"Healthy" Breakfast Burritos

Soyrizo Breakfast Burrito

Even before I decided to try to be a vegetarian I liked "soyrizo." Actually, when I first heard of it I fake gagged and said "deeeeesgusting!" But then I was tricked into eating it under the premise that it was real chorizo. Not even my dad could tell the difference. I've pretty much never gone back. Josh was already boycotting chorizo because he accidentally read the ingredients. Big mistake! I, on the other hand, have always held that it doesn't matter what's in it, if tastes good I'll eat it. Much like my mom's mantra It doesn't matter if it feels good as long as it looks good! Unfortunately neither of those arguments really hold much water as I am now scrutinizing every label with a magnifying glass and my mom is wearing orthotics! (Don't tell her I told you!)

Anyway, back to my burritos. On our honeymoon to Maui Josh and I ate breakfast at this cool little restaurant called Soup Nuts and Java Jazz. Such a funny name. Turns out it was a coffee shop by day and a jazz club by night. I ordered the chorizo breakfast burrito, which was the size of my head! It had chorizo and eggs, black beans, and a load of cheddar. It was so so good! I thought it such a strange concoction with the black beans, served on a bed of Spanish rice. Oh my. That was seven years ago and I still dream about it!

With a few changes I would venture to say my version of this burrito is quite healthy. Lots of breakfast protein and healthy carbs, not to mention veggies and beans! I went ahead and substituted soyrizo for the real deal. I almost always add baby spinach to my eggs, so I included that in this recipe too. If you chop the spinach small and add it to the scrambled eggs before you cook them you will not even taste it! (This is pretty much the only way I can get Jer to eat spinach!) If you like a stronger spinach flavor, you can saute it before adding the eggs to the pan. Here is my healthy version of this delightful burrito.

"Soyrizo" Breakfast Burrito
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 package Soyrizo -- I like the Trader Joe's brand.
6 Eggs -- You can use more if you'd like more burritos. I'd say up to 10.
A couple large handfuls of Baby Spinach, chopped small, and some extra to add later
1/2 cup Black Beans, drained and rinsed
6 Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas -- You may need more or less depending on how full you like your burritos.
A sprinkling of Cheese -- Right now I have a Mexican blend that I've been using, but you can use whichever kind you prefer, Cheddar is tastiest.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove the Soyrizo from the package and add to the pan. Use a masher or wooden spoon to break it up and let it cook for about a minute or so before stirring. Since it's already "cooked" your goal is just to brown it up and add flavor. Stir every couple of minutes or so till browned.

Meanwhile scramble the eggs with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add chopped spinach to the eggs and whisk it all together. Add the egg/spinach mixture to the soyrizo once it is browned. Let it sit for a moment to begin cooking, then use long strokes with a wooden spoon to mix.

Once the egg is mostly cooked through add the black beans. Continue cooking for another minute or two till the beans are heated through.

Now you can begin assembling your burritos! If you have a gas range you can heat your tortillas right on the stove top, otherwise you'll want to preheat a pan or "comal" (cast iron skillet) to warm them up. I like to heat one tortilla at a time, then make the burrito before I heat the next. You could heat all the tortillas and place them in a (lintless) kitchen towel to stay warm, then assemble the burritos all at once.

Here's the lineup: tortilla, light layer of baby spinach (you can leave this out for kids or picky eaters as I did here), soyrizo and eggs with black beans, sprinkle cheese; wrap! If you've never wrapped a burrito before you'll want to fold the bottom end (and top if you'd like) then roll from one side to the other. Make sure you're tucking all that yummy goodness inside as you go.

That's it! Enjoy!!! (With a sprinkling of hot sauce of course! My fave bottled kind is Tabasco Chipotle.)

P.S. If you're having a cheat day or just want to be a little decadent go ahead and use real chorizo and white flour tortillas. Don't forget to load up on Cheddar too! I could die happy after eating this...

Vegetarian Fried Rice

I loooooove rice! I've always said that I could live off rice alone. And I think I could. Have you ever seen that show "My Strange Addiction" on TLC? Yeah, if someone could live off dryer sheets, I think I could live off rice! Steamed white rice with soy sauce is my go to. It's comfort food at it's finest. Ok, I know this is not true for everyone, but when I need something to calm my tummy or my emotions, the rice maker is my best friend! The stove top method is just as easy but takes a little more attention.

Rice is great because you can do so many things with it. And I love all kinds of rice. Spanish rice. Fried rice. Brown rice. Rice pilaf. Even Rice-a-Roni! Fried rice is quick and easy. I love it because you can make it with whatever you've got in the fridge: veggies, meat, day-old rice.

I usually use a combination of olive and sesame oils to add a little extra flavor right off the bat. Sometimes I'll throw in diced onions and grated garlic, and ginger, if I have some. Lots of delicious flavor right there. Standard fried rice veggies are carrots, broccoli, peas. I've also seen red bell pepper, and jalapenos in Thai fried rice. It all depends on your taste preferences. I like to finish my fried rice off with soy sauce to make it extra yummy.

