Breakfast Burritos

My sister is a fabulous chef and she inspires me all the time.  As a side note, she's is the genius behind A Life In Pie.  Before she had her current job as a sous chef with Whole Foods, she was doing some catering and supplying several of her local coffee carts with breakfast burritos.  When my baby boy was born, she came to visit and supplied us with a bunch of burritos which provided me with easy breakfast for the family both on weekdays or when we're out the door early on the a weekend for a soccer game.  My husband loves to have them on hand at work because it can give him a filling start to a busy day where he often doesn't have a chance to eat until the late afternoon.  Ever since her visit in May, I've managed to usually have a supply of breakfast burritos in our freezer.
There are plenty of recipes out there for breakfast burritos.  I've had people ask me how I do it, so I thought I should finally take a moment to share.  So really I don't consider this a recipe so much as it's just a how-to.  Or more accurately, my how-to.  But the beauty of it, is it can become YOUR how-to.  Made them how you like, the sky is the limit on the combination of fillings.  Also, breakfast burritos are cheap!  For the size of tortillas I use, it's only a couple spoonfuls of filling and a pinch of cheese, so you can make a lot with not that much.  These aren't enormous restaurant breakfast burritos that put you in a coma, these are the perfect size to fuel your morning.

Breakfast Burritos
2 russet potatoes, diced fairly small
olive or canola oil
4 eggs, scrambled with about 1/4 cup milk
salt, pepper or seasoning salt
1/2 lb bulk breakfast sausage
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cheese
12 tortillas (I use the Jumbo size sold at my local Costco)
Plastic wrap and zipper bags for storage

Heat a large pan over medium high, drizzle enough oil to coat the pan and add the potatoes.  Stir frequently and season as you like.  When the potatoes are cooked there and many are crispy, transfer them to a plate or bowl while you finish the other parts.  Using the same pan, add the breakfast sausage, breaking it apart into crumbles.  When that's cooked through, turn the heat to medium, you can spoon off any extra oil or grease and discard.  Then pour in the scrambled egg and milk mixture, stir constantly and quickly to cook the eggs.  Turn off the heat to avoid overcooking the eggs.  Add the potatoes back in, combine it all together and then set aside to cool for a bit.

See how much filling that makes?

Prepare to roll your tortillas- Take a dinner plate, stack about 4 tortillas on it, pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  (Unless your tortillas are at room temp which in that case you can skip that part and just stack them all on the plate)  Get your cheese ready and then take about 2 spoonfuls (I use a dinner spoon, which is bigger than a tea spoon), add a generous pinch of cheese, then fold the burrito.
Wrap the burrito tightly with some plastic wrap, then on to the next one.

Here's a little video I found to show you how to wrap a burrito- Burrito Wrapping Instructions

My finished burritos!  I made 12 with just that small inexpensive amount of filling

Place them all in a zipper bag or a airtight container and place them in your freezer.  When you want to eat one, a frozen one takes about 2-3 minutes in the microwave if it has a turn table, or if not, do it in one minute intervals just to be sure it heats evenly.  If it's not frozen, it takes about a minute.  We often stick them in to heat, go finish getting ready, then grab them on the way out the door.

So- The possibilities are endless.  Increase the "fuel-factor" and saute kale or spinach with mushroom in a little olive oil, then use 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites scrambled together and add some diced ham or use turkey sausage.  Or make it more authentic; black beans, eggs, salsa (or diced tomatoes) and cheese.  Sometimes when we have leftovers from tacos, like rice, beans and a little meat, I just use that with a a couple of eggs and the leftover cheese.  Leave a comment to let me know what combination of filling you make!

Turkey Meatball and Tortellini Soup

I love soups and next to baking, it's probably my favorite thing to cook.  Sometimes I daydream of having a simple cafe that just serves soups, a couple of choices of sandwiches and tasty cookies and cakes.  I just love how the house smells and feels when I have a pot of soup simmering.  But here's the thing; my darling and loving husband in a very Seinfeld-esque way does not feel that soup is a meal.  He does not dislike eating soup, but anytime I would make soup for dinner his response was- "And what else?" Just soup was not enough.  So I decided one day to make a soup that would be worthy of being a meal all by itself.  I did not go to the store to shop for the specific items for this soup and each time I make it, it's slightly different because I improvise with whatever is in the pantry or freezer.  Sometimes I have tortellini on hand, sometimes I just have some sort of shaped pasta.  The meatballs in the soup are something you could make and keep frozen some to have with pasta and sauce, some for making in a soup.

