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.

white bean, sausage and kale stew

 

my normal work schedule is 7 – 4, but lately i have been working more like 6 – 5 to try to catch up. my brain is melting a touch, i confesss. the learning curve is steep, and while i am adjusting, it takes time. most days, i am behind. but yesterday, i was realllllly done at eight hours.

i wanted to cook.

for me, cooking readjusts my head to where it feels straight. it’s what i needed to refresh my spirit. i recently read a tempting recipe for some stew that called for a slow-cooker, and i got really excited because i love using my slow-cooker and coming home to a wonderful aroma of a hot meal, waiting for me! don’t you? but, the recipe said to slow-cook for 2.5 hours. and that just isn’t going to fly when i am away from home for so long during the work week. 8 hours, sure, but 2.5, really?

so i made my own stew. slow-and-low, but not too slow. just long enough to bake a loaf of the best bread ever (if you’ve been reading food blogs for any length of time, i dont need to tell you about Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread method…. but, if you haven’t tried it before, you really should. making professional-looking and totally delicious bread is fail-proof and absolutely a sinch!! here is the simple recipe to guide you — try it!).

to be honest, this stew isn’t all that pretty. but who cares, winter food has never been about good looks. we’ll leave that for Spring and Summer eats. the truth is that this stew feeds your soul, and your eyes will forget their lustfulness. i promise. the kale shares its earthiness through the body of the stew, and each bite is hearty with beans and sausage. i love the fennel seeds here that really make the tomato flavors sing. i also had a little fresh basil and parsley on hand, so i added some for a wonderful brightness. but this slow-cooked stew will really work beautifully on dried herbs, which are so much more budget-friendly, am i right?

if the holidays have left you frazzled, or if you need something healthful to fill your family up, or maybe you invited dinner guests who are notoriously late and you’re unsure if you will have 10 minutes or two hours to keep the food warm — here is a perfect and simple dinner. let it simmer away for a while on the stove, unattended. or eat it just after it’s become hot– it’s delicious either way. don’t let cooking rule your schedule. make it work for you, yes?

(what you might expect to see in the coming recipes here at DFW are recipes more on the healthful side, with budget-conciousness at the forefront. a lower cheese-intake and a lower income is what 2013 is bringing us so far, and we hope you’ll enjoy experiencing some of our realities with us!)

–oh, and i’ll be honest, this stew makes fantastic leftovers. if it becomes too thick when reheated for lunch the next day, a little water helps — the flavors havent gone, just some of their moisture, so add a splash and off you go, making your coworkers envious as they smell your lunch.

enjoy.

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 lb chicken spicy Italian sausage, bulk, or casings removed
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large cans (28-ounce) whole tomatoes, juices of one can drained and reserved for another use
• 2 cans (14-ounce) white beans, such as canellini
• 1 teaspoon dried fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 gigantic bunch kale, washed and stems removed, chopped
• fresh herbs, such as parsley and basil, chopped (optional)

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium and brown the sausage, breaking into crumbly pieces with a spoon as it cooks.

once browned, add diced onion and minced garlic and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. add the can of drained tomatoes and the can of tomatoes with their juice, and carefully (they might squirt at you!) mash the tomatoes into chunks with a potato masher, or your instrument of choice, until broken into bite-sized pieces. then add the white beans, fennel and oregano. stir everything occasionlly while this bubbles for at least 20 minutes, but an hour if you have time.

as canned tomatoes are usually salted, i found this stew did not require seasoning, but make your own salting determination after taste-testing.

about 15 minutes before serving, add the chopped kale and stir and simmer. remove from heat and stir in fresh herbs, if using. you could top each bowl of stew with grated parmesan, if you like, but i found it hearty and rich enough without it! yes, this stew had me saying “no” to cheese. now that’s something.