Super Simple Breakfast Burritos

I've had a craving for breakfast burritos for the past eight weeks (since I was 14 weeks pregnant). It was one of my first real cravings. My mom sent me an article about breakfast burritos and I had to have one right that very second—this was around 7 or 8 pm and unfortunately, Italy doesn't exactly have the Mexican fast food like they do in New Mexico. Working on autopilot, I quickly made, ate, and savored that burrito, and then repeated my actions  the next morning for breakfast. And then the next morning...and so on and so on. I can't get enough of these, and the fact that they're so easy to assemble is probably why I have them at least four times a week.

The directions below are a loose "recipe," but the method is the same despite what ingredients you use.

First things first: get everything together before you start. It'll make everything go a lot faster and smoother.

Ingredients:

Veggies 

(I typically use onions, mushrooms, and spinach, and then add other veggies depending on my mood. Sun-dried tomatoes, jalapenos, peppers, etc.) 

 Meat 

(2 pieces of bacon per burrito, cooked and crispy; 2 slices of Canadian bacon, chopped; or a small handful of cooked, reduced-fat crumbled sausage)

Cheese 

(1/2 an ounce to 1 ounce per burrito) 

Sauce 

(salsa, red or green chile sauce)

Tortilla 

(you need a good, burrito-sized tortilla. You can use these tortillas if you want breakfast tacos instead—equally as delicious!) 

Side note: do you grate your own cheese? It melts so much nicer than the prepackaged shredded kind. I shred a brick of cheese and then keep it in a Ziploc to use the rest of the week. Also, have whatever meat you want to use cooked and ready to go before you start cooking—it'll speed things up! 

Once you have everything ready to go, spray a light coating of cooking spray in a small pan and saute the onions on medium heat until they're soft and translucent. Next, add the rest of the veggies (except for spinach) and saute; season with salt and pepper as desired. 

After the veggies are cooked I add in my meat (not the bacon...bacon comes later). The meat I use is already cooked, so I add it in just to warm it up. Once it's warm, turn the heat down to low and spray a bit more cooking spray in pan. Add the eggs over veggies. (For one burrito I use two eggs; for two burritos I use three eggs.)

It's okay if the eggs break, because you're going to scramble them up anyway. At this point I season with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. Use what you have and like.

I like my scrambled eggs dry or hard, so I cook them until all the moisture is gone. This also helps with not having a liquidy burrito! After the eggs are cooked, add a handful of spinach and mix it all up. The spinach will quickly shrivel up once its heated, which is my cue to add the sauce. I like things spicy, so I add a lot—add your sauce to taste, turn the heat up to medium, and stir, stir, stir. By doing this, you'll keep the flavor, but not the liquid. A burrito isn't fun when it's dripping everywhere! 

If everything is heated up and mixed together to your liking, turn the heat off and get ready to put it all together! At this point I put a little row of cheese on the tortilla and heat it up for about 15 seconds in the microwave. (If I'm having bacon as my meat I put one slice of cooked, crispy bacon on top of the cheese and the other one will go on top of the egg mixture.)

Now it's time to roll! I pick a side to be the "butt" and go from there, folding the bottom up and then the sides to ensure none of the mixture will fall out. Some people close both ends, but I leave one open since I plan on eating it right away.

There you have it! A super simple breakfast burrito!

*A special thanks to Casey from We Took the Road Less Traveled for taking the photos above!

Breakfast Sandwich

I’ve been making this sandwich—or a version of it—for years. Eating something sweet for breakfast, unless I’m in the mood for it, makes me feel a little sick in the mornings, so this is my typical go-to breakfast.

I’ve always been a sucker for fast-food chain breakfasts, but their high-fat, high-calorie, high-everything-else doesn’t really jive with me. This is my healthy alternative and it’s ridiculously easy to make. Actually, I never even thought about posting it until my husband requested it—he’s on a month-long business trip and wants to be able to make it for himself. This picture was taken pre-heat up and about five seconds before my husband grabbed it to take with him to eat on the road. It may not look awesome, but it tastes great.