Turkey Meatball and Tortellini Soup

For meatballs:
1 lb package ground turkey
2 tbl Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove crushed garlic)
¼ c. bread crumbs (optional)
¼ c. grated parmesan cheese
2 pinches of Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Optional:  Add 1 lb of Italian sausage (either pork or turkey)

1.     Mix ground turkey (and sausage if using) with seasonings, bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. 
2.    Roll into 1 inch diameter balls and then place in shallow baking dish to bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes (but check for doneness) or fry in batches on stove top if desired. 
3.    Set aside (can be made in one day in advance then refrigerated or make ahead and freeze for later use.)

For soup:
3     tablespoon olive oil
1     clove of garlic crushed or 2 tsp garlic powder
2     large carrots, diced
2     ribs of celery, diced
Small amount of diced sweet onion (about ¼ cup or less)
2     cups water
4     cups chicken broth
1     tablespoon dried vegetable soup mix
1     teaspoon kosher salt
2.5     cups assorted fresh or frozen vegetables- broccoli, baby carrots, cauliflower, cut corn, green beans (use whatever veggies you like)
1     can diced or crushed tomatoes (if diced, you can mash them yourself or leave as is)
1     16 oz package cheese tortellini
    Grated parmesan cheese for serving

Directions
1.    In a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté olive oil, garlic, diced carrots, celery and onion.  Sauté until mixture is soft and starting to caramelize.

2.    Add water, chicken stock and vegetable soup mix.  Stir, then raise heat and bring to boil.

3.    Add assorted vegetables, tomatoes, salt and meatballs, bring back to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes but be sure to check on it and stir occasionally.

4.    Raise heat to medium, add tortellini and simmer until they float to top and expand, about 10 minutes.

5.    Serve and provide parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top.

Chili Taco Casserole

 This is one of those homey, not fancy recipes that is filling and should please the kids too.  Just add a salad for your green veggies and you have a  meal. I came across this recipe that was a lower fat version of the original and I adapted it a little to make it what I think is even healthier. Apparently, the original or traditional version of this has a sour cream topping that you add toward the end of baking.  Super yummy I'm sure but having never had it that way, I don't know what I'm missing.  Besides, I just serve sour cream on the side.  The recipe also called for canned chili with beans and I never keep that on hand, but I always have beans and ground beef or turkey, plus the seasonings for chili, so I find it far easier to just put all that together when cooking the ground meat.  So for me, this is a meal I can pull from my pantry anytime.  It's also incredibly easy to just double this so you have plenty of leftovers if you want.  You can also skip the first part and use store bought chips, use baked ones to keep the fat and calories down.

Just stack a few tortillas together and slice into wedges.  My 12 year old helped me do this.

We had to try hard to not eat these before putting them into the casserole.

I browned the meat in a much larger pan and then just turned off the heat to mix everything together.

Chili Taco Casserole
Adapted from Eating Well Magazine


Recipe Ingredients

2 teaspoons canola oil
12 corn tortillas
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 tbl chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 clove crushed garlic
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed
1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce (1 1/4 cups)
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon grated onion (or dried minced onion will work)
1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Coat 2 baking sheets and a shallow 3-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Lightly brush each tortilla with oil and sprinkle with salt.  Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking. Let cool. (Alternative- use purchased baked corn tortilla chips)
Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. In a skillet, brown hamburger and season with chili powder, cumin and crushed garlic.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  Stir together hamburger, kidney and pinto beans, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, onions and 3/4 cup of the cheese in a large bowl. Add 4 cups of the tortilla crisps and stir to coat them with sauce. Turn into the prepared baking dish and bake until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 2 cups tortilla crisps. Bake for 5 minutes longer.
Serve with sour cream and sliced avocado on the side.

Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry

Cooking hot and fast is the key with a stir fry.  This recipe should be considered merely a guideline for you to use whatever combination of vegetables you want.   This was inspired by my friend Kate at Savour Fare and her recipe, 10 Minute Thai Style Turkey.  It’s decidedly less fancy than Kate’s version, (but hers is simply delicious!) using ingredients you may already keep on hand, but it should serve as inspiration for your own personal creation.

Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry

Ingredients

2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp vegetable or canola oil
2-3 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 green onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini sliced and then cut into match stick size pieces (julienne)
1 carrot julienne sliced
½ lb French green beans (these are the thin kind, fresh or Trader Joe’s sells them frozen and they’re great)
1 clove crushed garlic
2 tbl fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbl hoisin  or teriyaki sauce (flavors are different, just use what you prefer)

Directions

A little fancier than you have to do using mushrooms, zucchini, carrots and bell peppers

In large skillet or wok, heat oils and crushed garlic over medium heat until fragrant.  Add turkey, thoroughly break up and cook until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.
Turn heat up slightly to medium-high, add vegetables and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey back, combine thoroughly, add onion and hoisin sauce, continue to stir to incorporate keeping heat up so a slight bit of carmelization occurs.  Add parsely and soy sauce, stir for one more minute and then serve with steamed brown rice with extra soy sauce on the side.