Funk Babblings

The other day I was trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. We were out of most of the usual standbys, and I didn't feel like going to the store. Though nontacitare had just been on her own trip to the store, which helped matters a little.

As I stared at the cabinet trying to figure out what to make, the main thing that struck me was the two bags of tortilla chips left over from my recent takeout excursions to a local Mexican restaurant. What will I ever do with all these chips, I wondered.

Then I remembered a recipe in one of my cookbooks, "double corn tortilla casserole," which is based on two layers of torn corn tortillas. The chips would work nicely in that role. I pulled out the book and found that I only had one other exactly listed ingredient (out of seven), but I could substitute.....

• enough tortilla chips to cover a 9" square baking dish twice
• 3 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 oz shredded cheddar cheese (the original called for 6 oz Monterey Jack)
• 1 red pepper, diced (original called for corn and green onions)
• 2 eggs
• a splash of milk (original called for a cup of buttermilk, all we had was skim)
• ~3/4 cup hot chipotle salsa

Cover bottom of 9" square dish with (half of the) tortilla chips. Cover them with half of the cheese and half of the diced pepper. Add another layer of chips, then the rest of the cheese and pepper.

Beat eggs with milk and a bit of the salsa. Pour evenly over the contents of the dish. Then pour or spoon the rest of the salsa evenly over the dish.

Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes.

Pretty tasty for something completely unplanned!