Freezer Friendly Breakfast Tacos

Since so many things have dairy in them, it's a lot harder to eat on the fly.  As a result, I've started making more quick-fix meals ahead of time and freezing them to have on hand when we need a fast meal.  This breakfast taco recipe is fabulous and flavorful!  The recipe takes about 30-45 minutes to make, but you get 20 tacos out of it and have all the breakfast cooking finished for the week.   I also love that Finley will get some vegetables in before lunchtime.  For all the cheese-lovers out there, feel free to sprinkle on some cheese; however, these tacos are so tasty that you really won't miss the cheese at all!

Dairy-Free Freezer Friendly Breakfast Tacos
adapted from Hot Coupon World

2 tablespoons vegan butter (or regular butter)
1/2 lb bacon, cut into small pieces
1 lb breakfast sausage
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 lb frozen hash brown potatoes
12 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste
20 flour tortillas
plastic wrap or aluminum foil

In a large (I used my 14-inch skillet) over medium heat, melt butter.  Add in bacon and cook for a few minutes, or until bacon is starting to crisp up.  Add sausage, onion, bell pepper, and potatoes.  Cook, stirring often, until sausage is browned and veggies are tender.

Crack eggs into a bowl and scramble with a fork.  Pour eggs into skillet with meats and veggies.  Stir often and cook until eggs are set.  Remove pan from heat and let cool.

Spread tortillas out on work surface.  Top each tortilla with a generous spoonful of egg mixture.  Roll tortilla up and wrap individually in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.  Place tacos in large ziplock bags in the freezer.

To reheat, unwrap tacos and place seam side down on paper towel.  Microwave for 1 minute, turn over and microwave an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until heated through.

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Breakfast Egg Muffins

I love the idea of having a big family breakfast together on the weekends, but since I'm not a morning person, it rarely happens. Usually by the time I stumble out of bed, Andrew and Finley have been up and around long enough to have already eaten. But this weekend I really wanted to give it the old college try.

These are really more like individual sized breakfast casseroles than muffins, but you get the idea. I made them last night (like you would with a breakfast casserole) and then just popped them in the oven this morning. And then I got to sit down and enjoy my coffee knowing I was about to serve me family a great homemade breakfast - without any work to do in the morning! These would make a great addition to any breakfast or brunch buffet and I think they might make an appearance on our table Christmas morning!

Not only are they tasty and portable, they are a complete meal - protein from the sausage, eggs and cheese; vegetables from the onions, red bell pepper, spinach and potatoes (okay, that last one's a stretch since I used tater tots!); and dairy from the milk and cheese. Feel free to switch up the proteins, cheeses and veggies to create something that your family will love!

Breakfast Egg Muffins

adapted from Snacking in the Kitchen

27 tater tots

1/3 pound breakfast sausage (any kind or flavor you like)

1/4 onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

6 extra large eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated

salt and pepper, to taste

Bake tater tots according to package directions. Set aside to cool completely

Meanwhile, cook breakfast sausage, onion and bell pepper in a saute pan over medium heat, breaking up any large clumps of meat, until sausage is cooked through and no longer pink. Drain any grease. Set aside to cool completely.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Add cheese, salt and pepper.

Using non-stick spray, grease 9 cavities of a 12-muffin pan. Gently press three tater tots down into the bottom of each well to create a "crust". Spoon a large spoonful of the meat and vegetable mixture over the crushed tater tots. Pour just enough egg mixture over to cover the meat and vegetables. Make sure the tater tots and meat mixture are cooled before pouring the egg mixture over top.

Cover the muffin tin and refrigerate. The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake 15-20 minutes.

Makes 9 muffins.

* While the quality of the camera is much higher, sadly the quality of the photographer remains the same. Bare with me as I'm learning the ropes!

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Spring Frittata

{all the pretty veggies before the egg mixture went in}

Since we're trying to save for a new house, I've been working to cut down our grocery bill. One of the best ways is to cut down on the meat that we eat each week, so I've been trying to work in a vegetarian meal here and there. The frittata worked out really well because it still has plenty of protein from the eggs and cheese and many of the ingredients came right out of our garden. How fun is that! I love being able to walk outside and grab fresh herbs and vegetables. Now I just have to cross my fingers that our garden will survive the brutal Texas summer! In addition to being inexpensive, this frittata is delicious. I loved the tang from the goat cheese, the olive oil soaked potatoes and the burst of sweetness from the whole cherry tomatoes. Fantastic! I also better better eating it since It didn't have a pie crust base like quiches do and it had a green veggie in it. I will definitely be making this again and again.

Spring Frittata

2 T olive oil

2 large red potatoes (or 1 medium baking potato), diced

1/2 white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 c spinach, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes

2 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1-2 T fresh herbs, chopped (I used chives, parsley, thyme, basil and dill)

6 eggs

1/3 milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes and onion in skillet and cook until fork tender, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes. Mix in garlic, spinach and salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Sprinkle cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and fresh herbs over potatoes.