The fried rice I made this time was the easiest I've ever made. I used a couple handfuls of my Broccoli Slaw and Kale Salad in place of chopped vegetables. The salad is so hearty, and uses veggies not just greens, so it stands up to the cooking really well. I also tried Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead of soy sauce. I had bought this awhile back because I've seen a lot of recipes that use it in place of soy sauce. I never tried it though because I love soy sauce so much and I was worried that the Liquid Aminos wouldn't be as good. But it was! The flavor is a little different but still just as yummy. I found that I was able to use less of the Liquid Aminos than of the soy sauce, since it is a little saltier. You can find out more about Liquid Aminos at the Bragg Live Food website.

Vegetarian Fried Rice
1 Tbsp each Olive Oil and Sesame Oil
1/4 cup diced onions
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 in fresh ginger, grated
2 cups cooked day-old rice (white or brown)
2 eggs scrambled
1 cup mixed veggies
Soy Sauce

Heat the oils together in a large saute pan or wok. When the oil is hot add onions and cook out for a minute or so until the onions appear translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds or so. I use a microplane to grate the garlic and ginger so there is no chance of biting into big chunks, just lots of flavor.

Next add the rice. You can break up the clumps of rice using your spatula. Toss the rice in the oil, onion and garlic mixture to coat the rice. Let it cook and heat through. It should be sizzling. While it cooks you can scramble your eggs. Once the rice is warmed up, push the rice to the sides of the pan and drop the eggs in the well you've created. Move them around to cook. Once they are mostly cooked begin to incorporate them into the rice. Mix it all up.

Now you can add the veggies. I like to use pre-cooked veggies. If you don't have any, just cut them up small so that they cook quickly. If you'd like you can blanch the veggies by boiling them for 2-3 minutes and then removing them from the water. The 1 cup measurement is just a guess-timate. I will usually cut up a carrot, half a zucchini, a small head of broccoli, a handful of frozen green beans, and/or a quarter of a red bell pepper. So it's likely there's more than a cup of veggies. Either way, toss all the veggies in with the rice and eggs and mix it all up. You can cover it at this point to cook the veggies if you need to. Let them heat through if they are already cooked.

Lastly, add the soy sauce. I never measure this part. Usually I will swirl it over the pan a few times all the way around, then toss. Taste it, and add more if necessary. Remember it's ok to start with less and then add a little at a time till it's right. You can't take it out once you've added too much.

We ate ours with Aidell's Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Meatballs, which I warmed in Yoshida's and Soy Sauce. We had to add some meat! 

Chilaquiles Verdes

For some  reason I don't recall eating chilaquiles growing up.  (Pronounced: chee-lah-key-less... not chilli-killies as I have heard them called! lol)  I'm sure I had them. Or maybe I refused them. Either way it's a sad story because they're so stinkn' good! In college we had "Stir-fry Fridays" and every once in a while these were on the menu. Of course they were covered in oil and super-deliciously greasy and tasty.

Funny thing about chilaquiles is that they are a vegetarian meal, but as you may know they have no vegetables, unless you count whatever chiles were processed in the making of the sauce, or the optional salsa topping. Anyway, this is not a healthy recipe nor should you try to make it any healthier because it wouldn't be nearly as delicious. This recipe is for your cheat day. Or in our case as the last hurrah of a cheat weekend. We ate these with beans and salsa. Delicioso!

Chilaquiles Verdes
7 Corn Tortillas
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
5 Eggs, scrambled
1/2 c or so Green Enchilada Sauce - I make Chile Verde in the summer when the New Mexico chiles are in season, but when they aren't I just use a can. We like Las Palmas.
1 c Cheddar, shredded - you could use whatever kind of cheese you want, Pepper Jack would be amazing, I just happened to have cheddar on hand.

First thing is to heat the oil in a large sautee pan or skillet over medium high heat.  Cut the tortillas into triangles. Just use a sharp knife and cut straight through all the tortillas at once.

Drop the tortillas into the pan and toss to coat with oil. I used tongs to turn them all around and make sure everyone was nicely coated. You may want to adjust the oil. The recipe on the can of enchilada sauce I used called for 4 cups of oil! I guess those ones are deep fried! This way the tortillas get crispy but not deep fried by any means and you can use much less oil. Give the tortillas a few minutes on the first side then start flipping them over and moving them around to make sure everyone gets browned and toasty. You can start by checking one or two pieces. You'll notice if they're not browned up yet they'll be limp and then they can tear apart easily so be careful. This is the most tedious part about this recipe but it's totally worth it! Here's what they should look like about halfway done. Starting to brown nicely.

Once the tortillas are crisp pour the eggs over them being sure to cover all the chips. You can turn the pan to move the eggs around so everything comes together. Allow them to cook for a minute, then with a spatula scoop up and turn over a portion at a time to cook the eggs through. Once all the eggs are cooked pour the sauce all over everything. Now listen to the sizzle! Yum! Turn the pan a couple times to allow the sauce to combine with the eggs and chips. Turn the heat off. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and cover.

Let it sit for about 2 minutes or so till the cheese is sufficiently melted and gooey. Serve it up!

This was enough for Josh and Jeremiah and I. Like I said we had refried beans on the side and some salsa on top. You could even put beans on top or underneath and eat it all together. All the measurements here are to taste so feel free to experiment. I have also made this with Carne Adovada, which was Uh-Mazing!