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!

Kale Chips

I first heard about kale chips sometime last year when I was searching for a healthy alternative to potato chips—my weakness. I crave the crunchy, salty, and flavor chips encompass, but hate the excess calories.

I'll admit I was extremely skeptical the first time I tried these. I mean, really? How in the world could a leaf calm my chip craving? So with a cynical mind, I made my kale chips and about ten minutes later I was chowing down on something amazing and surprisingly delicious.

I made them a few times while my husband was out of town, just to make sure I knew what I was doing. Then, when he came home, I asked if he wanted to try them. I was waiting for the typical man response of, "You want me to eat WHAT?" But instead, he willingly tried them and liked them! SUCCESS! Now, we make kale chips several times a month, if not more, and eat them as a snack or have them along with meals. Sure, I still have an occasional weakness for real chips, but believe me when I say these scratch my potato-chip itch!

I suggest playing with the ratio of oil, salt, and pepper until you figure out what you like on the chips. The nice thing with kale is that there's usually so much that you'll have plenty to play around with. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I still burn my kale chips, but then I just pop another batch in the oven and try it again!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 pound kale, chopped and stems removed
olive oil (drizzle or spray)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, drizzle or spray olive oil over kale. You want the kale covered with oil, but not drenched or saturated. Sprinkle and mix with salt and pepper (to taste). Place kale on baking sheets, somewhat spread out, trying not to overlap too many pieces. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crisp. Keep a close eye on them towards the end and take them out when they start crisping. Enjoy!

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake

A few weeks ago I saw a call-out on Twitter for people interested in guest posting on Culinary Covers. Lori Lange, aka RecipeGirl (fantastic recipes, go check out her site!) created Culinary Covers as a way to see if those recipes gracing the covers of magazines actually deserve to be a cover photo.

The second I saw her request on Twitter I knew exactly which recipe I wanted to try: the Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake from the December issue of Cooking Light magazine. Part of the deal with guest posting meant that I had to make the recipe exactly according to the directions, take a picture mirroring the cover, and write about the experience. Seeing as how I've never made a cheesecake before, I was more than up for this challenge.

The result was better than I expected, but I'll let you check out my post on Culinary Covers for  more of my notes. I will say, though, that if you need an easy holiday dessert that not only tastes good, looks great, and is somewhat healthier than regular cheesecake, make this. You won't be dissapointed.

Zuppa Toscana

The weather in Georgia has been on the warm side lately, but this morning was so chilly I think I really heard autumn knocking on our door, telling us fall had finally arrived. And so I bring you a tasty, cold-weather meal!

A couple months ago my husband and I ate at Olive Garden. He ordered a delicious pasta meal and I choose their soup and salad combo. The second I tasted their Zuppa Tuscana I knew I wanted more, so I told him right then and there that I was going to learn how to make it at home.

I scoured the web for a good recipe and found one that looked almost identical to Olive Garden's version, I tweaked it to make it a little healthier. Not only does this taste better than the restaurant's version (my husband even said so!), but it freezes well. (Note: when you unfreeze it or even take it out of the fridge then next day, the half and half and water separate a little—don't worry! Just nuke it in the microwave for a couple minutes and then mix it all together; it'll be fine, I promise.)

 {Olive Garden's} Zuppa Tuscana

makes around 8 servings (~4 WW points)

adapted from Tuscan Recipes

Ingredients: 
1 pound ground Italian turkey sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
5 minced garlic cloves
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup fat-free half and half
1 pound sliced Russet potatoes
2 cups of chopped kale*, stems removed 

Directions:
Sauté Italian turkey sausage and crushed red pepper in large pot. Drain excess fat; refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients. In same pan, sauté bacon, onions, and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 minutes or until onions are soft. Add chicken bouillon and water to pot; heat until it starts to boil. Add sliced potatoes; cook until soft—about 30 minutes. Add fat-free half and half; cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sausage and kale; heat thoroughly. 
   
Enjoy :)