In a bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Pour into skillet over the vegetables. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, gently lifting edges with spatula and tilting pan so that uncooked portion flows underneath. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until set in the middle and lightly browned. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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Flan Almendrado (Almond Flan)

Whenever we go out for Mexican food, which is quite often, the meal is always ended with a piece of flan. So it was a no-brainer for me to make flan for an outstanding end to our Cinco de Mayo dinner. If you've never had flan, I strongly, strongly encourage you to try it. Like, now. It's a silky smooth egg custard with a burnt sugar syrup. The best part about flan - it is so easy to make!

I always use the same recipe - why change it up if you've already got a winner?!? Of course the recipe is from one of Austin's best gourmet Mexican restaurants, so that helps a lot. Try it and I know you'll love it too!

Flan Almendrado

adapted only slightly from Fonda San Miguel Thirty Years of Food and Art cookbook

3/4 c sugar

2/3 c blanched, silvered almonds

1 1/2 (14-oz) cans sweetened condensed milk

1 c whole milk

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oven rack in middle position. Put sugar in a round 9-by-3-inch nonstick cake pan. Using heavy oven mitts or tongs, place pan directly over medium heat to caramelize the sugar. Heat until sugar liquefies, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Do not touch the melted sugar - it will cause serious burns. When the hot liquid in the pan is a golden brown, remove from heat and set aside on a rack to cool and harden.

In a blender or food processor, process almonds until they are fairly finely ground. Add condensed milk, whole milk, eggs, yolks, and vanilla to almonds. Process until well blended. Pour custard mixture over prepared caramel. Place the cake pan in a larger, deeper pan (I use a roasting pan) and pour about an inch of hot water around the cake pan to make a water bath. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the flan is set in the center and no longer jiggles. Remove from oven and cool on a rack at room temperature. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour.

To serve, run a knife or thin spatula around the edge of the flan to release it from the sides of the pan. Place a 10-inch (or larger) serving platter on top of the pan. Turn the platter over and gently remove the cake pan, leaving flan on the serving platter. (If the flan doesn't easily come out, place the cake pan on the stove over medium-low heat for 30 seconds to 1 minutes to just barely melt the sugar. Try inverting the cake pan again, and the flan should come right out.) Using a flexible spatula, scrape up as much of the caramel as possible from the bottom of the pan and pour over the flan. Cut into triangular wedges and serve. Makes 8 to 12 slices.

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Giada's Carbonara

As soon as I saw this recipe, it had me intrigued - a fried egg on top of pasta and asparagus?! It was also the first time I made my own homemade aioli, which was so simple that I know I'll do it again. But back to the recipe, I thought it was only okay and I probably won't be making it again. To me the egg and basil-y pasta didn't pair well together and the aioli became really oily when heated from the cooked pasta. To me, it just wasn't very appetizing. That being said, the recipe was very highly rated on the Food Network website, so maybe I did something wrong. This blog is supposed to chronicle my cooking triumphs and failures afterall...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/giadas-carbonara-recipe/index.html

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Cobb Salad

When I'm trying to eat healthy, I always want to eat a salad, but they don't seem to fill me up for very long and salads don't seem like 'dinner' to Andrew. But that's not the case with a good, hearty Cobb Salad. God bless the man (or woman) who came up with the Cobb Salad - I am forever grateful! They're so simple to make that I'm hesitant to even post it here since it doesn't really involve a recipe...but maybe it will give someone else the idea to serve one for lunch or dinner sometime soon!

To make it easier and faster to assemble at dinner time, I usually cook the bacon, hard-boiled eggs and chicken ahead of time. Then at dinner time, I just need to chop everything up! Also, traditionally Cobb Salad is served with bleu cheese dressing, which you can make from scratch using this recipe http://bakingandeggs.blogspot.com/2010/01/homemade-bleu-cheese-dressing.html, or use store-bought dressing.

Cobb Salad
1 romaine heart, chopped
1/2 cucumber, sliced
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
2 slices of bacon (can substitute turkey bacon)
1/4 cup cheese (I used cheddar because that's what I had on hand, but traditionally you'd use bleu cheese)
1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced or shredded
1 large (or 2 small) avocadoes, chopped
10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Salad dressing of choice

On a large serving platter, lay down the lettuce. Sprinkle the toppings in rows across the top of the lettuce and serve the dressing on the side. Voila!

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Quiche Lorraine

Andrew loves Quiche Lorraine so I set out to try and find a winning recipe. I chose this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quiche-Lorraine-I/Detail.aspx?prop31=1 but then I made several changes of course. It's hard for me not to change a recipe! Here are the changes I made:

- I only used 4 slices of bacon and I thought that was plenty.

- I sauteed the onion in the bacon grease and drained the onions on a paper towel with the bacon.

- I used six eggs and only about 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

- I omitted the sugar too.

We loved it and I think it will go into heavy rotation since it was quick to throw together and I usually have all the ingredients in the pantry already.

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