Friday, September 21, 2012

Breakfast on the Run

More often than not we are never home to enjoy breakfast. Aaron especially seems to get the short end of this stick, as he often has to be at work by 6am and usually grabs something quick, but never fulfilling, to eat. So, in an effort to help him out on the mornings he has to leave ridiculously early I searched on my favorite website (you know the one) and found him something awesome. I tweaked the original recipe to add a little bit more of a kick. When we do South West in this house- we go BIG and BOLD!

On the menu today:

South West Breakfast Burritos (to-go!)

Yield: approximately 10 burritos
Prep Time: about 45 min-hour

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
1 medium green pepper
1 lb. Sausage (we used medium Italian)
6-8 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp Chipotle Hot Sauce*
2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes*
2 tsp Penzey's Southwest Seasoning*
1 tsp Dried Chives
1 package of flour tortillas (we used a ten pack and it was just enough!)

*Aaron likes things pretty spicy, so he added in these seasonings- feel free to add or discard anything!



 Directions:

1) First things first: wash, scrub, cleanse, bathe those potatoes.

2) Chop the potatoes into cubes/slices..however you prefer. Mine ended up being all sorts of shapes because that's just how I roll. Set them aside.

3) Heat a pan with some olive oil.

4) Chop up your onion and green pepper. Saute until the onions are translucent.






5) Add your potatoes to the pan with the onions and peppers. I didn't precook the potatoes. I just threw them right in and let them cook with the other ingredients. If you want to decrease your cooking time, feel free to boil those bad boys up a little bit before you begin sauteing.







6) Add your seasonings (chipotle sauce, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, southwest seasoning etc...) to the potatoes, onions and peppers. Cook until potatoes are done.

7) Remove mixture from pan and set aside.

8) Pan fry your sausage. I used the same pan as the veggies to get some of that flavor into the meat.

9) In the meantime, crack your eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat. Add cheese and stir. I also added a little bit more chipotle sauce and southwest seasoning to the egg mixture just to give it more of a kick.

10) When sausage is cooked, drain and set aside with veggies. Scramble the eggs in the same pan as the one you've been using. By now, it's well seasoned and will make for some delicious eggies!

11) Once your eggs have cooked combine all of your ingredients together in separate bowls, or one big one; it doesn't really matter, it depends on what your preferred method for stuffing burritos is.

12) Fill each of your flour tortillas, fold and place in saran wrap (if you are freezing them to use at a later date, like we did--otherwise, plate up and enjoy!). Once covered in saran wrap, place burrito inside tin foil to prevent moisture and freezer burn.
Special Thanks to my hubby for helping out with this!

13) To reheat simply uncover the burrito, place it in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 1 minute 10 seconds; flip then microwave again for 1 minute 10 seconds. Easy and ready to go when your hubby, (or you know, you yourself) has someplace to be and little time to eat!


I hope you enjoy these as much as we did. I made them almost 3 weeks ago and they disappeared out of our freezer in about 2 weeks. I think I only ate one...the rest went to my hubby; he loved every bite.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A Family Tradition

It's a rare occasion for my husband and I to share the same days off, especially lately. This past Sunday we were fortunate enough to have an entire day together, and I wasted no time convincing Aaron to make me crepes. This is one of those recipes that I do not attempt to make, it's always been "Aaron's recipe" and therefore, his duty to make them...and he loves it.
According to Aaron, family breakfast was a Sunday morning tradition when he was growing up. Not every Sunday was designated 'crepe day', but the days that were were favorited by the entire family. Like Aaron, his dad was the one who made them, perfected them, and waited until everyone had eaten their share before enjoying his own. I experienced my first "family breakfast" at his parent's house about a year after we had started dating. I remember walking into the kitchen and Aaron's father was busy prepping and pulling all sorts of things from the fridge that I just had to try in my crepe. Before this day, I had never had a crepe, and I'm pretty sure I'd never even heard of them either. I was hooked. Like almost everything Aaron's dad has created in the kitchen, I craved crepes like you wouldn't believe. Anytime I was lucky enough to have breakfast with Aaron and his family, I tried my hardest to request crepes. As you can imagine, I was stoked when Aaron and I got married and we received our very own crepe pan and the recipe! Now, I'm just as excited to share it all with you.




