For me, breakfast is the hardest meal of the day. Mornings at our house are generally pretty chaotic! Tobin often leaves early for work, so once the boys are up it’s a single-handed rat race to get them fed, changed, and out the door. Oh, and I have to somehow manage to simultaneously brush my teeth and put some clothes on too! Preparing breakfast for myself is typically low on the priority list. So here’s what usually happens: I chug coffee until I drop Ramsey off at school and then I head to the coffee shop for more coffee PLUS a sugary pastry or carby bagel because at that point I’m ravenously hungry. It's not the healthiest morning routine. When I saw Gina from Skinny Taste making breakfast burritos for her freezer, I thought, "now that's a genius idea!" We go to Telluride every summer with my family and there is a wonderful little cafe called The Butcher and Baker that we love to frequent for breakfast. Before a big hike, we will pick up some of their hearty and delicious breakfast burritos filled with eggs, sweet potatoes, veggies and cheese. This recipe is jointly inspired by the Skinny Taste freezer technique and the Telluride burritos that we love so much. Eggs and sweet potato may sound like a weird combo, but it's totally tasty. However, feel free to fill your burritos with anything you like! You could make the same scrambled eggs and add in some sausage or bacon. Skip the sweet potato if you want. Add spinach or mushrooms to fortify these with more veggie goodness. Omit or add more cheese to your preference. Have fun with textures and flavors! Make sure to find tortillas that are a little on the larger size and thinner than typical flour tortillas- you are looking for more of a sandwich wrap style tortilla that will be pliable and easy to fill. I found some that were made with quinoa flour and ancient grains- yum! Reboot your morning routine with these easy and delicious burritos! I promise you won't miss that blueberry muffin.
prep time: ~40 min. cook time varies depending on reheating technique. serves: makes 8 burritos
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp butter
1 tsp avocado or olive oil
4 green onions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
8 extra large eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
1 large sweet potato
8 wrap style tortillas (wheat or white flour), 8"-10" in diameter
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the green onion and bell pepper and sauté 2-3 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the eggs, 1tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook until set, stirring almost constantly with a spatula for a soft, moist scramble- about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, scrub and dry the sweet potato and pierce it all over with the tines of a fork to prevent explosion. Place it on a microwave safe plate. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. If at the end of 5 minutes it is still not tender all the way through, continue to microwave it in 30 second increments until you can easily pierce it with a knife through the center. When it's cool enough to handle, slice the potato in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Season the flesh with a little salt and use a fork to mash it- set it aside. Heat a large cast iron or another nonstick skillet over med-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the tortillas one by one to slightly char, about 1-2 minutes per side (this makes them easier to roll and gives some added flavor). Stack the tortillas up on a plate. Set up your assembly line starting with tortillas, sweet potato, eggs, beans, cheese, and 8 sheets of nonstick foil (for wrapping the burritos for the freezer). Start by laying a tortilla on a sheet of foil and adding 1 tbsp of sweet potato, spreading it out with a spoon or small spatula. Add about 1/4 cup of the egg mixture, then about 2 tbsp of beans and finish by sprinkling a little cheese on top. To roll these up like burritos, fold the top and bottom of the tortilla inward and then tightly roll the opposite sides in to seal up the filling. Wrap It in the non stick foil sheet and continue with the remaining 7 tortillas. When you've wrapped all of the burritos up, place them in large ziplock bags labeled with the date and stick them in your freezer. If you want to eat one right away, simply unwrap the foil and brown it in a skillet until filling is warmed through.
REHEATING TECHNIQUES:
Straight to microwave method: take a burrito from the freezer and remove the foil. Place it on a microwave safe plate and cover it with a dry paper towel Microwave it for 1 min., 15 seconds, then flip it over and microwave another 45 seconds (or until the filling is completely thawed and warm- reheat in 5 seconds increments if it’s still cold). Optional step (but one that I recommend): heat a cast iron or non stick skillet and brown the microwaved burrito on all sides until tortilla is slightly crisp.
Thaw overnight in fridge to oven method: thaw a burrito in the fridge overnight. The next morning, preheat your oven to 425°. Place the foil wrapped burrito directly on the oven rack and cook 20 minutes, flipping it over half way. Open the foil and cook the burrito 3-5 minutes more to crisp the tortilla.
*I tried this method and while the filling was perfect, my tortilla stuck to the foil, so make sure you are using non stick foil if you want to thaw this way!
Directly from freezer to oven method: place the foil wrapped frozen burrito in a 425° oven for 45 minutes. Open the foil to cook another 3-5 minutes to crisp the tortilla.
**All methods: let burrito stand about 2 minutes before eating because it will be HOT.
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