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!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I grew up on my tias' green chile chicken enchilada casserole, but I never bothered to ask how they made it; I mean, why learn how to cook it when they'll make it for you? Actually, that's not true. I think I did ask—several times—but their recipe included "some" of this, "a little" of that, followed by a dash, a pinch, and a sprinkling of "those." They all swore it was "really easy to make," which is why they didn't have an actual recipe.

I'm the type of person who needs clear-cut directions. Spell it out for me in detail so I can check, double check, and then have someone else make sure I got it all right, otherwise you'll end up with salt cookies instead of sugar cookies. So a few weeks before I moved from New Mexico to Georgia, my mom and I practiced making green chile chicken enchiladas. It turns out making the casserole really is pretty freaking easy.

I've been making this now for more than two years and I'm proud to say I don't use a recipe for it anymore, which is why it's probably taken me so long to share this with you. I have the basics down, but sometimes I'll throw in a little something extra (it's great with an additional 1 cup of sauteed mushrooms) or play around with ingredients (sometimes I use whatever cheese I have on hand, and I love using leftover Thanksgiving turkey in place of the chicken). The recipe also works great cut in half, which is something I like to do when it's just me at home.

Like most casseroles, this tastes better after it's been out of the oven for a few hours and even better the next day. All the flavors have time to sit, mingle, and get to know each other, resulting in a party in your mouth later. If you do make it ahead of time, just pop it back into the oven for a bit to warm it back up. Serve with Spanish rice, calabacitas (coming this week!), and homemade tortillas!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

by The Tale of Two Kitchens

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 (10 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 batch green chile sauce (or 1-2 cups green chile, pealed and chopped)
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic
8 corn tortillas, quartered
1/4 cup your favorite salsa
12 oz shredded cheese (cheddar or Colby/Monterrey Jack blend)
1/2 onion, chopped (optional, but only if you absolutely, positively HATE onions)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350F (180c). Lightly spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.

In a medium-sized pot on medium-high heat, combine soup, chile, and (cooked) chicken. Add ground pepper, cumin and garlic; mix to combine. Once the mixture starts to boil thickly, take off heat, stir, and set aside.

Submerge quartered tortilla pieces in salsa one at a time and place along the bottom of the casserole dish so the whole thing is covered (it takes around three and a half whole tortillas per layer—it's okay if there are some spaces or if they lay on top of each other). Spread half of chicken mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle half the onions over chicken mixture, then add around a 1/4 of the cheese over the onions. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients ending with the cheese.

Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Let cool, slice, and serve! (It's often not very set when we eat it straight out of the oven, but it still tastes great and will firm up for leftovers!)

Taco Pie

When we make dinner around here it's almost always something simple, and without a doubt, tacos debut at the top of our menu each week. They're just too easy to make: brown and season meat, chop up fresh veg, make some quick Spanish rice and you're pretty much good to go. The problem with having Taco Tuesday (or Wednesday, Thursday or Friday) weekly is that it can start getting mundane. We switch it up every once in awhile by having nacho cups (recipe coming soon) or even burritos, but my tastebuds have been craving a little something more.

The second I saw this Taco Pie I knew I hit dinner jackpot. I mean, come on, it's taco in pie form—what's not to love? The fact that it's also ridiculously simple to assemble and is bursting with zesty southwestern flavors are just added bonuses. This kind of reminded me of a Mexican version of shepherds (or cottage) pie, or even a taco enchilada, but I'm happy to keep calling it Taco Pie, because seriously, pie rocks.

Taco Pie

adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

• 6 or 7 taco shelves, halved (12-14 pieces total, or make your own)
• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes (or one can diced tomatoes + 2 Tbs tomato paste)
• 1/4 cup salsa (optional depending on how much spice you like)
• 8 ounces chopped green chiles
• 1 can corn, drained
• 7 ounces of cheese, divided (sharp cheddar, mozzarella, Colby & Monterey Jack, etc.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 Celsius). Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions to the skillet and cook, stirring until soft and translucent. Add minced garlic and cayenne; stir and mix for about 30 seconds. Add ground beef, salt, garlic powder and cumin; cook, breaking up the meat, until browned. Stir in tomatoes, salsa, chile and corn; mix well. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Arrange half of the tortillas in the bottom of a 9-to-10-inch pie plate (overlapping is fine; about 5 halves). Top with half of the meat mixture, then half of the cheese. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, meat and cheese. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Slice, serve, and enjoy! 

p.s. I could use some advice on how to take pictures of food when it's pitch black outside, your stomach is growling, and the last thing you want to do is let the food get cold to get a decent shot. 

