Chilaquiles (Breakfast Nachos!)

Yum

Chilaquiles (tchee/lah/KEE/lehs) is a traditional Mexican dish that you may have never had...or even ever heard of. At least I had never heard of this dish until moving to California, at which point my tastebuds REJOICED over the amazing explosion of flavors in my mouth while eating (inhaling) this dish. Essentially, chilaquiles are breakfast nachos - but really, so much more than that. 

My favorite part of eating nachos is finding those chips that are semi-buried in the pile. You know the ones I'm talking about, they are still crispy yet somewhat soggy from being baked with all that amazingness on top, and always have the perfect balance of toppings on it. Well basically chilaquiles is a plate full of the PERFECT nachos. For breakfast. I mean, what more could a girl want out of life?

I've tried my best to lighten this dish up as much as I could without losing the critical flavors and components of the dish except for one aspect - the light fried (gasp!) tortilla chips which make the base of this dish. These lightly fried tortillas are then smothered and simmers in chile verde salsa.

After the base is complete, all that is left is to top these are topped with eggs, chorizo, black beans, red onion, queso fresco, guacamole and cilantro! Like I said previously, I tried to make this dish lighter than the traditional. I am using turkey chorizo instead of full fat pork chorizo, as well as substituting egg whites in place of full eggs.

Breakfast (er..more like brunch) is served!

Chilaquiles

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 corn tortillas, cut into 6 triangles each
• 2 cups salsa verde, I use HERDEZ
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (for frying, not all will be used)
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp butter
• 8 oz turkey chorizo
• 1 cup black beans, canned
• 4 oz queso fresco, crumbled
• 1/2 cup guacamole, recipe previously posted!

For garnish:

• Red onion, chopped
• Cilantro, chopped
• Jalapeños 

Directions:

1. Start by preparing the tortillas. Cut the tortillas into 6 equal pieces. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Layer paper towels on cookie sheets or a large cutting board. Lightly fry the tortillas in batches - make sure you do not let the chips get too brown. This should take more more than a minute or so each side. We want the chips to be crispy, but not completely browned. Remove from oil and arrange in a single layer on paper towels so that excess oil can be drained. Continue frying remaining tortillas in batches. Once all chips are lightly fried, set the skillet and oil aside to cool.
2. In a nonstick skillet cook the turkey chorizo. Transfer from pan to a small bowl, set aside and cover to keep warm.
3. In a separate bowl scramble the eggs and egg whites together. Melt butter over medium high heat in same pan as used for the chorizo, pour in eggs. Scramble, set aside and cover to keep warm.
4. Next, prepare the guacamole by following my recipe here.
5. All that remains is to warm the beans in a small saucepan over medium heat, crumble the queso fresco and chop the onion, cilantro and jalapeños.
6. Drain oil used for frying chips from skillet and pour salsa verde into skillet and bring to a low boil over medium high heat. Add tortillas and toss in salsa. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes so that chips are completely smothered in salsa. 
7. For plating: divide tortillas evenly among 4 plates (12 tortilla chips per plate) and top with any remaining salsa verde. Next, top the tortillas with the chorizo, eggs and black beans evenly among plates. Sprinkle queso fresco, red onions, cilantro and jalapeños and finish each plate off with a dollop of guacamole. Serve immediately while its hot!

Breakfast Quesadillas

Yum

Can you think of a type of cuisine that pairs better with breakfast that Mexican? Maybe I'm partial having lived in Texas and now California, the Meccas of Tex-Mex and Mexican food in our great country, but nothing beats Mexican food for breakfast.

In addition to your traditional Mexican-inspired breakfast fare (i.e. omelettes, scrambles, skillets, etc.) you also have devoted Mexican breakfast dishes such as huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, breakfast tacos, breakfast burritos, and these: breakfast quesadillas.

A perfectly toasted gluten free tortilla, filled with cheese, eggs and sausage and topped with avocado, lime and cilantro - it's the perfect breakfast combination!

Like most of my recipes, I'm usually inspired to create them because I'm craving that dish.

(I know...a very sophisticated development process)

Recently, my friend at work that I sit across from brought in a breakfast quesadilla. Naturally, I had food envy and decided I had to just make one for myself. If you follow me on Instagram then you know how much girlfriend LOVE her quesadillas, but I've always been hesitant to post a recipe for them because they are so painfully simple to make. 

