Breakfast on the go

Breakfast on the go

I am not a breakfast fan. I would rather eat leftover lasagna than eggs and bacon. OK, I am lying about the bacon...who doesn't like bacon. I also tend to get up about 10 minutes prior to having to leave for work...not enough time to cook and trying to eat cereal in the car is not a good idea. The milk gets all over. Add this to the fact that I am not a morning person, cooking, food, people...just about everything annoys me in the morning. Even my students know that I am not functional or human until after the 2nd cup of coffee . My seventh graders are very adept at telling if I have had the proper amount of coffee in the morning. Store bought breakfast sandwiches are expensive, full of fat and preservatives. Cereal involves messy milk and more sugar and preservatives.  Bad for the wallet and the waste line. So whats a picky breakfast eater to do?   I admit that breakfast is just as important as coffee, ok... maybe not for my sanity and other peoples safety, but for health and making it through the day. 

 So what to do? Burritos... the all around answer.  

Why burritos you ask? because they are cheap (this recipe makes 30 for about .40$ each), portable, easy to make, easy to store, only 4 weight watchers points each, take 2 minutes to heat up and can be filled with what ever you want. 

These are also GREAT for camping. Only difference is in the wrapping. Use tinfoil with a bit of pan spray to wrap each one, throw on the camp stove to heat up and serve. 

Ingredients:

30 small flour tortilla
2 dozen eggs (for a healthy version use only the egg whites)  
1 onion
1 cup spinach
1 cup low fat mozzarella  
1 cup bell pepper diced
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs parsley
2 cups shredded potato
1 lb turkey bacon cooked crisp and cut into small pieces
optional: saambal or a package of taco seasoning if you prefer a different taste)

In a large bowl combine the egg, onion, pepper, spinach, garlic and parsley.  Scramble the mix until cooked in a pan over medium heat.  

Cook the potato shreds with a bit of salt until browned (i bake mine in the oven on a greased pan for about 20 minutes at 350)

Cook the bacon until crisp. 

Let everything cool and in a large bowl add in the egg mixture, bacon, cheese and potatoes (if you are going for the tex mex flavor add the taco seasoning now)

If you are using saambal or hot sauce this is where it comes in ( i prefer the spice to the taco seasoning myself)

Spread saambal onto one of the tortillas, add two heaping tablespoons of the egg mixture, roll up into a burrito. Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and repeat until all ingredients are gone. Then freeze. Grab and go. Heat on high in the microwave for 1 minutes, flip and heat for another minutes, then eat and run or run and eat which ever.  

    
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A side note- 
I have made this recipe tons of times with lots of variations. You really can add in anything you like, leftover veggies, meat galore, cheesey variety....it's all good.   But each time I make this I get a little lazier in the area of preparation. Don't judge, we all have our lazy moments...Who doesn't. This is a time saving recipe after all, it should not take all day to make.  Instead of cooking each individual component, I now buy a large container of egg beaters, (the egg whites kind if I am being healthy or if I am really lazy the preseasoned south western omelet kind) and mix it with all the other goodies. Dump it all into a large shallow (not too shallow it will spill over) baking dish and bake like a casserole in the oven. Let it cool, cut into desired small portions and wrap each portion with tortilla. :) Even faster, same results. Gotta love it. 

Bento Madness

I love to cook, I particularly like Asian foods, so a trip to the Asian market (which is 2 hours from my home) is always a treat. This time I decided to share the bounty. One of my co-workers has a son who is an adventurous eater. So I decided to make him an over loaded bento.

I had originally just planned on making  some rice balls and some kimbap (korean "sushi" type rolls) but I got really into it and made a plethora of tasty treats. I made curried pickled eggs, Taegu, Myeolchi bokkeum, two type of kimbap, roasted eel stuffed rice balls and a bit of  Spicy Korean Rice Cakes or (TTEOKBOKKI)


The Taegu is my all time favorite. Sweet, spicy and very mildly fishy. Its one of the most addicting things in the world. I had to ration myself or I would have made a meal out of it, instead of just a bit of a treat. 

Korean - Taegu (Seasoned Codfish)

2 1/2 tablespoons honey 

1/2 teaspoon paprika 
 3 teaspoons sesame seed oil 
1 package taegu fish (dried codfish), (4 oz.) 
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, roasted 
1/2 teaspoon chili powder 

Shred codfish into small pieces. Mix all ingredients together, place in a jar, and let stand for a day before eating. 

Myeolchi bokkeum: These are dried anchovies about the size of your pinky nail. Tiny, not at all what you would think of when you think anchovy. Deliciously spicy and crunchy. 
Ingredients:

• 1 cups dried anchovies, 
• 1 tbs olive oil, 
• 1 tsp sugar,
• 1 clove garlic, 
• 1 tbs hot pepper paste,
• 1 tsp sesame oil,
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

 

1. Make sauce by mixing 1 tbs of hot pepper paste, 1 tbs of sugar, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tbs water in a small bowl. Set aside
2. Stir 1 cup of small dried anchovies in a heated pan for 1 minute.
3. Add 1 tbs olive oil and stir it for another minute.
4. Push the cooked myeolchi to the edge of the pan away from the heat.
5. Add the sauce to the cleared spot on the pan.
6. Tip the pan so only the sauce is over the heat and simmer until the sauce looks shiny.
7. Mix the  anchovies with the sauce and then remove from the heat.
8. Add 1 ts sesame oil and 1tbs sesame seeds. Serve with rice 
9. You can keep it in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks until you finish eating it.

