemic. My masseuse, Anna, provided a relaxing experience as well as one of the best deep tissue massages I have ever had. The spa also offers facials, notably from celebrity facialist Angela Cagila, an infrared sauna room, and recovery lounges.
The concierge was extra accommodating and very helpful. We planned to see a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery but needed a blanket and picnic. I stopped by the concierge desk and the concierge there at the time sent a blanket, and picnic supplies to our room, and even provided information for other film-related events we might be interested in. I look forward to future stays at The Conrad Los Angeles! xoxo
Growing up in Dallas, my favorite childhood memory was going to Neiman Marcus with my Grandmother and her sister, to enjoy popovers, strawberry butter, and warm broth. For years I have tried to recreate the famous popovers I enjoy so much, but have had plenty of batches that never “popped”. I seem to have the best results when my milk is warm, eggs are at room temperature, the batter rests an hour and the oven is piping hot. It might seem like a tedious process, but I promise the results are well worth it! To create strawberry butter I mix softened butter and a little no sugar added strawberry jam in a food processor. I have tried using fresh strawberries and frozen strawberries but the best results are when the butter is mixed with jam. My next popover adventure will be figuring out how the Polo Bar created caramelized onion and gruyere popovers. Enjoy! xoxo
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Warm milk in the microwave for 2 minutes. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.
Beat eggs with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Eggs should be foamy and pale in color. Turn down the mixer to low and add warm milk. Gradually add the dry mixture and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Let batter rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
Spray Teflon-lined popover pan with nonstick spray. Fill the popover cups just slightly below the top with batter, place the popover pan on top of a cookie sheet, and transfer to the oven. After 15 minutes of baking at 450 degrees, turn the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes. Popovers should be a deep golden brown color on the outside and airy on the inside. Serve popovers hot with strawberry butter.
This April we celebrated Alex’s 30th birthday and in lieu of a big party, he requested that I plan a surprise trip. I narrowed down the cities and decided Seattle would be the perfect destination for a birthday trip. We had a blast and are already talking about planning another trip to the Seattle area. I have outlined all our recommendations in this Seattle Travel Guide. Enjoy! xoxo
The Charter Hotel: We are loyal Hilton members and the Curio Collection hotels never disappoint. The Charter Hotel was clean, spacious, and conveniently located downtown. We booked a king bed corner room with a city view and loved the oversized windows and extra space to tuck away clothes and luggage.
Pikes Place Market: Our hotel was just a block away from Pikes Places Market, so we often found ourselves walking through on our way to other places. I wish we had planned to stay longer than five days so I could buy some of the gorgeous tulips that were in bloom, but we did buy some delicious local jelly to bring home.
Mariners Game: We are not real big baseball fans, but the Texas Rangers happened to be in town so we thought it might be fun to go to a game. The Mariners have specials on specific games and our tickets were super cheap, probably because the Rangers are horrible. While the Rangers lost, we enjoyed the atmosphere and seeing someone else’s stadium.
Space Needle: The Space Needle is such a cliche but I would still recommend it for anyone’s visit to Seattle. We bought tickets for the first time slot and the whole visit only took about half an hour. It is impossible to determine when you might have a rain-free day, but I would try to plan for a clear day since the observation deck is outside.
Chihuly Garden and Glass: When you buy your Space Needle ticket, you can bundle and save a little to visit the Chihuly Garden next door. This was also a quick museum to walk through early in the morning. Most glass pieces are inside with a handful outside in a small garden. We were blown away by the glass sculptures and loved that the museum had a photographer walking around to take your photo, which was included with admission.
Museum of Pop Culture: The MoPOP is also located next to the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden, so it makes sense to do all three at one time. I was most excited about the Nirvana exhibit and spent more time than the average person reading everything. We also really enjoyed the Pearl Jam exhibit, Jimi Hendrix exhibit, and Guitar Gallery. We kind of skipped over the horror film and hip-hop exhibits.
Great Wheel: After lunch on the pier we stopped over at the Great Wheel for a ride. There was a short line and we were able to hop on and off within half an hour. It was cool to see a different perspective of Seattle and the water, we also lucked out with a very clear day and could see relatively far.
Dimitriou’s JazzAlley: Alex has been talking about finding a local jazz bar for years, but we have not found one in Dallas. I saw that there were a few in Seattle and that Kenny G was in town at JazzAlley, so obviously I had to buy tickets. We had the best time! JazzAlley is very intimate without a bad seat in the house. Dinner is offered but we went to the late show and just enjoyed after-dinner cocktails. Kenny G was fantastic, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed his show! He is from Seattle, so when he is in between tours he likes to come back to JazzAlley, 10/10 would recommend.
Bainbridge Island Ferry: The ferry ride to Bainbridge Island is an easy and punctual 25-minute scenic cruise. Once on Brainbridge, we were able to walk to the main road in town for coffee and breakfast. The island is quaint and beautiful, and we both agreed that we should go back and spend more time enjoying all that Bainbridge has to offer.