Just like my Buffalo Chicken Salad post, consider this more of a how-to guideline for making a breakfast sandwich. I change this up quite often in order to keep it interesting or depending on what I have on hand. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Breakfast Sandwich

by The Tale of Two Kitchens

Ingredients:

• English muffin, sandwich round, bagel (thin) or one piece of bread cut in half
• 1 egg or ¼ cup egg substitute
• cooking oil spray
• meat (2 slices of bacon cut in half, 2 sausage link cut in half, 2 pieces Canadian bacon, etc.)
• Cheese (1/2 ounce shredded or a slice of cheese)
• Green chile or jalapeno (optional)
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Toast bread. While bread toasts, cook or heat up meat. Spray a very small, microwave-safe dish (about the size of the bread you’re using) with oil. Put egg in dish, break yolk, and sprinkle with garlic powder, red pepper flakes (optional), salt, and pepper. Microwave for around 30-45 seconds or until cooked through (timing depends on your microwave voltage).

To assemble: Lay bread toast side up on a paper towel (if taking to-go) or a plate.  Place cheese, meat, and egg on one side of bread. Place chile or other veggies (optional) on other side; top the sandwich. Heat sandwich for about 10-15 seconds, to warm everything evenly. Enjoy.

Eggnog

Eggnog is typically a holiday indulgence, but what if—what if!—you could have it whenever you wanted? Well, now you can!

My husband loves eggnog, but he missed out on drinking the creamy, rich, alcoholic beverage this season, because he was off serving our country in far, far-away lands. So when he came back we had the idea to make it ourselves; it can't be that hard, right? Right! The drink below was just as flavorful and spot-on with the store-bought variety, a whole lot cheaper, and surprisingly easy to make.

So if you feel like celebrating the holiday season all over again, any time of year, whip up some eggnog !

*There's a very similar recipe that uses uncooked eggs, and while the majority of eggs today are pasteurized, we couldn't verify on the carton that ours were. So at my request, my husband made the cooked version.

Eggnog

adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients: 

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 ounces bourbon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (pre-ground works fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 egg whites

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar; continue to beat until it's completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine milk, half-and-half, cinnamon, and nutmeg; bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and very gradually, temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Return everything to pot; cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from heat, stir in bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl; set in the refrigerator to chill.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. With mixer running, gradually add 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk egg whites into the chilled mixture. Chill in fridge and enjoy!

Egg Florentine

As a military wife, I have to learn to cook for one when my husband deploys or goes on business trips, which is much easier said than done. Lonilness usually kicks in around meal time and it's so simple and tempting to pick up a bag of chips or snack on cookies rather than eat a wholesome meal. After he leaves I try to make "bulk" meals like soup, spaghetti, or casseroles, basically anything I can keep in the fridge and easily reheat for later.

I saw Pioneer Woman's Eggs Floreninte Casserole and wanted to try it out, but I knew I'd get bored eating the whole thing day after day, so I cut the recipe in half and changed a few things here and there. The end result was tasty and substantial—I didn't get hungry again for several hours, which is always a good thing.

Consider the recipe below as a base to add other veggies or swapping out different meats—sausage would be fantastic with this, but I was concerned with keeping the WW points low. Next time I may add some mushrooms and green peppers to bulk it up even more. If you're making this for a larger group, just double the recipe or check out  PW's original version. And if making your own hash browns is too intimidating, skip the hassle and just use frozen hash browns!

Eggs Florentine Casserole

adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 russet potato, shredded (about 1-2 cups)
½ onion chopped
1 ounce diced green chile (or jalapenos)
6 strips bacon, crumbled
2 teaspoons oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
8 eggs (or two cups of egg beaters)
1 cup cheese
1 ½–2 cups of spinach

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees; lightly grease a small baking dish with cooking spray. Cook bacon until crisp; set aside on paper towel. Shred/julienne potatoes (you’re going for hash browns here, folks!) Heat butter and oil in skillet; add potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Leave in skillet for about five minutes or until crispy; flip. When both sides are cooked, add onion; mix until onions are translucent. Transfer potatoes mixture to baking dish; layer crumbled bacon and green chile or jalapenos. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs and ½ cup cheese; add spinach and mix together more. Pour egg and spinach mixture over casserole. Bake for 20 minutes or until eggs are set. Once eggs are cooked, sprinkle remaining cheese; bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.