Making Bulk Burritos

I came across a link to an article about making "cheap" bulk breakfast burritos for quick morning breakfast. But their cheap, although might be cheap by some standards, weren't by mine. The burritos on that site came to .72 cents a piece. I made 20 burritos that ended up being .37 cents a piece. So Friday after dinner I realized I had all the ingredients and why not make some up.


$2.00 - 20 tortillas - I get tortillas from Sam's Club in a 36 pack (2 packs of 18)
$1.20 - 10 eggs (was going to use a dozen but only had 10 left in that carton)
$1.66 - 2 cups cheese - That is approximate that was in the bag. But I didn't use it all but just using the price for the bag. The cheese is again a Sam's Club purchase where I divide up a 5 lb package into smaller packages and freeze
$1.16 pinto beans - 2 cans - these were what I had on hand but of course doing dried beans in the crockpot would be easy and also much cheaper
.78 Rotel- 1 can - Sam's Club 8 cans in a pack
.62 green chilies - 1 can - these aren't in the package because I just needed a spoonful the other day for something so these weren't a full can but I would normally use a full can

Total = $7.42

So 20 burritos would be .37 cents a piece.


I cracked all the eggs into a bowl and mixed well. I then added the can of Rotel and green chilies. I poured into a pan coated with cooking spray. And cooked over medium heat.


Just before the eggs were fully cooked, I added the beans.



Place a good sized spoonful of egg mixture on a tortilla and top with some cheese.



Fold over the sides of the burrito so that they mostly cover the egg mixture


Fold over one end. And the roll up the rest of the way.


Fold complete after rolling it up the rest of the way.


On a tray to flash freeze* before putting into ziplocks.

To Microwave: I took straight from the freezer and microwaved for 1 minute. I am sure it will vary from microwave to microwave so that might be up to 2 minutes. In the other link it suggested defrosting in the microwave and then cooking. But the ones I made tasted good without defrosting and just microwaving for 1 minute on a plate.

Of course like stated at the link at the beginning there are many variations you could do to these. Add more veggies, different beans such as black beans or add some meat such as ground turkey or pork sausage.

* To Flash Freeze
Place food on a jelly roll pan in a single layer. Freeze until solid sometimes up to 8 hours. Just don't forget about it or it can cause freezer burn. After frozen, place in a zip-lock style bag and remember to remove all air. Label the bag usually with contents, directions and date depending on what it is that I am freezing. And then freeze bag for easy serving.

Gingerbread Muffins

The picture trying to show off one of our new plates in addition to the muffin.

Gingerbread Muffins
Makes 8 Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all-spice
1/4 tsp ginger
3 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 350. Line with paper baking cups or spray with cooking oil eight muffin cups. In a small bowl stir together flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, all-spice, ginger and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, stir together oil and brown sugar. When blended add molasses, milk, egg and vanilla. Mix until blended. Add flour mixture and mix until blended. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when pressed lightly in the center. If desired sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or cool.

Biscuit Muffins

I made another recipe from Bread for Breakfast by Beth Hensperger. It was okay. It wasn't bad but it wasn't what I was craving. I made it because it looked like something that would appeal to Michael. And he did enjoy them. I am hoping this is a trend with her recipes too - they stay puffy and raise up like I think normal baked goods do so that makes me happy! As the altitude is always something I am battling with.




Biscuit Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cardamom or ground nutmeg (I used cardamom as I am always looking for recipes with it in it)
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon butter, cold and unsalted, and cut into small pieces
1 cup cold buttermilk
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling, optional



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the cups of a standard muffin tin.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, nutmeg, and salt. Distribute the butter over the flour mixture, and with a fork, or an electric mixer, work in the butter until coarse crumbs are created.

Pour in the buttermilk, and mix using low speed with a mixer, or a fork, until dough forms a sticky mass, about 30 seconds. Do not overmix, you are just letting the dough come together.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Dump the dough out, sprinkle the top with flour, and knead gently, 6-8 times. The dough should remain soft and sticky. Cut the dough into 12 equal portions, and place in greased muffin cups.