Green Chile Sauce

When I go out to eat in New Mexico I always get my food smothered in "Christmas," which is what we call the mixture of red chile and green chile. (Fun fact: New Mexico's official state question is "red or green?") Several weeks ago I realized that I've never made a green chile sauce before, which is strange since that's pretty much all I eat at restaurants back home.
 
We have a freezer full of green chile out here that we need to start using before we move, so I got out my trusty cookbook and found a recipe for green chile sauce. I use this with so many foods now (huevos rancheros, over chicken, mixed in beans, inside enchiladas, etc.) that I had to share it with you. It's usually gone within a day or two at our house, so I need to start doubling the recipe! I'll also post recipes to the foods above in the next few weeks.

 Green Chile Sauce

adapted from Simply Simpatico

Ingredients
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon butter, margarine, or oil
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup water (or chicken or vegetable stock)
1 cup green chile* (roasted, peeled, diced)
salt to taste

Directions
Saute onions and garlic in butter (margarine or oil) over medium heat. When onions are translucent, mix in flour (it should look sort of like a paste). Add green chile and water (or stock); bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add salt to taste.

*I've only made this with fresh green chile, so if you're using green chile from a can, your results may differ.

New Mexico Biscochitos

If you know me in real life then you may know that I'm not a fan of chocolate chip cookies (CCC). If you see me eating one I'm usually nibbling around the chocolate pieces—true story. In fact, I actually prefer chocolate chip cookies sans the chocolate chips. Seriously, the CCC batter is DELICIOUS as its own cookie. I realize that's not normal, so I decided to blame my home state, New Mexico, on the reason why I prefer cinnamon-sugar sweets to chocolate.

I grew up eating a delicate dessert called biscochitos—a cookie that doesn't have a smidgen of chocolate, but are dusted with cinnamon and sugar and are so tender they practically melt in your mouth. These cookies are special and typically emerge around the holidays or for very special occasions, so they've always been somewhat of a delicacy in my mind.

Another thing that makes biscochitos the creme of the cookie crop is that they're the official New Mexico state cookie—a fun fact I learned when I was in elementary school. Depending on what region you're from in New Mexico, they're spelled different (biscochitos, bizcochitos, biscochos, etc.), but still taste pretty much the same. They're traditionally made with anise (a teeny tiny seed that tastes a bit like black licorish), but I grew up eating them without anise, so that's how I make them. They're also made with lard. Yes, straight up lard. They may taste "just as good" with shortening, but I think my family may disown me if I stray from the recipe too much.

Why all this talk about a cookie? Well, a couple weeks ago Better Homes and Gardens asked if I'd be interested in participating in their State Cookie Contest. I may be living in Georgia now, but since I'll always call New Mexico "home," I asked if I could bake on behalf of the Land of Enchantment. They said the New Mexico spot was mine, so armed with a brand new Better Homes and Gardens baking sheet*, I got down to business and made the first recipe that came to mind: biscochitos.

The grand prize winner in the State Cookie Contest wins a $100 Walmart gift card and TWO Better Homes and Gardens Bakeware sets (one for me and one to give away....or possibly TWO to give away since we're moving)!


Here's how you vote for this mouthwatering cookie...It's as easy as 1, 2, 3:
1.  "Like" BHG Live Better on Facebook
2. Look to the left and click on "State Cookie Contest"
3. "Like" New Mexico Biscochitos
(You can vote once EVERY day until July 27!)

Biscochitos

adapted from Simply Simpatico

Ingredients:

1 cup lard (or shortening)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon anise seed (optional)

3 tablespoons sweet table wine (Mogen David Concord works great!)

1/2 cup sugar (may need a bit more)

2 tablespoons cinnamon (may need a bit more)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream lard and sugar together until creamy. Add egg and beat until very fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir and mix in wine (and anise seed, if using) until it's a dough-like consistency (may need to knead). Roll dough out on floured board to 1/4" thickness. Cut into desired shape. Combine 1/4 sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon; sprinkle on top of each cookie. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Combine the rest of the sugar and cinnamon. Once out of the oven immediately cover the entire cookie with cinnamon sugar mix. Enjoy!

* I was not compensated in any way for this post.  I DID receive a free pan to use in the creation process, but all thoughts and reviews are my own**