Do Ahead Breakfast Burritos

I cannot believe I have not posted this recipe earlier. It is based on a recipe I got from my super sweet mother-in-law. It makes about 50 breakfast burritos that you wrap in foil, put in zip loc bags and then warm up in the microwave. I like to keep them on hand for cold mornings when I want to give my boys something hot for breakfast but fast and easy. They are also great to have when company is coming. Everyone can quickly warm up their breakfast as they wake-up ... the early birds and the late sleepers all get a yummy hot breakfast.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Ingredients

50 soft flour tortillas (if you can find the kind that say "homestyle" they are soft enough that you don't have to butter the tortillas, saving you a step)

One Dozen Large Eggs

One Bunch of Green Onion Tops, Chopped (I use my kitchen scissors to cut them up)

1 Pound of Light Sausage

6 Pieces of Thick Bacon

2 Pounds of Shredded Hash Browns

Butter

Reynold Wrap foil sheets (come 50 to a box ... can be found with the foil and plastic wrap)

Shredded Cheese (optional)

1. In a large skillet brown the sausage. When it is finished, pour it out on a paper towel lined plate and let it sit. After the sausuage has drained, pat the top of the sausage with another paper towel to help absorb some more of the fat.

2. While the sausage is browning, cook your bacon in the microwave until crispy. Break into small pieces. Pour the drained sausage and the crumbled bacon into a LARGE bowl.

3. Put a couple of tablespoons of butter or canola oil in a skillet and pour the frozen shredded hashbrowns in the pan along with your cut up green onion tops. Stir and cook them until the hashbrowns are tender and a little browned. Add the cooked hashbrown and green onion mixture to your bacon and sausage mixture and mix well.

4. Crack a dozen eggs and beat them. Cook them until soft (not too hard) in a skillet. Add the scrambled egges to the hashbrown and meat mixture and mix well.

5. If you bought soft enough tortillas, you can skip this step. You know they are soft enough if you can roll them and they don't crack. If they crack when you roll them, put a stack of tortillas in the microwave and heat for about 30 seconds to a minute ... to where they are soft. Then butter the tortilla on both sides. Fill it with a small amount of egg, pototo and meat mixture. Add a little cheese if you like. Then put the loaded tortilla in the middle of a foil sheet. Bring a small amount of the right and left side towards the middle (maybe an inch or so). Then while holding the right and left sides in with your index fingers and middle fingers, roll the stuffed tortilla away from you with your thumbs. Hold the tortilla in a rolled position. Take the right side of the foil sheet and fold it in over the top of the rolled burrito. Fold the left side in over the rolled burrito. Roll the whole burrito up. Next time I make some, I'll take pictures fo the whole process and post some steps.

Once you get all 50 burritos rolled in foil, put them in some large ziploc bags. Store in the freezer and use in about 6 months. To reheat, take the foil off of the burrito and place the burrito on a microwave safe plate. Microwave at 60% power for about 2 minutes to 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Serve with salsa. I also have family members that love them queso on top, too.

Crock Pot Enchilades

I made this recipe for potluck last Sunday. I was out of town all day Saturday, so I knew I needed something I could make ahead easily. I browned the meat and added the soups and seasonings, and then put the crock in the fridge Friday night. Sunday morning, I put the crock in the "pot" and heated it for about 4 hours and it turned out great.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of hamburger meat
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 can of cheese soup (any flavor)
1 can of golden mushroom soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of red enchilada sauce (mild or hot)
1 tsp. of ground cumin
1 four ounce can of chopped green chilies
12 corn tortillas

Brown hamburger meat and onions. Drain and put into a Crockpot you have sprayed with cooking spray. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tortillas. Cook for four hours on low. One hour before you serve it, tear up the tortillas and add to the soup mixture in the crock pot. Cook an additional hour and serve.

Mexican Breakfast

Can you tell I'm from Texas with all of this Tex Mex food!? :o) I love Mexican food the way it is done in Texas. Anyway, I got this recipe from Amy Landry who got it from her mom and I don't know where she got it, but it is WONDERFUL! I've made it a couple of times when we have had overnight guests, and it is ALWAYS a big hit!

