simple, make-ahead breakfast burritos

happy Monday morning!

what is your morning routine like? are you a morning person, or do you despise getting out of bed to begin the week?

i dont mind Mondays a bit, and in general, thankfully, i wake up ready for each day. i’ve always been a “morning person”, easily awakened before others, with full alertness. which suited me well when i got one of my first jobs at Starbucks and sometimes had to be down at the store to open by 4:30am. occasionally i would get comments from customers such as “it’s so annoying that you are this cheerful this early” which really didnt bother me in the slightest. a few years ago, i used to go to the gym before i went to work, which also meant getting up pretty early.

[however, being a morning person has it's drawbacks... picture me at any party or get-together, getting terribly sleepy around, oh, 10pm. 9:00, even.

rough.]

but i enjoy my mornings, lonely as they may be at our house… i’m the only one awake, but i process the day ahead, make plans for the evening with my husband/cooking, and drink coffee! my favorite. kind of like this:

• 5:00 – 5:15 i wake up; stretch.
• 5:44 my alarm goes off. i get out of bed.
• i get dressed, which is a sinch because i’ve set my clothes out the night before so i don’t disturb my husband’s sleep.
• 5:50 coffee, breakfast. finish packing my second-breakfast and lunch to take to work.
• 6:15 hair and makeup. make sure my gym bag is packed.
• 6:30 or 6:45 i commute to the office, and i am usually still drinking my coffee, because i’m a slow coffee-drinker, and because i make HUGE cups of coffee. i’m ready to work on my first tasks by 7am sharp when Production starts sending me their first paperwork of the day.

one thing is for sure: i wake up famished, every day. this has been the case ever since i was a kid. i need sustinance quickly — more urgently than coffee. i used to grab cereal or toast, but i’ve learned how poorly simple carbohydrates sustain me and how quickly my blood sugar crashes if i don’t eat smartly in the mornings. i love having these make-ahead burritos waiting for me in the freezer, which are hot and ready to eat in less than 4 minutes, and are tasty and sustaining. melty cheese, crisp-roasted potatoes, fragrant with paprika and garlic, scrambled eggs and sausage, with a splash of color from sauteed peppers… placed in a skillet on the stovetop or resting on top of a toaster slot, the tortillas become crisp and blistered. if i’m feeling fancy, i dress one up with a glug of taco sauce. they taste like someone woke up even earlier than me to feed me a crisp, warm breakfast! perfection.

for a couple of years, my dear friend Amber has made these burritos for our group during our annual trip to Sunriver, and hers are always so delicious and warming in the morning, fueling us for a day of sledding or Reverse Charades. i’m so glad i finally made some for us at home! they take a bit of prep, but in return you’ll have a hearty, but not heavy, hot breakfast at the ready for the coming weeks, with plenty of protein and energy to fuel your day. you’ll feel like a champion. i’m f’real.

whether you’re a morning person or not, with a friendly homemade burrito, spend more time sleeping! and don’t ever skip breakfast — it’s the most important meal of the day.

yields about 18 burritos

 

this prep goes quickly with an extra pair of hands — invite someone to help peel potatoes while you dice, to fill the burritos while you roll them up. i reccomend a little Huey Lewis and the News playing while you work!

• olive or vegetable oil
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• garlic powder, paprika, seasoning salt, or whichever potato seasonings you dig
• 1 lb chicken or turkey breakfast sausage
• 1 dozen eggs
• 2 tablespoons cream (heavy or half-and-half)
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
• 1 small-to-medium white onion, diced
• 1/2 pound cheese of your choice (i used pepperjack), shredded
• 18 tortillas, soft-taco size (8-inch), whole-wheat or flour

roast potatoes: heat oven to 475F. line two baking sheets with parchment and heap half of the diced, peeled potatoes on each. drizzle each heap with about 2 tablespoons of oil, grind some fresh pepper, and sprinkle with salt or seasoning salt, and paprika and/or garlic powder, if using. with your hands, toss the potatoes together to evenly coat in oil and seasonings, and spread out into a single layer on the parchment. roast until browned on the bottom and tender, about 25 minutes (but please watch them carefully after 15 so they dont burn — all ovens are different). remove pans from oven and set aside to cool.

meanwhile, heat a a little oil in a large skillet over medium-high and begin browning the sausage. you know me, i like to get things done, so i use my potato masher to break the sausage up into evenly-sized pieces. once browned and cooked through, set aside in a large bowl, leaving about a 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pan for the eggs (chicken sausage doesn’t leave much more drippings than that, really).

in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream and pour into the sausage skillet. cook over medium heat until just set, stirring as needed. season with salt and pepper and stir to combine, and transfer to the bowl with sausage.

wipe out the skillet until clean and add a little more oil. sautee your onions and pepper over medium heat until fragrant and softened, about 10 minutes — browning is not necessary. add to the sausage and eggs and stir to combine the mixture.

