Southwest Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast is without a doubt my favorite meal of the day.  It incorporates all of my favorite food groups: bread, cheese, eggs and bacon.  Is there even anything else you need? Yes, actually.  Breakfast sausage. Oh and hashbrowns!  See what I mean? Breakfast has all the good foods.

So it's no surprise that its my favorite meal to make in the house and I am always on the look out for breakfasts that fit a few criteria: it needs to feed a hungry boy appetites, adapt well to baby-size, come together quickly and easily, and be everything I want and expect from a delicious breakfast.  Easy right?

Well this breakfast is exactly that. It is full of potatoes, sausage, cheese, eggs and even a few veggies and has tons of flavor.  It also requires minimal prep and no crazy ingredients.  The final win for this casserole?  I didn't have to do a thing to it to serve it to my ten-month old, everything was already perfectly sized.

The steps are simple: chop your veggies, brown your meat, saute the veggies, mix, and bake. 

Southwest breakfast casserole

Serves 6

ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground sausage (we used mild Italian, but go with whatever you like)
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored and diced
• 4 gloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bunch green onions (about 8), white and green parts chopped, and separated
• 1 tbs. butter or olive oil
• 1 bag frozen diced potatoes
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheese (we used a cheddar blend)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the bag of frozen potatoes from the freezer and set it out to thaw as you prep the rest of the food.

In a saute pan over medium high heat, brown the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined bowl to drain.  In the same pan, melt the butter and saute the bell pepper, white parts of the green onions, and garlic.  Transfer to the bowl with the sausage.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the heavy cream and salt and pepper until frothy.  Set aside.

Remove the paper towels from the bowl with the sausage and veggies.  Pour in the frozen diced potatoes so it's half potatoes, half sausage and veggies (I used about 3/4 of the bag).  Stir the mix together so its evenly distributed.

Butter an 9x9 baking dish.  Pour the sausage mix into the dish and spread it evenly. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage mixture, covering the entire pan.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove, and using a spoon stir the mixture, turning it all over so the eggs don't just sink to the bottom and bake up like a quiche and more like a scramble.  Return to the oven for 15 minutes.  Top with desired amount of shredded cheese and return to the oven so the cheese melts.

Top with sliced green onions and fresh salt and pepper before serving.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

This is my first entirely vegetarian recipe! Its not vegan, because there are eggs, but give me some time and I can figure out what someone could use as a vegan binder instead of eggs...though I would assume someone who is actually vegan would probably be a better person to figure that out. In any case, I think that's pretty exciting! While I love vegetables, the rest of this household its more inclined towards the carnivorous. However, this meal made each and everyone full and satisfied! Vegetarians for the win!

So you might ask, if no one likes things without meat, why did I even bother making these?  Valid question.  I'm not sure, I ask myself things like that all time. But in this case, I was inspired!

Years ago, my mom bought me a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, which I had always loved because of how much explaining it does.  It really gives you a wonderful understanding of why and how a specific method works or is better than another.  Knowing that stuff is what makes learning to cook without recipes so much more enjoyable and exciting.  Well, this month's Cook's Illustrated came in the mail, just as my mom was texting me and asking if I wanted to renew the subscription. I said, "ya know, probably not, I don't think I've really read it in a long time." 

Naturally, I flipped it open, and saw a whole two page article on vegetarian burger patties.  The black bean burgers just sounded to good! So I read the article, took in all its advice and tips and this was what I came up with; Aaron ate two, Townes ate his entire one, avocado and all, and our ten month old ate nearly two without the bun!  I think Townes was particularly proud and excited to eat them because earlier that day we had made the buns from scratch and he was able to do most of it himself.

I sliced open those fresh whole wheat buns, toasted them slightly on the flat top and added a little mayo.  When the patties were cooked, I topped them immediately with feta cheese and let it warm on the hot patties.  Then sliced avocado and red onion went on, and they were ready to eat.  I only snapped one picture because they did not last long.  All six were snatched up fast!