Sprinkle with sugar, and bake 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven, and transfer muffins to cooling rack to cool for a few minutes before serving.

***I use powdered buttermilk and they came out great! I just made sure the water was really cold and added the powder with the flour mixture.

Vanilla and Cinnamon Crumb Cake

Every month on the first I am greeted with Michael saying, "Happy Anniversary!" Our official anniversary of when we started seeing each other is February 1, 2003 but it doesn't matter if it is February, July or November....if it is the first of the month I get greeted Happy Anniversary, warm embrace and passionate kisses at the start of the day. We love each other and try to celebrate that love and life. The moment we first knew we were right for each other is brought up each month in his words and embrace.

So today being the first of July I decided to make Michael something special for breakfast. I checked out the book Bread for Breakfast by Beth Hensperger recently from library. The book has some delicious looking recipes in it. And it is a book I would like to have on my bookshelf because I know I would use it quite a bit. This morning I tried Vanilla and Cinnamon Crumb Cake from it. And it turned out so good! Michael doesn't like nuts so when I find recipes with a crumb top usually it has nuts in it. And I have substituted other things such as more flour or oatmeal at times but this one didn't have any nuts in it so I flagged it right away as one I wanted to try.


















Makes one 10-inch round coffee cake

Crumb Top
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter - cut into small pieces (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)


Cake Batter
6 tablespoons unsalted butter - softened (3/4 stick so basically the rest of what was left after the crumb topping)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cake flour - unsifted
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (not fat reduced)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for a dark-finish pan). Line a 10-inch springform pan with parchment, grease the bottom and sides and set aside.

To make the crumb top, in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar; and cinnamon. Cut in the vanilla and cold butter on low speed until coarse dry crumbs are formed. Pour into a small bowl and set aside. If not using immediately, refrigerate until needed.

To make the cake batter, without cleaning the mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract and beat well on medium speed for 30 seconds. The mixture will be loose. Add the flour; cinnamon, baking powder; baking soda, and salt and beat on low speed for 15 seconds. Add the sour cream and beat on medium-high speed only until the lumps smooth out and the mixture looks fluffy, about 30 seconds on medium-high speed. Do not overbeat.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared springform pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the crumb topping. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the top is crisp and feels firm when gently touched in the center; the cake separates slightly from the sides of the pan, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (it may be a bit moist; that's okay). Do not overbake, or the cake will be dry.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving warm, or cover in plastic wrap to serve later at room temperature.
Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.




















*** Of course I made a few modifications. I didn't have cake flour so used all-purpose - as I said turned out great. I add some cardamom as I just love the flavor and it sounded like a good add for this cake so just did a couple pinches of it in the cake batter. And last thing I changed was the springform pan. I didn't want to use my springform pan as I just didn't want fight with it leaking at all -- although I sure it would look prettier in it so might try that eventually. But today I just used a 9-inch square pan. Only problem that came with that is it seemed to need to bake longer. I baked 1 hour 10 minutes.

Betty Crocker Banana Bread

I have went through many Banana Bread recipes. And they all turn out fine, but for some reason I always come back to the one out of Betty Crocker cookbook. It is easy for me to make. I like that it uses buttermilk too. I always have powdered buttermilk on hand and works and tastes just as good as real buttermilk.

Last week I had a couple bananas nearing that bad point so I peeled them, wrapped them and put them in the freezer as I didn't have time to do banana bread last week. But today I got some time so took those out and made Betty Crocker's Banana Bread (this one on the website is the same one in the cookbook).



1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium bananas)
1/2 cups of buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts - optional

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9" x 5" x 3" pan. (Or 2 - 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pans)

Mix together sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk* and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and mix until just moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pan.

Bake 8-inch loaves for about 1 hour or 9-inch loaf 1 hour 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan and remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days or refrigerate up to 10 days.

* I put the powder for the buttermilk with the flour and then add equivalent in water where it says to add buttermilk.