 Aaron's Family Crepes:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla**
1/2 teaspoon sugar
milk (as needed)

** The only addition to the original recipe Aaron has made, at my request..because, well why not! Vanilla is excellent!



 Directions:

 Add flour, eggs, baking powder, salt, oil, vanilla and sugar into large mixing bowl and stir until thick. This next part is tricky! Add milk, just a few tablespoons at a time, until mixture is the right consistency...no lumps and runny like soup (it'll slide right off your mixing spoon).










Pour just a little bit at a time to avoid making the batter too runny

"Runny like soup" says the Chef.























Make sure you are using a flat,thin pan, otherwise the crepes will not form correctly.





Make sure you grease your pan!


                                

Checking to see how greasy the pan is. He's adorable.


Swirling the batter in the pan helps to spread out the batter and create edges.







































 












It'll take a few tries at this to make the mixture 'perfect,' each time you'll begin to eye-ball the batter and you'll know once you pour it into the pan and swirl it around if the batter is too thick, or too thin.






TIP: When you're crepe is cooked, adding a little butter to the top and letting it melt helps to add a little bit more flavor!

Once you've made your crepe, filling it is the best part.







Using a fork like this helps to roll the crepe. Just place and twirl clock-wise.

The final, delicious product! YUMMY!






Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Baking with a 3 year old

Meet Charlotte- one of my favorite toddlers on the face of this Earth. She's 3, loves puppies, princesses and helping out in the kitchen. She's also the one who deemed me "Lee Lee" about a year/year and a half ago before she could say "Julie." (My heart still breaks when she says my actual name now, since for so long I answered to "Lee Lee" when I was with her..and her mom!) She spent most of the morning/afternoon with Aaron and I while her mom (my friend Candi who I've previously mentioned) snuck away to get some work done...look to the bottom of this post to see what I mean!! I didn't plan on baking- but I was dying to try out this new recipe I just found...yes, yes..on Pinterest. I think from now on that will just be a given!

On the menu today: Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
As found on http://www.alexandracooks.com/ (her pictures are totally better than mine, as I was not showed and my hair was a complete mess...and she has a better camera! haha)

I'm not a huge fan of blueberries, but I can dig them when they're cooked/baked in something. I was also hoping that the lemon zest would take away that "blueberry" taste. Turns out- I LOVED this recipe and everything about it! Except that by the time I got around to making it it was more like lunch-time. I hadn't eaten yet so it was still technically "breakfast cake" ;)

Here's your list of ingredients:  

Charlotte and Lee Lee baking away! :)
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries (I totally used frozen, but defrosted them before adding to the bowl)
½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (who says "I need 7/8 of a cup" anymore?)
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top




According to the original recipe's directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
Charlotte was very intrigued about "zesting" a lemon.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

She was quite the egg crackin' pro, and insisted that I let her do this part..I'm brave, but in the end she needed help.
  Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt. This was definitely Charlotte's job!



3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
She was so great at holding the measuring cup so I could pour. On another note: YIKES! I've got some crazy hair!
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar.

Before. Charlotte loved the "pretty purple" color!

5. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for "doneness." If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes.
(Note: The original recipe stated that "Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary"....however I ended up baking for 18 minutes past the original bake time..making that about 53 minutes..make sure you check it though to make sure you even need to do this when you make it.)

6. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.


After! Not too shabby!



YUMMY!! 
Charlotte, on the other hand, was not interested at all in trying this masterpiece...she was more interested in....


Spending her afternoon reading books to my rabbit Han Solo. He loves it when Charlotte comes over to play!


Side Note: If you are curious about the adorable knit dress Charlotte is wearing you'll never guess where it came from! Her mom is the most creative person I know and owns (with a friend of hers located in North Carolina) her own clothing shop for little girls and boys. If you are interested in learning more about some of the AMAZING things she makes and sells check out her website By Cee Cee. You can also find her on facebook! Here's just a few examples of my favorite things she's made:


Charlotte's Strawberry Shortcake Halloween Outfit from last year!
Aaron's Star Wars apron!
Poppy Bubble Tank..freakin' adorable!


Reversible Sunflower Dress
Strip work skirt. I just love these colors together!! She has such an eye for fabric!


Check out her work and support an amazing stay at home mom!