Spicy black bean burgers

Makes about 6 medium patties

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (15 oz each) of black beans
• 1/2 cup coarse broken tortilla chips
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 - 2 tsp. of adobe seasoning (chili powder or chipotle powder would be find substitutes, depending on your spice preference)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
• Feta cheese, for topping
• Avocado, for topping
• Red onion, for topping
• Mayo, for topping
• 6 burger buns

Line a large baking sheet with two or three layers of paper towels and set aside.  Drain and rinse your two cans of beans in a colander in the sink and then spread out your beans on the paper towel-lined cookie sheet to dry off.  You can also lay another layer of paper towels on top if you would like.  The less moisture on the beans the better your patty.

In the meantime, put your tortilla chips in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are a fine powder.  Transfer the ground chips to a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the 2 tbs, of flour and all the seasonings.  Whisk in the two eggs, until the mixture is a paste. 

Add the beans to the bowl, and using a potato masher, forks or even your hands, mash the beans into the paste evenly. Its important not to over mix the beans into a paste, but also not to leave the mixture too coarse.  You are looking for the mixture to be about 60-70% paste and 30-40% discernible beans. If it is too coarse, the patties won't hold together, and if its too mixed, the patties will be soggy.

When you are done, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours, but six or more would be ideal.  Once the mixture is chilled, using your hands, form six 1/2-inch-thick round patties. Set aside.

In frying pan, over medium heat, heat the oil to fry the patties.  Two at a time (or however will comfortably fit in your pan, don't over crowd them) fry each patty for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  Serve immediately, on a toasted bun, topped with feta cheese, avocado, red onion and mayonnaise.

Everything-Bagel Chicken

I love bagels.  I love everything about bagels.  I love Everything Bagels.  I could eat a bagel every day probably.  Chanel and I have even taken our love for bagels so far that we have made bagels ourselves (because good bagels are hard to find).  When we threw Townes' his first birthday party, it was NY themed and everyone got a party favor that was a Bagel-in-a-Jar (mason jars filled with the ingredients for homemade bagels with a recipe - with everything bagel toppings included).  We love bagels.

Unfortunately, bagels are not exactly nutritious or very good for you, so even though I would love to slice a fresh bagel, toast it in butter on the flat top, and spread it with cream cheese every day, it's probably not the best everyday dietary choice.

So it was out of this love that these chicken cutlets were born.  I was really wanting to make myself a sinful bagel sandwich with fried eggs, bacon, cheese, salt and pepper and a hash brown in the middle, but that seemed like a poor choice for dinner so I set out to figure out how to up the value factor and still be as satisfied.

I decided to lose the bread, but not the flavor by seasoning a thin, chicken cutlet with and everything-bagel crust and then getting the same feeling by topping it with cheese, bacon, spinach, avocado and serving it with a sweet potato hash.  It was a hit! I'm not giving up my bagels any time soon, but man, the taste of this chicken was outstanding.

Everything-Bagel Chicken

Makes 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbs. white sesame seeds
• 2 tbs. black sesame seeds
• 2 tbs. caraway seeds
• 2 tbs. poppy seeds
• 2 tbs. dried, minced onion
• 1 tbs. Kosher salt or Sea Salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 cup panko
• 3 tbs. butter
• 3 tbs. vegetable oil
• 6 eggs
• 8 slices of bacon, cooked
• Avocado, sliced
• Spinach, chopped
• 4-8 slices of American or Cheddar cheese
• Sweet Potato Hash (see recipe below)

Start by preparing your chicken: using a sharp knife, carefully cut your chicken breasts in half width-wise (so you have made four chicken breasts the same size, but thinner). One at a time, place each half in a large Ziploc bag, and pound to 1/4 inch thin using a meat mallet. Set aside and wash your prep area well.

Next make the breading: add the black and white sesame seeds, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, minced onion, salt, garlic powder, and panko to the bowl of a food processor and pulse.  You want to mix the flavors a bit and make the mixture a bit finer so you have better coverage on your chicken.

Using two shallow dishes, fill one with your chicken breading, and into the other, crack two eggs and scramble them with a fork. Set up an assembly line to batter your chicken.  From left to right, have your chicken cutlets, egg wash, breading, then a clean plate for the prepared chicken.*  I always try to only use one hand for wet, and one hand for dry to keep my fingers from becoming a globby mess.  So with your left hand dredge one chicken cutlet into the egg wash and turn it over to completely coat the whole piece. Then place it into the dish with the breading.  Using your right hand, cover the top of the chicken with breading, then turn it over to make sure all sides have been completely covered in breading. Place on clean dish, repeat with all four pieces of chicken.