This unique spin on a classic, however, warranted a devoted post. Think of this recipe more as a 'road map' to creating your own delicious quesadilla. There are no rules! I hope I caused enough food envy in you to make this breakfast quesadilla ASAP! 

Breakfast Quesadillas

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2 Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• 2 gluten-free tortillas (I absolutely love Rudi's Tortillas!)
• 1 chicken sausage link (I recommend either Brat Hans Spicy Cilantro Chicken Sausage or Saag's Chicken Sausages)
• 1 oz sliced avocado
• 2 oz non-fat or low-fat cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 egg
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 c cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Begin by preparing the ingredients to fill your quesadilla with. Grate the cheese, slice the green onions, chop the cilantro and slice the chicken sausage into half circle slices.
2. Coat a nonstick pan with olive oil over medium heat and warm the chicken sausage. Set aside. Scramble egg and egg whites together in a small bowl. In the same pan used to cook sausage, melt butter over medium heat and pour eggs into pan. Scramble your eggs by cooking gently over medium heat and stirring with a rubber spatula. Once eggs are scrambled, set aside.
3. In a large nonstick pan over medium high heat, warm one tortilla. Sprinkle half of the grated cheese in an even layer over the tortilla, allowing it to begin melting slightly. After 1 minute, spoon half of the eggs and half of the sausage onto on half of the tortilla and then fold the tortilla over in half. I prefer making 2 half quesadillas, as opposed to layering two tortillas directly on top of one another. Allow to cook for about a minute on that side before carefully flipping and continuing to cook on the opposite side. Use your best judgement on when the quesadilla is cooked through, ensuring not to burn your tortilla! Remove from heat and repeat process for second quesadilla with remaining tortilla, eggs, cheese and sausage. 
4. In a small bowl mix together Greek yogurt and lime juice. Plate quesadillas and garnish with a drizzle of the Greek yogurt, a sprinkle of cilantro and green onion, and top with avocado slices. There is no right or wrong way to eat a quesadilla, so get creative!

Nutritional Information (1 quesadilla) - This will largely depend on what ingredients you choose to use! This is a rough estimate.

325 calories - 22 g Protein, 22 g Carbohydrates, 17 g Fat

Egg Salad

Yum

Last week I sat down to think about what I'd like to create for 2016 recipes. This usually occurs when I'm hungry, so really it turns into me writing things down I'd love to eat...right then.

Topping that list was egg salad. 

Now, I can't tell you the last time I made egg salad, let alone the last time I ate it. All I know is that I got a hankering for it. Egg salad, in its classic form, is really quite simple to make: hardboiled eggs, mayo, Dijon, and celery. 

All that sounds great, except I don't really jump for joy over mayonnaise. I blame it on the fact that I worked at Panera in high school and was tasked with refilling the mayo container on the sandwich line from the MASSIVE tub we had in the back refrigerator. Blah. (As an aside, I love homemade/fresh aoli, which is the much more sophisticated version of mayo)

Given my adversion to mayonnaise, I knew I didn't want that in my salad. A much tastier and healthier 'creamy fat' is avocado! I swapped the mayonnaise for mashed avocado in this salad and I think you'll agree, it's an awesome substitute. I also omit half of the yolks from my hard boiled eggs to make this a slightly healthier option for overall fats. The rest of my flavor profile is rounded out with zesty lemon juice, crunchy celery, green onions and just a dash of Dijion. 

Simple yet flavorful, this is a great topping for a leafy green salad or filling for a sandwich. My personal favorite is a scoop served over a bed of arugula - the peppery greens give the eggs a nice kick!

No matter your preference on how to eat this, you're sure to enjoy my healthy twist on this delicious classic.  

Egg Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4 (1/2 cup each)

Ingredients:

• 8 hardboiled eggs (yolks removed from half) - TheKitchn gives a great tutorial on hard boiling eggs
• 1/4 cup avocado, mashed (2 oz) 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice  
• 2 tsp Dijion mustard
• 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp scallions, whites and partial greens finely chopped (2 small scallions) 
• Salt + Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks of 4 eggs. Roughly chop the hardboiled eggs and egg whites; transfer to mixing bowl. Add avocado, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, celery, scallions, salt and pepper. Mix until all is evenly mixed and creamy. Serve atop a bed of lettuce or on toasted bread as a sandwich! 

Nutritional Information (1/2 cup serving):

117 calories - 10 g Protein, 3.3 g Carbohydrates (1.3 g Fiber), 7.3 g Fat