Ingredients

1 cup of sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 oz. can of chopped green chilies
2 T. LaVictoria green chili salsa (I've used other brands of green chili salsa and it works fine ... LaVictoria brand is hard to find around here)
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Combine the above for sauce

1 pound Jimmy Dean hot sausage (can do half bacon and half sausage)
2 T. butter
7 eggs beaten
1/4 c. cottage cheese
1 T. chopped parsley
1/4 C. chopped green onions
12 buttered flour tortillas
2 C. shredded Mexican cheese blend

Brown and crumble the sausage. Drain on paper towels. Melt butter in the same skillet, add eggs and cottage cheese. Add parsley and green onion. Cook until lightly set (the eggs should be pretty gooey). Add sausage and 2 T. of the sauce to the egg mixture. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Divide filling and roll into buttered tortillas (the number of tortillas you use depends on how fat you stuff them :o) but you can probably get about 12 out of this). Arrange rolled tortillas in a single layer. Top with the rest of the sauce. Cover with grated cheese and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

You can prepare this dish the night before and refrigerate it. Cover it with foil and bake for 30 minutes and then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. It won't take as long to cook if it hasn't been in the refrigerator. You can also use 1/2 bacon and half sausage.

Do Ahead Mashed Potatoes

I searched for this recipe out of desperation. My husband is a mashed potato expert (don't even mention instant mashed potatoes to him). Since he loves mashed potatoes and most kids do, too, we were always asked to bring them to family gatherings. I hated it because you would always have to time it right and then be in the kitchen peeling and boiling and mashing potatoes while everyone else was visiting because they had brought something they could make ahead. So, I found this, and it is WONDERFUL! My husband even highly approves of it. Take this to your next holiday dinner celebration, and everyone will be amazed at how yummy these are! In this picture they are served with Frozen Pot Roast.

Ingredients

3 pounds of potatoes (about 9 medium)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I usually just use regular whipping cream because the heavy is expensive and I can only find it in larger containers and you only use 1/2 cup for this)
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Scrub potatoes. Leave skins on, if desired, or peel thinly and remove eyes. Cut into large pieces. Heat 1 inch water (salted if desired) to boiling in a 3 quart pan. Reduce heat. Cook covered 20 to 25 minutes or until tender (don't over cook!). Drain potatoes. Shake pan gently over low heat to dry the potatoes.

Heat milk, whipping cream, butter, salt and pepper in a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until butter is melted. Measure out 1/4 cup of the milk mixture. Cover and refrigerate it. This 1/4 of creamy milk mixture is the key to these tasting so good I think.

Add remaining milk mixture in small amounts to the potatoes in a medium bowl. Mash with potato masher or electric mixer after each addition. Don't over beat! The amount of milk needed to make the potatoes smooth and fluffy depends on the amount of starch in the potatoes. Continue adding a little and beating a little until the potatoes are light and fluffy.

Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon potatoes into casserole. Bake immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour reserved milk mixture over the potatoes. Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are hot. Just before serving, stir potatoes.

Chicken Breasts with Bacon

Okay, there is nothing low fat about this, but it is really good. If you are doing Atkins' diet, it would work great. You could make it lower fat and I'll give tips for that. This is an easy and quick dish but is impressive served. It makes a BUNCH, so you could half this recipe and have plenty for a large family for one meal. As a note, this can be made ahead and refrigerated until time to bake.

Ingredients

12 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 eight oz. package of cream cheese (you can use the 1/3 fat version)
10-12 green onions chopped fine
A couple of dashes of garlic powder to taste
24 slices of bacon (you could use center cut bacon or probably even turkey bacon)
12 - 24 toothpicks

Preheat oven to 350. Combine softened cream cheese (you can soften in the microwave for a few seconds), onions, and garlic powder. Form into 12 walnut sized balls. Wrap half a chicken breast around each cream cheese ball. Then wrap 2 slices of bacon around the chicken, covering as much of the chicken as possible. Secure with toothpicks, which can be removed before serving. Tip: Do this whole process one at a time. Wrap the chicken around the cream cheese ball and then wrap the bacon and toothpick it right away. Bake uncovered for an hour or until the chicken is tender. The original recipe says that this serves SIX! But, that would be if your family or guests ate TWO each. So, use your judgment about how much your guests will eat and how many this will serve.