*Note About Battering: My mom, and every other Italian mother/grandmother I know, would swear that the only proper way to bread chicken is to dredge it in seasoned flour (flour with salt and pepper in it), then an egg wash, then breading.  The flour adds an extra layer of binding that with a very fine topping (like Italian-style breadcrumbs) creates a thicker and more uniform coating.  However, I think in this case the flour is unnecessary, but they would disagree - use your judgement.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the vegetable oil.  When the oil is hot enough, fry the chicken.  Because the chicken is thin, you won't need to cook these terribly long, but watch the temperature of the oil: if it is too hot, the outside will cook to fast and burn but the inside won't be cooked through, but if it isn't hot enough the chicken will cook through, but your breading will be soggy.  The chicken should need about 3-5 minutes on each side to be golden brown and cooked through.  If you find yourself with chicken that is done on the outside but not on the inside, you can troubleshoot by placing the chicken on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven until its done and it shouldn't burn your breading.

As each piece of cooked chicken is done, set on a plate and top with one or two slices of desire cheese and a slice or two of bacon. Once your chicken is done, remove any loose oil from your pan (I just pour it into a bowl until it's cool enough to dispose of) but don't wipe it clean.  It should have enough oil left to fry your eggs.  Fry your four eggs to your preference and slide one egg on top of each piece of chicken - I did ours sunny-side up.

Top with spinach and avocado, serve with sweet potato hash.

Sweet Potato Hash

Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small
• 1 white onion, diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. butter

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and salt and pepper.  In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Pour the hash into the skillet and cook until potatoes are soft, with crispy edges.  This can take a while, to achieve those crispy edges with soft insides, you will need to let it just sit and cook without stirring or disturbing it for five minutes or more at a time, before just flipping it all over enough to not burn.  If you are constantly stirring or flipping it around (like sauteeing onions, or scrambling eggs) they will get mushy and the edges won't brown.

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

My first job in Austin was at a little church pre-school in Brentwood.  I loved that place, I loved those kids, I loved my Tiny Turtles, it was really the best.  One of added bonuses to my job there was The Little Deli.  It's this little neighborhood pizzeria and deli.  Not a New York Deli by any stretch, but a wonderful sandwich menu, great pizza and five soups that they rotate daily.  

Their Broccoli Cheese and Rice soup immediately topped my list.  They serve it with crisp garlic bread slices, almost like crackers, that crumble perfectly on top.  A bowl of that and half a sandwich was the perfect lunch. 

Since I stay at home with my boys now and we don't live in that neighborhood, weekly lunches there are a thing of the past.  We have taken the boys a handful of times in the last two years, but I crave that soup way more often. So when Aaron had a bunch of dental work done last week and was on strict orders to eat soft, but filling foods, this came to mind.  I also was super tired from taking care of him and the boys so I needed something quick and easy.  Check.  I needed something both boys and I could and would eat too. Check.  Dinner was planned.

I've never made it before and The Little Deli shockingly, wasn't handing out the recipe.  So this was my version and I think it was pretty darn close!

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups, uncooked, white rice
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• A dash of ground sage
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. flour
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz block of sharp orange cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
• 3 cups frozen broccoli florets (about 1 bag)

Cook your rice according to the directions in a saucepan or rice cooker.  Fluff and set aside.

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, melt 1 tb. of the butter.  Saute the onion until translucent. 

Add the garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper then melt the remaining butter and saute together for a moment.  Sprinkle the flour and stir until it is a golden paste.  You do not want it to burn so keep it moving, this should just take a minute.

A half cup at a time, whisk in 3 cups of chicken broth, whisking the mixture smooth at each addition.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in the 1 cup of heavy cream. Lower the heat to a simmer.

Add the shredded cheese and slowly stir until its melted and combined smooth. 

