Gr-egg casserole: my latest creation!

I’ve now created a handful of recipes. In the process, I’m finding them as hard to name as to devise the ingredients and the amounts of them.

Since my name is Greg, and this dish features eggs, I’ve dubbed it Gr-egg casserole!

The recipe began with my desire to use a half of a can of black olives and the same of green ones, which were leftover from another recipe. I recalled a potato dish that uses green olives and how much I enjoy that. I began to ponder stuff I had on hand. I then went online and looked at lots of dishes, to get a sense of what proportions to use.

Here’s what I devised:

• 1 lb potatoes (four medium-sized spuds), diced
• 1/3 cup onions, chopped
• A splash of cooking oil
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 can black olives, cut into halves and thirds
• 1/2 jar green olives, cut into halves
• salt to taste (perhaps 1/2 tsp)
• pepper to taste (perhaps 1/3 tsp)

Prepare the recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a large baking dish. I used a 9½” x 7½” x 3″ dish.

Toss potatoes and onions in just enough oil to coat them. Place in the baking dish. Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes. or until softened.

In a bowl, combine all other ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Add to the potatoes and onions, blending thoroughly. Bake 35 minutes, or until eggs are cooked thoroughly.

How did it taste?

When I create a recipe, I have one test: what does Julie think?

Having scooped up a plateful, she tasted it. “Mmm, good, Hon.” “Whew,” I replied.

I wasn’t satisfied. Her first reaction to things—because she’s polite—is usually positive. The true test is always if she goes back for seconds.

She did!

Even more, the next day she finished the leftovers!

Oh, I liked it, too. And I also ate leftovers.

“But, I don’t like olives!”

I heard that! I know, I know: lots of folks don’t care for olives. Me, I love the sweetness of ripe ones and tanginess of the green. And, in this dish, they did a nice job.

The same goes for the cheese choices.

Every bite provided a different flavor profile—this bite was mostly potatoes, then eggs with olives, then a large fork got a bit of all. Mmm, good!

So, you’re wondering, could you remove the olives and still have a good recipe? Yup. And could you switch out the cheeses? Sure. Of course, by doing either or both of those, you’d have a different recipe—and there are loads of egg and potato recipes out there, so you might as well use one of those.

As for this one, here is the ultimate test it passed for me: Julie said, “Add it to the rotation.” That’s how we indicate we want to eat something along with our other regulars—lasagna, meatloaf, chicken enchiladas, chili, and the list goes on.

That rotation is now one item longer!