Sunday, January 10, 2010

Beautiful Brunch

In our continued quest to eat down the contents of our fridge, freezer and pantry, we were challenged to be resourceful in making our brunch this weekend.  As a result, the husband came up with the most inspired and delicious recipe.  He also gets "Triple Cupboards Points" for using elements from all of our various stashes.
From the fridge:
Eggs
Corn Tortillas (leftover from taco night)
Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream (leftover from family chili dinners)
Salsa
From the pantry:
Black beans
Southwestern spice mix
Onion
From the freezer:
Bacon Ends
This all came together to form:

Huevos Rancheros de Casa SMJ
Ingredients
1 tablesoon of olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 lb. or 4 or 5 strips of bacon, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 tablespoons of southwestern spice mix (either mix 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1 tbsp. chile powder and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, or use a store-bought southwestern spice blend or a taco seasoning pack)
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon hot sauce
4 eggs
4 soft corn tortillas
~1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Hot sauce, salsa and sour cream to garnish
Directions 

1) Prepare the beans: heat the olive oil, and saute onion and bacon together over medium-low heat until the onions are clear. Add black beans and the spice mix, and enough water to halfway cover the beans.  Add the tomato paste, vinegar and hot sauce.  Stir well, and allow to simmer and reduce to desired consistency (we like ours kinda thick and goopy).  Adjust seasonings to taste.

2) Poach or fry the eggs.  We have an egg poacher pan with 4 cups which makes it easy to poach eggs, and that is my favorite way to have them.  However, over-easy or sunny-side-up would also work well with this recipe.
3) Warm the corn tortillas for a few minutes in a low oven or toaster oven.
4) To plate: place on tortilla on the plate, sprinkle with cheese, spread generously with beans.  Place another tortilla on top and repeat.  Top with two eggs, sprinkle with cheese and add hot sauce, salsa and sour cream to taste.  This would also be fabulous with some chopped cilantro or cubed avocado, but that was not part of Operation Clean Out the Fridge/Pantry.  Maybe next time.
This recipe serves 2.
Enjoy! 

2 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious, and looks beautiful too!

    SMJ, as I ate a delicious salad for lunch today, I thought of you and your always yummy salads you used to bring to work. Perhaps you can share some of your creative salad recipes for a more health-conscious 2010?

    My salad recipe from today:
    Blanched cauliflower & green bean pieces
    Lightly sauteed tofu, leeks, and mushrooms
    On a bed of lettuce
    Topped with chopped candied ginger and a homemade dressing of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, & honey.

    *the only thing I would change is the dressing. The sesame oil was a little overbearing, I think. Any suggestions?

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  2. That's an awesome idea, Kel. I will totally do a work salad post... they are my art form! :)
    Sesame oil can definitely be a little strong on a salad... you probably don't need to use more than a scant teaspoon in a batch of dressing that has a 1/3 cup of vinegar and a 1/4 of soy sauce, if that gives you a sense of proportion. I bet you just used a little too much. Some freshly grated ginger would be awesome in there as well.

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