Wednesday, August 24, 2016

SARAH’S HEALTHY(ISH) – because that’s what adults are supposed to be doing, even though this admittedly isn’t as tasty – BREAKFAST BURRITOS

The other evening I posted a pic on Instagram and Facebook of a batch of breakfast burritos I was making to freeze so I could reheat them in the mornings for breakfast. I bemoaned that this was what adulthood had made me resort to. Here’s the pic:



Ironically, some of the rest of you have also fallen prey to the perils of adulthood and asked for my recipe. Ah, brave, sad souls.

But…I’ve of late decided to blog more, and since at present my highlights of the week are just being frustrated my body won’t cooperate with 100% of whatever I want to eat or do (wah!), well, I’ll spare you that. Well, let me at least say I went for a therapeutic massage yesterday for my neck, which since I made the appointment, had greatly improved, but still got tight at times. You know how they tell you that a good (read: intense) massage can be to your muscles like a workout (and can make them a bit more sore)? Yeah. Which was clearly that I needed, right?! But we just keep looking ahead and for forward progress, even if along the way there are bumps in the recovery. Just keep repeating that…

So…burritos!

First of all, I should never be considered a culinary expert. I don’t even follow recipes well. The being told precisely what to do bugs me. My husband is very good at following recipes and can make wonderful dishes. And do so consistently. I’m often more hit or miss. But I often go for simplicity and quantity.

When I need good solid, tasty and basic recipes, there are a few sites I’ve come to love (we have cookbooks too, which I occasionally use for classic items—books like Fannie Farmers, The Joy of Cooking and America’s Test Kitchen stuff):

I’d seen the idea of making ahead a batch of breakfast burritos, but of course didn’t save the link. So when I decided to do it again, I pulled up recipes.

I used The Pioneer Woman recipe as a loose basis, though added the wrapping-for-freezing instructions I found somewhere else (sorry I don’t recall where).

So, if you want a good recipe, use Rea Drummond’s. Otherwise, here’s mine (and sorry no snazzy blog recipe pics):

SARAH’S HEALTHY(ISH) – because that’s what adults are supposed to be doing, even though this admittedly isn’t as tasty – BREAKFAST BURRITOS

INGREDIENTS:
12 8-inch tortillas (though mine were overstuffed and prob. 14-16 would have worked well—16 is how many comes in a Wegmans package)
14 eggs (because that’s literally what was in my fridge and the spare 2 would go bad soon; but I think 1 per burrito is a good ratio. For real though, follow your heart)
2 red peppers
2 green peppers
1 large onion
2 cups (ish) of breakfast potatoes (either from frozen, or bake a couple potatoes, dice them and fry them up)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Olive oil, to saute
Salt and Pepper (to taste…sorry, I have no quantities for you…this is the art part of it; salt the potatoes well though—they always seem to need more salt than I think they should)
¼ cup sour cream (figured I’d finish off what was in the fridge)
½ cup of salsa (I tasted the filling, as any good chef should, and it needed something, so I pour some salsa in— ½ cup sounds like that’s maybe how much)

You’ll also need wax paper and foil.

INGREDIENT NOTES:
I was going for healthy here, so I omitted or replaced or otherwise minded the following things that normal people would want to include (and that Rea does):
Sausage – I replaced with black beans
Cheese – I know, so sad; I did toss in a bit of sour cream, though I’m sure they’d be fine without.
I’m confident the burritos are yummier with sausage and cheese, and for kids or adults fine with tanking their health—I’m not judging, but still—you’ll want to include these. You don’t have to overdo them, even still. Also, be more mindful of salt you’re adding if you put in cheese and sausage—both of these bring their own salt to the party. I don’t generally worry about adding salt, since (1) I know I don’t go crazy with it and (2) most people won’t come nearly close—like in the same galaxy—adding salt to home cooked and you’ll get in prepared foods, so even adding salt, you’re prob. Still doing just fine.

DIRECTIONS
1.       Dice the peppers and onions.
2.       Saute the pepper and onions in a reasonable amount of olive oil. I tried to do all together, and they got cooked but not nicely like on Rea’s page. Would prob. Have been better to at least do the onion and peppers separately. But I was trying to make these just before the girls’ bedtime, so I was rushing.
3.       While all this is cooking, prep your wrapping. Place 12 squares(ish) of foil on table or counter, or whatever you’ve got. Put a piece of wax paper about the same size on top. Then a tortilla on top, in the middle of each. Why wax paper AND foil? No idea. That’s what a website I found on Google said. So it must be right.
4.       Set peppers and onions aside.
5.       Saute potatoes in olive oil, add salt and pepper. You def. want this pan to be hot so the peppers get crisp some. I had to take a break just before this (for bedtime) and actually put the pan on a cold burner and poured the potatoes in to thaw while I was away. Saved me time later.
6.       Once almost done, add black beans. I used canned, though you could use rehydrated. I don’t think heating them with the beans actually accomplishes anything. But hey. Why now.
7.       Set aside beans and potatoes. If you want to get a head start on mixing, just add these to the peppers and onions in a big bowl.
8.       Wisk your eggs, add some water (or not, this is a random thing I picked up from watching a cooking show) and toss in your pan to cook scrambled. Be sure you’re using a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Though I really shouldn’t have to tell you this at this point. After all, you’re an adult making healthy food. Also, your pan will likely look funky at this point. It’s okay. Just don’t scrape too hard when you take the eggs out and the yucky stuff will stay in the pan (though come our easy with a soak in water).
9.       Just as eggs are solid, removed from heat and add to all the other stuff.
10.   Taste, and add sour cream, salsa (and yes, cheese) as you desire. Remember your doctor is going to be testing your cholesterol at some point though. Just don’t blame me, is all I’m saying. You be sure you tell your doctor that I said no cheese or sausage. What you do from there is on you.
11.   Put a scoop of the complete mixture in the middle of each tortilla. I had a bit more filling than really worked for 12, but I went with it.
12.   Wrap your burritos: one side in, then both perpendicular sides, then roll into the final side. Ok, this is hard to explain. If you don’t know, Google it. It’s an important life skill (and it takes time to master, so cut yourself some slack—the burritos will hold together better after being frozen and microwaved than you think they will at this point).
13.   Roll the burritos in the wax paper, then, wrap the foil around them securely. I made the mistake at this point of twisting the ends of the wax paper (like they were fancy breakfast burrito candies!). But then little bits of wax paper were hard to get out later. So just be careful.
14.   Put them in the freezer. I’d suggest not stacking on top of each other, esp. if the filling was still warm, so they cool and freeze quickly.

TO REHEAT
1.       Pick a burrito out of the freezer.
2.       Unwrap and remove it from both the foil and the wax paper.
3.       Roll it in a full size paper towel.
4.       Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. There are so many variables in how long this will take, so you’ll just have to troubleshoot for yourself. I do fine it helpful to rotate it a quarter of the way every 30 second or so in order to get even heating.
5.       Eat it.

So there, you have it. And also an illustration about why I don’t post recipes. J


But, I am an adult, after all. And apparently this is the sort of stuff adults do. Posting recipes online and making a dozen burritos at 9 pm on a Monday.

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