Snoqualmie Falls: We rented a car and drove a little over half an hour outside the city to hike Snoqualmie Falls. There are two observation decks to view the falls, the upper deck is easily accessible, and the lower deck is down a mile trail. Just over from the lower deck is a small trail that leads to the river and was the perfect spot for a picnic. The hike down to the lower deck was easy, but coming back uphill had our whole group a little winded. We did notice a parking lot near the lower deck that would be recommended for someone unable or not up for a mile uphill.
Lowell’s(Pikes Place Market): This was our first stop in Seattle since Pikes Place Market was so close to our hotel. We enjoyed a quick, easy, and delicious lunch with a great view. We can highly recommend the salmon Caesar salad and tuna melt.
Ivar’s Acres of Clams: Ivar’s has a huge dining room with large windows and a spacious patio I wish we could have taken advantage of. The clam chowder was amazing as was the fish and chips with fresh haddock.
Bateau: We celebrated Alex’s birthday at Bateau and, wow, it did not disappoint these Texas beef lovers. We started with the steak tartare, which was amazing, then our waiter walked us through all the daily specialty cuts of beef. We both had dry-aged steaks with bone marrow butter and a side of asparagus, topped with beef fat béarnaise, and roasted mushrooms. Highly recommend Bateau to anyone in the Seattle area!
Blackbird Bakery: We walked to Blackbird from the Bainbridge Island ferry for coffee and breakfast. It is a cute small shop on the main road in town. We enjoyed a variety of seasonal scones and muffins, all of which were delicious and quickly devoured.
2 Doors Down Burger Bar: This was not our original dinner plan, but it was close to our friend’s Airbnb and a burger sounded good. We were all surprised with how good all the burgers were for a small dive in the capitol hill area. You cannot go wrong with the classic, or green chili burger and a side of cheese curds.
The London Plane: I am a sucker for a traditional English breakfast, but this was such a good brunch! We had a reservation for our large group and I am glad we did, I would recommend a reservation for any size group since it is not a large place.
Fiasco Pizza: We ended up in the Fremont area and stumbled upon Fiasco Pizza. Our large group split a few appetizers and the pizza four-pack, everything was delicious and our service was excellent.
Le Panier: Before leaving town we grabbed coffee and pastries from Le Panier. I would try one of everything, it is that good, but I can personally recommend the pain au chocolat, á la framboise, champignons, and normandie.
The Barrel Thief: While in Scotland last fall, Alex joined the Single Malt Whisky Society. They have a handful of bars in the U.S. that serve their specially whiskies, so when I saw Seattle had one we had to stop in. We enjoyed a charcuterie board as well and the staff was very attentive and friendly.
Fremont Brewing: We had great luck and the weather was beautiful in Seattle. We were on the search for a great patio, which is hard to find, and Fremont Brewing had the largest in town.
Screwdriver Bar: This underground bar is exactly what I imagined when I thought of the stereotypical Seattle bar. Great music, tables for groups, and literally underground.
Pike Brewing Company: This brewery was also near our hotel and Pikes Place Market, so we stopped in for lunch, The food menu had a nice variety and the dining area was larger than expected. We had friends join us here and there were many tables for large groups.
Old Stove Brewing: Just past the gum wall from Pike Brewing is Old Stove Brewing. We stopped along here because the weather was once again beautiful and they had a large patio on the water. If the weather is not so nice they have a large indoor area and offer a food menu as well.
A few weeks ago I made chicken verde enchiladas and a friend pointed out that I have never shared my recipe. To be honest, I had never shared this recipe because, well, I kind of make it up every time. I finally took the time to write it out as I went but this recipe is very easy to modify. I have swapped poblano chile for hatch chile, corn tortillas for flour tortillas, and cotija cheese for Monterey jack cheese, all substitutions still make amazing chicken verde enchiladas. Enjoy! xoxo
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped
8-10 medium tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed
12oz green chiles, chopped
½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat shredded
1 cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Mexican seasoning
Corn tortillas
1 cup Cotija cheese, finely grated
Preheat oven to 425°. Drizzle olive oil over poblano chile, and tomatillos on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until vegetables are soft and browned for about 20 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and add green chilies, cilantro, lime juice, and purée until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium bowl, mix chicken, red onion, and Mexican seasoning (I use Morton & Bassett Mexican Blend Seasoning). Spread 1/2 cup green sauce across the bottom of a 13×9″ baking dish. Warm corn tortillas, so they do not crack when rolled.
Working one at a time, fill the center of each corn tortilla with the chicken mixture and fold one side over filling, then continue to roll the enchilada onto itself. Place tightly seam side down in the prepared baking dish as you go. Top with remaining green sauce and Cotija cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and let the top brown for about 5-10 minutes.