assembly: on each tortilla, spread couple tablespoons of cheese, followed by a small handful of potatoes and a scoop of the egg/sausage mixture. fold each side of the tortilla towards the middle just a bit, and then roll up tightly from top to bottom (my friend Amber’s recent post can show you how to roll burritos perfectly).

to freeze: place burritos on a wax- or parchment-lined baking sheet, being careful that they do not touch, and place in the freezer until firm, at least an hour. transfer to large freezer bags and keep frozen for up to one month.

to reheat: place a frozen burrito in the microwave on low for about 3 minutes, then place on top of a toaster slot for about 30 seconds per side until crisp and blistered. to avoid the microwave, place in a dry skillet over medium heat, covered with a lid until heated through, then remove lid to let the tortilla finish crisping and browning. if you’re heating burritos for a crowd, the oven will do beautifully from frozen to hot-and-crisp in about 30 minutes at 400F.

mediterranean chicken stew with polenta

so, recently i received a couple of renewal notices in the mail for my favorite food magazine, Martha Stewart Everyday Food, and then got online to pay my bill so i wouldn’t miss any little pocket-sized issues. i remember that i got totally frustrated with my online account situation — it wouldn’t come up — and after trying everything, i may have slammed my laptop shut and said a swear, as i maybe do when i’m frustrated.

a few weeks later, i received what i thought was a random email congratulating me on my new Martha Stewart Living subscription that included the code to activate my corresponding iPad subscription. i had not ordered the magazine, so i got on facebook to see who was behind this little surprise. no takers. no one owned up to it!

it turns out that i’m receiving Martha Stewart Living instead of my favorite little Everyday Food! SURPRISE, Everyday Food Magazine is dead, you guys.

i’m really, really bummed. it was the best food magazine. full of amazing ideas, simple meals, mastering basics, shopping in season, trying new spices, new produce, how-tos, and really doable, affordable recipes. ingredients you can find anywhere, at any budget, and things that cook up in the amount of time that Normal People have to spend on cooking (much less than hours). I LOVED IT. i would say that once i moved out on my own and no longer had the luxury of cooking alongside my Mom, Everyday Food was what grew my love of cooking and honed my skills.

i’m going to miss the new ideas i’d get every November (super-easy Thanksgiving!), quick cocktail party spreads, and the “light” issue that came every January with tempting, healthful recipes for the new year. phooey. and i have to be honest, i am not interested in reading about Martha’s daily makeup and skincare regime (detailed coverage in this month’s Living) in which she tries to look less mean mature than she is by like a million. and decorating? i’m terrible at it. gardening? no yard at our loft apartment. i want recipeeees, man.

i do have a good collection, i suppose.. about 6 years of Everyday Food. i like to get them out each season and flip through to become again inspired. i also have one of the Everyday Food cookbooks, which was one of those not-on-our-registry wedding gifts that has become a Hawley family classic. i cook from it all the time!

i’m feeling sentimental over this change, so here is an Everyday Food recipe that i adore, and cook for us often. it seems fitting to share it now in honor of EDF’s demise. this quick stew has wonderful flavors that dance around the golden-browned chicken — juicy tomato sauce, lots of garlic, a splash of fresh parsley. i’ve punched up the amount of Kalamata olives because i adore their briney texture in each bite. i love that it’s served over polenta — a creamy porridge made of cornmeal, with just a little bit of Parmesan — rather than the typical rice/potato/noodle starches. it’s especially warming and comforting on the cold nights we’ve been having here in the Valley, and so simple to bring to the table, even after a long day at work. high-protein, low-cost, tasty, and quick to make? this stew is a lot of things to us right now. a lot of perfect. i hope you’ll fill your family up on it soon!

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food

serves 4

 

the tomatoes at my local grocery this time of year looked sad indeed, so i adapted this recipe to use canned tomatoes as an alternative, which i thought produced deliciously flavorful results. i get the polenta (coarse yellow cornmeal) from the bulk bins at my grocery — inexpensive, and easy to buy just as much as i need.

for stew:

• 3 medium or 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 plum tomatoes, cored and diced (about 2 cups), or 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• handful chopped parsley

for polenta:

• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• ground pepper
• 3/4 cup coarse yellow cornmeal (sometimes labeled as polenta)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter

prepare stew: make sure chicken chunks are patted dry, and season with salt and pepper. heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-high, and add chicken. brown until golden on all sides, just a few minutes total (it will have a chance to cook through later). set aside on a plate; reduce heat.

add remaining teaspoon of oil, and cook garlic over medium-low heat for about 30 seconds. then add chickpeas and sautee until heated through. add fresh or canned diced tomatoes, olives, chicken and any accumulated juices. simmer gently for 5 minutes, or up to an hour. stir in vinegar and parsley just before serving.

meanwhile, make polenta: heat water, salt and pepper to a boil over high in a large saucepan. once boiling, slowly add cornmeal, pouring it in gradually, while whisking constantly. reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking often, until thick (10 – 12 minutes).

remove from heat and whisk in Parmesan and butter. serve warm.