Sour Cream Orange Muffins

We normally have bagels during the week for breakfast. But I woke up yesterday morning knowing we didn't have any in the house so I decided to make muffins. I took a quick look through the pantry and fridge to see what I could bake. And I came up with Sour Cream Orange Muffins. They reminded me somewhat of the sour cream cookies I make also. Only difference was the little citrus hint throughout the muffin.



SOUR CREAM ORANGE MUFFINS

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup of sour cream - I used light because it is what I had on hand
1/4 cup milk
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar

Heat oven to 375. Line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper baking cups (or spray with cooking spray.)

In a large bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar, oil, egg, almond extract and orange zest. Add sour cream and milk and mix until just blended. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle batter with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cold.

Homemade Donuts

I enjoy the recipes over at 101cookbooks.com so this is one of them that she posted a while back. Baked Donuts...just called my name. I always see recipes for fried donuts and I just don't like having to "deep fat fry" food. I love the taste when someone else makes it. So baked donuts is something I could do.

They turned out really good. I am always surprised when bread-items turn out the first time for me as I really have had some a battles with the altitude. But these turned out scrumptious. The only thing is they need to be eaten right away. After sitting over night they lost their donut taste. They tasted more bready. I have wondered if they could be rolled out and cut out and then froze so that you could make smaller batches. So I might try that one day.



Recipe for baked donuts.

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes

When I was a little girl, I was the odd one in the family as I was picky. One thing I didn't like is pancakes. Now I know that sounds absurd that a child wouldn't like pancakes but it is true. I didn't like the texture. I am not sure why as they are soft, fluffy and sweet. I really didn't eat them as I grew up either. French Toast is my pick over the pancakes. When met Michael, he made me pancakes one Sunday morning and I was hooked. Now I like trying different kinds of pancakes but by far this recipe is my favorite. The flavor is amazing. Plus they are healthy.

Beware I am still learning how to make pancakes so they are aren't ROUND - far from it! But they taste delicious!

ps: Michael doesn't like nuts in things so I leave the walnuts out for him.

Apple-Cinnamon Oat Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking or old fashioned oats
2 tablespoon splenda/sugar substitute
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg (could use egg substitute also to make it even more healthy)
1 1/2 cup milk - low fat or fat free
1 cup sugar free applesauce
1/4 cups canola oil
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Stir together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl.

Beat egg in separate bowl; stir in milk, applesauce, and oil.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until blended. Fold in walnuts.

Heat greased griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. Griddle is ready when a few drops of water bubble and skitter rapidly around.

For each pancake, pour a scant of batter onto hot griddle. Cook pancakes until puffed, bubbly and dry around edges. Turn and cook other sides until golden brown.

Chocolate Chip Scones

Does everyone have a well seasoned pan they can't part with but probably should? The one that these scones sits on in the 2nd photo -- is mine. It has traveled through all my moves and I just can't get rid of it because I like how things bake on it.

But on to the main thing of this post....the Scones....Oh MY....these are fantastic! I really like to make tasty breads and sweets using whole wheat flour. And at times it just doesn't seem to work out with the whole wheat flour but these really do hit so many levels of wonderfulness! And isn't the dough just so pretty?

* 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
* 1 3/4 cup white all purpose flour
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup light brown sugar
* 1 tsp. baking powder

* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 2 Tbsp. ground yellow flaxseed meal
* 4 Tbsp. oats
* 6 Tbsp. butter
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (such as Ghiradelli 60% cocoa or Nestle 63% dark chips)

(I have used flaxseed instead of oats so 6 tablespoons of flaxseed and tasted just as good and also when I was out of flaxseed I used oats in place of flaxseed and again just as delicious)

Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flaxseed meal and oats. Cut in butter using two knives or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk and vanilla together. Pour into dry ingredients. Mix until dough is moist. Stir in chocolate chips. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, kneading two or three times. Divide dough in half.

