Breakfast Burritos

 

I used to hate eating breakfast, especially in high school.  I always thought it made me feel nauseated and even more hungry by lunchtime.   In college it seemed like I never had time to eat breakfast.  Now I absolutely must have breakfast before getting to work.  If not I am grumpy and so is my stomach and boy does it let me know!  The only problem is that with a husband and a roommate still asleep it's hard to putter around the kitchen quietly, especially in our tiny apartment.

I've learned to have breakfast ready to go in the morning.  It gives me time to eat it and helps me not to make a noisy mess in the kitchen.  Also, I'm less likely to skip breakfast and hit the vending machine.  I've had to resort to frozen breakfast sandwiches lately and I'm not too happy about that  It makes me feel lazy and the stats and ingredient list aren't fantastic either.  Ditto on fast food fare.  Oh how I love me some Egg McMuffins though!  Lucky for my waistline it's out of my way.

My Dad used to make these breakfast burritos for us when we were growing up.  I remember really disliking them.  I had issues with the sausage.  I'd pick it all out and eat all the tortilla and potato.  I was a weird girl.  Now that I enjoy eating sausage I decided that these would make for a convenient breakfast.  My dad would make them ahead too and freeze them for later.  He would bake his in the oven but I find that a minute in a moist towel in the microwave to be faster.  Besides I don't like crunchy tortilla unless it's covered in nacho cheese.

My favorite part of these burritos is still the potato. Oh po-ta-to: boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. I could eat them everyday for every meal. Seriously! I used some Yukon golds for this batch. I microwaved them till a bit soft and then chopped them up before frying them up in a little oil.

You'll need a lot of eggs. I think scrambled eggs are the first thing I ever cooked. Scramble your eggs however you want. If you've never made scrambled eggs I'm scared for you. Very scared.

Fry up and crumble your favorite sausage. If I'm feeling saucy I'll use half spicy and half regular. My Dad always used sage. Maybe that's why I never liked his burritos? Combine the sausage, potatoes and scrambled eggs.

Arrange the meat mixture on your tortilla. I used a smaller fajita sized flour tortilla in low carb flavor. I don't need the extra carbs so says my hips. You may want to use a bigger tortilla and make bigger burritos. I found this size just right and filled me up good. I sprinkle on some cheese before rolling it all up. I bet some cheddar jack would be mighty delicious, I only had a 4 cheese blend. My husband and roommate requested more cheese but my hips chimed in again and said, "No!".

I doubled wrapped my burritos. First in some saran wrap and then in some foil to prevent freezer burn. I then stored them all in a large Ziplock bag in my freezer. I always remember to take my burrito out the night before to thaw in the fridge overnight. My husband and roommate do not. Both ways is fine but guess whose need a bit more microwave time.

This recipe makes a quite a few burritos but your mileage may vary depending on tortilla size and how full you fill each tortilla.

Sausage Breakfast Burritos
recipe courtesy of my Dad

1 lb pork breakfast sausage
1 small onion, diced
6-7 small potatoes
6 eggs
6 TBS milk
2 TBS butter
2 cups shredded cheese
12 flour tortillas
salt & pepper to taste

1. Poke your potatoes with a fork and microwave for about 5 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced by a fork. Let cool. Chop into halves or quarters depending on potato size.

2. Fry up sausage and onion in large skillet. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and into a large bowl. Add potatoes and fry them until golden brown. Remove from skillet and combine with sausage.

3. Prepare scrambled eggs: Crack eggs into bowl. Whisk in milk. Melt butter in skillet used to fry sausage and potatoes over medium heat. Add egg mixture and stir gently with spatula to break up egg and cook mixture. Remove from heat when egg is set but still glistens. Don't overcook! Add to potato and sausage mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Warm up tortillas slightly in microwave to make them easier to work with. Fill each tortilla with about 1/4 cup sausage mixture. Sprinkle with some cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style. Freeze or serve immediately. Makes 12 burritos.