Note About Cheese: I recommend when making a soup like this that you purchase a block of cheese and shred it freshly for two reasons:  1) You can shred it on the finest side of a box grater and it will melt and blend more smoothly without clumping and 2) bags of shredded cheese are often coated in a powder that dries the cheese a little to prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag, however, this moisture is important because it seems to prevent the oil in cheese from separating when it melts into the soup.

Stir in the rice and frozen broccoli and cook until the broccoli is warmed through.  While the broccoli cooks, taste your soup and re-season as needed. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Storage Note: This soup is enjoyed best fresh.  When it is refrigerated and stored the rice will absorb the broth over time and will become more of a casserole and less of a soup.  It is still very tasty, and actually serves better to kids this way - less loose broth = less spills.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

A typical conversation this summer for me and Chanel has been about what to eat for lunch.  Seriously.  We go through this conversation nearly every day we are together.  After walking early in the morning with the kiddos to beat the heat, we are generally pretty hungry, but also really hot.  The combination of those two things makes us irritable (hangry, perhaps) and indecisive.  Being hot does not make anything that could be very filling sound particularly appetizing.  

During one of these endless conversations, Chanel finally said she wanted buffalo chicken.  I immediately said no.  It's not really a secret, but I'll share it again for those who don't know: I hate messy foods.  I absolutely can not eat things that make me messy while I am eating them, it ruins the whole experience to me, not enhances it.  This mean that things like wings, ribs, drippy ice cream cones, and the like are immediately off the list. 

The second she said Buffalo chicken, I thought of all the sticky wing sauce and nixed that right away.  But she persisted.  So we finally worked out a way to appease us both - shredded buffalo chicken wraps!  They came out with immense flavor, moist-fall-apart chicken, and wrapped up with veggies for a super filling, but light lunch.  The final bonus? They all came together really fast and with not a whole lot of ingredients.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Makes about 4 Large Burritos

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 2-3 cups of chicken broth
• 1-2 cups of buffalo sauce (we used Frank's)
• 4 large burrito-sized tortillas
• Spinach, for garnish
• Red onion, sliced, for garnish
• Avocado, sliced, for garnish
• Blue cheese crumbles, for garnish (optional)
• Blue cheese dressing (we used Brianna's, my absolute favorite)
• 2 tbs. butter

In a stock pot, over high heat, combine 2 cups of chicken broth with 1 cup of buffalo sauce.  Add your chicken breasts*, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat slightly, so it is gently boiling, cover and boil until the chicken is cooked through.** 

*If this amount of liquid isn't enough to cover the tops of your chicken, add more chicken broth and/or buffalo sauce depending on your spice preference.  I do not recommend attempting to boil chicken in just the sauce alone, it will stick and burn to the bottom of your pot and your chicken will not absorb enough moisture.

**Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, cooking time will vary.  You will want to stir the pot every five minutes or so to ensure your chicken doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Crock Pot Variation: I'm sure you could achieve the same results with a crock pot.  I would set the crock pot on low and let it cook for six hours, tear the chicken in to smaller pieces, then cook on high for 30 minutes to an hour, if need be. 

While your chicken is cooking, prepare and slice your wraps.  We used chopped spinach, sliced red onion and avocado.

Once you chicken is cooked, you will want to use two forks to pull it apart into smaller chunks, while it is still simmering in the pot.  You are not shredding it all the way, just pulling it into the smaller pieces it will break into with little effort.  Allowing the smaller pieces to simmer in the sauce for longer will make the chicken pieces more moist and flavorful.  Continue this process every five minutes or so until the chicken is very tender.

Remove the pot from the heat, and using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken from the pot to a mixing bowl.  Using two forks, shred the chicken to your desired size.  Give it a taste and drizzle some buffalo sauce over it and toss together.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or flat top) over medium-high heat.  

Assemble your wraps.  We layered chicken, topped with spinach, onion and then avocado.  We drizzled a little buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing over top.  Then we wrapped up our burritos.

Melt your butter in the skillet, it should be bubbling.  Place your wraps seam side down onto the skillet and using a flat spatula, apply pressure to the top to keep it from rolling over or popping open.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown, then carefully roll it over, and using your spatula to keep the bottom closed, repeat this process for the top side of the burrito.  Transfer to a plate, drizzle with blue cheese dressing, buffalo sauce, and garnish with some avocado and enjoy!