Pat each half into a circle, about 6 inches across. Cut dough into 6 wedges. Transfer to the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 375 on middle rack of oven for 20-22 minutes.

Makes 12 scones

Cinnamon Oat Bread Plus Creme Brulee French Toast

Cinnamon Oat Bread

1 1/4 cup warm milk
3 cups bread flour
3/4 cup oats
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 teaspoon bread machine yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer.
Recommended cycle: basic/white bread cycle; light color setting. But I did it on the dough as I wanted to make creme brulee French toast. This bread though is good all on its own especially as toast.

I haven't ever taken a picture of it. I really need to but we always dive in before I think of it. It is just so tasty. This is a low-fat recipe but I am sure if you don't like the fat-free/low-fat ingredients could be substituted for regular.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Ingredients:
* 3 tablespoons low- or no-trans fat margarine or butter
* 5 tablespoons reduced-calorie or no-sugar added pancake syrup
* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur), divided (or any other liquor that you would like the flavor of)
* At least 8 (1 inch thick) slices of French or sourdough bread (you might need more to cover the bottom of the pan depending on the size of your bread)
* 3 large eggs
* 1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)
* 1 1/2 cups fat-free half-and-half
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Garnish/Toppings: fresh strawberries or other berries and a dollop of light whipped cream or Light Cool Whip or maple syrup.

Preparation:
1. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with canola cooking spray. Melt margarine or butter in a small nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Mix in reduced-calorie pancake syrup, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
2. Remove crusts from bread and arrange slices in the baking dish in a single layer on top of the brown sugar mixture (enough slices to cover the bottom of the pan...I cut the pieces to make it fit all through the pan).
3. In small bowl, whisk together eggs, egg substitute, fat-free half-and-half, vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier, and salt. Pour mixture evenly over the bread. Cover well and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the dish from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.
5. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes until puffed and lightly browned. Serve with fresh fruit and a dollop of light whipped cream if desired.

Godfather Eggs

We had eggs called Godfather Eggs at a restaurant in Denver while staying with Michael's parents. He loved them and I kind of looked at him like um tomato sauce on eggs? It didn't sound appetizing to me at all. But I ended up trying them and oh they were so good. So here at home I have make them every now and then (especially after we have had pasta or pizza since I have left over tomato sauce or Italian sausage.

Godfather Eggs
scrambled eggs
browned ground Italian sausage (I use turkey Italian sausage)
tomato sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
fresh chopped basil (optional)

Take scrambled eggs and then just put the layers on top of them first the sausage, then the tomato sauce and cheese. You can top with some basil even though I didn't have any when I took this picture.

Breakfast Burritos

Michael's parents were here for a few days and his Dad is always trying out breakfast burritos at restaurants so I decided to make them for him. I made his Mom's mild and then the rest of ours with a little more kick. I don't follow a recipe or ever write down what I do. So here is just an approximate...
I made 14 burritos (leftovers frozen to zap in microwave for breakfast). I used flour tortillas, (12 I think) eggs scrambled with some salsa in them, diced potatoes (boiled in the microwave and then fried a little bit in some olive oil), ground turkey sausage (that I seasoned with chopped, onions, garlic powder, cumin and chopped green chilies), cheddar and Monetary cheese mix, salsa and sour cream. I put a little eggs, potatoes, sausage on the tortilla wrapped them up and placed on a baking sheet. I topped them with the cheese and then baked them about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven to warm all the way through. When warmed through, I served with salsa and sour cream on top.

Bran Muffins

My Mom used to make bran muffins for us a lot when we were kids. I know this is not her recipe as hers was the kind you could leave the batter in the fridge for a month and just keep scooping out of it. For some reason that bothers me although nothing bad ever happened to us eating these muffins as a kid and my Mom is a cook so she knows what she is doing. Anyway, I loved them so much so...even now biting into one I bake brings me right back home to being a little girl.


Bran Muffins

* 1 1/2 cups wheat bran
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 egg
* 2/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup all-purpose flour (sometimes I do 1/2 cup all-purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.

Beat together oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.