 Kimbap

Ingredients:

• Dried seaweed (nori)- 4 sheets
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp salt
• TRADITIONAL FILLINGS
• 1 carrot, julienned
• cucumber, cut into long strips
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 pound of spinach, parboiled
• pickled radish, cut into strips
• imitation crab

 2nd Type Filling

• Dried seaweed (nori)- 4 sheets
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp salt
• Roasted eel
• kimchi
• fresh or seasoned vegetables for vegetarians

Preparation:

1. When rice is almost cooled, mix with sesame oil and salt.
   
2. Stir fry carrots briefly with a dash of salt.
   
3. Stir fry cucumber with a dash of salt.
   
4. Whisk eggs until evenly yellow and fry into flat omelet.
   
5. Cut cooked egg into long strips.
   
6. Using a bamboo sushi roller or a piece of tin foil, lay the dried seaweed shiny side down.
   
7. Spread about ½ cup of rice onto 2/3 of the seaweed, leaving the top 1/3 bare (if you moisten your fingers or a spoon to pat down the rice, you'll get less of a sticky mess).
   
8. Lay the first ingredient down around 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the seaweed.
   
9. Lay the other fillings down on top.
   
10. Roll from the bottom (as if you're rolling a sleeping bag), pressing down to make the fillings stay in.
    
11. As you continue to roll, pull the whole thing down towards the end of the bamboo mat.
    
12. Spread a tiny dab of water along the top seam to hold the roll together.
    
13. Set aside and continue with other seaweed sheets.
    
14. Cut each roll into 7-8 pieces.

Bruschetta in a Jar

I adore Bruschetta, but it is expensive to buy it pre-made and the taste varies from brand to brand, and not always in a good way. Not to mention the preservatives reek havoc on me. So I normally make my own, from scratch, every time I am in the mood for it. So I was actually really really happy when i heard you cold can it successfully.  I was worried at first that it would lose some of that fresh flavor, or the tomato would be to mushy.  In a happy turn of events the canned version was just as good as the day I made it.

Bruschetta is one of those dishes that I adore with a bit of fresh mozzarella on some crusty bread, or with nice roasted chicken breast. Its lovely in the summer as a cool refreshing treat, or  a as a reminder of sunshine in the winter.  Really, there is no wrong time to eat it.

Ingredients:

• 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cu fresh basil
• 7-8 cups fresh diced tomatoes

Directions:

1. Heat water to simmering in your boiling water canner (or any pot large enough to place the jars in the canner and have the water 1-2 inches above the tops of the jars). Get your lids simmering in a small pot, and set the bands aside.
2. Pour hot water into your clean jars and let them sit until you’re ready to add the tomatoes.
3. Mix the garlic, vinegars, water, and salt in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.(taste and adjust at this point)
4. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes or until all the flavors are combined. 
5. dice the tomatoes and slice the basil into ribbons, toss the two together.
6. Pour the water out of the jars, and fill with your diced tomatoes, leaving a 1/2 inch head space.
7. Spoon the hot vinegar mixture over the tomatoes and basil, leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Remove any air bubbles, wipe the rim, put the lid on and twist the band on.
8. Place in canner and make sure the water is 1-2 inches above the tops of the jars.
9. Process for 20 minutes. Remove from the canner and let cool.

So what to do with the bruschetta once it was made....well after about a month I could not wait to try it. I opened my first jar and to my delite it was delicious. So I had some on toast and for dinner the next day I had Bruschetta chicken with fresh mozzarella.  Simple, easy and very yummy.

Ingredients:

1 french baguette
2 cups bruschetta
1 ball fresh mozzarella (about 1/4 lb)
2 8oz boneless skinless chicken breast
2 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp italian seasoning
3 tbs balsamic vinagar
1/2 tbs sugar
1 tbs olive oil

Procedure:

Slice each chicken breast into two thin halves.  Place in a shallow bowl. Combine the Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar and sugar and pour over the chicken, let sit for 15 minutes. 

Slice the baguette in half long ways, then cut into 4 pieces about the size of the chicken fillets. save any extra for another meal.  Butter each piece with  1/2 tbs butter and toast in the oven until golden brown (300 degrees about 5 min)  When they are golden brown and crisp, take each clove of garlic and rub over the bread.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add oil. When it is hot but not smoking brown the chicken on both sides (this happens quickly so watch you do not over cook). The chicken does not need to be cooked through, this will happen in the oven.

Remove browned chicken and place in a baking dish. Slice the mozzerella and place thin slices on top of each piece of chicken.  Add bruschetta to the top of the chicken.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown at the edges.

Serve over the garlic toast.

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