Make-Ahead Freezer Breakfast Burritos

Heavily adapted from Bits of Everything.

These bad boys pack some legit stats: 262 calories, 4 g of fat, 7 g of fiber, only 10 mg of cholesterol, and 16 g of protein. THAT is BREAKFAST, bitches. 

Ingredients:

• 8 large flour tortillas (I used La Banderita large soft taco tortillas)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 a white onion, diced
• cooking spray
• 1 tube (14 oz) Gimme Lean sausage
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup shredded queso blanco (drop or sub the cheese to make me vegan!)
• 2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes

Directions:

These are pretty easy, especially compared to my usual ridiculousness. You'll need one big skillet, some paper towels, and some freezer bags. 

1. Cut the tube of sausage into discs. It's MUCH easier to do this with the wrapper on. Just use a serrated knife to get through the plastic packaging. Remember to remove the plastic before you cook it (or don't, I don't care really).

2. Heat the skillet over medium heat and give it a generous spray of cooking spray. Cook the sausage discs until browned, then flip and cook the other side. Set them on paper towels to cool. 

3. Using the same skillet, add more cooking spray and saute the onions and peppers until translucent. Season with salt, pepper, smoked paprka, and crushed red pepper.  These bastards are SPICY. You may want to take it down a bit if you're not into spice. Add the hash brown potatoes, stir well, and cook until the potatoes are done, about 5 minutes. 

 
4. Dice the cooled sausage into little pieces. Add it to the pepper/potato mix and transfer the whole thing to your assembly area. 

5. Scoop 3-4 large spoonfuls of filling into each tortilla. Top with some cheese and roll 'er up. If you're unfamiliar with how to fold a burrito so that it doesn't bust open and go everywhere, here's the idea:

a. Put your filling in a line toward one edge of the tortilla.

b. Fold the sides in, and then the back edge closest to the filling.

c. Wrap that edge all the way over the filling and tuck it underneath.

d. Fold the sides in again and continue rolling until you're finished. 

6. Fold a paper towl in half and wrap the burrito in it. Place the burritos in freezer bags and you're in business. When you're ready to eat them, just heat for a minute in the microwave, flip it and go for another 30 seconds on the other side, and jam it in your face.  

Original post here.

Cranberry Avocado Muffins with Toasted Walnuts

 Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 lemon, zested with fruit reserved
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 12 muffin tin liners (you're going to want these, trust me)

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Place your chopped, dried cranberries into a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. 

3. Next, toast your walnuts. Place them in a skillet over medium heat, stirring every minute or so. When they get nice and brown and fragrant, they're done. Keep an eye on them - if you have the heat too high or don't stir often enough, they'll burn and get bitter. And then you'll get annoyed and have to started over. Not that I'd know. Once they're toasted, set them aside to cool.

4. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon together in a fairly large bowl. In a second bowl, mash your avocado. My favorite method is a potato masher, since it's pretty easy and effective. 

5. Once the avocado is but a paste, add the other wet ingredients - milk, coconut oil, and egg. Also, take the fruit of the lemon left over from zesting and squeeze the juice into the bowl with the avocado. Stir until well combined. 

6. Add your wet ingredients into your flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Add the walnuts, cranberries, and lemon and stir as little as possible to get everything mixed together. 

7. Place your liners into a muffin tin. Now listen - if I were reading this and it called for muffin liners and I didn't have them, know what I'd say? F it. And then I would make these and put them into a lightly greased tin and think I was hot shit. And you know what I would end up with? A pile of muffin chunks and crumbs and the invention of at least 3 new swear words. These muffins are nice and moist, but they're also sticky, tricky bastards. Use the liners.

I hear you scoffing - DO WHAT I SAY. Or don't and eat your muffins in tiny chunks, I don't care. 

8. Fill each liner a little more than 3/4 full. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Now, the ingredients here mean that the inside will never really be dry, and that's okay. You may split them open and think they're not done, but they are. When you taste them, you'll see. 

9. One last thing - I have recently discovered the joy that is a grilled muffin. You need to do this - split a muffin and butter each side. Place, buttered-side down, in a skillet over medium-high heat. Smush it down a little to make sure as much of the buttered surface is touching the pan as possible. After 3-4 minutes, your muffin will have a hot, crunchy, buttered crust. It's the shit.

Makes 12 muffins. And possibly 3 cusswords. 

 

Original version here. 

Coconut Ginger Pancakes with Lime Butter

Ingredients:

Pancakes: 

• 2 c HeartSmart Bisquik OR homemade equivalent
• 2 tbsp egg whites OR 1 egg (NOTE: with egg replacer these become vegan)
• 1 1/3 c lite coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla powder (or 3 tsp of vanilla extract)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp vietnamese cinnamon (or 1 1/2 tsp regular cinnamon)

Lime Butter:

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance or butter, softened
• 2 tsp sugar
• zest from 1/2 a lime

Directions:

1. Start by making your butter. Mix softened butter, sugar, and lime zest. Set aside.

2. Next up - pancakes. Lightly mix dry ingredients. I used Vietnamese cinnamon and vanilla powder, but I offered substitutes since I know those are fairly bizarre ingredients. Vietnamese cinnamon is particularly strong, so I would suggest upping the cinnamon a bit if you use the regular type. Also - I didn't try these with vanilla extract, but the general rule is that 1 vanilla powder = 2 vanilla extract. I'd check it out for yourself though, maybe add a bit at a time. 

3. Add the egg white (or egg) and coconut milk. Stir until just mixed together. 

4. In a skillet, heat 1 tsp of coconut oil over medium heat. Once melted, add pancake batter in heaping tablespoons. Cook on one side until the batter begins to dry and bubble. 

5. Once they begin to bubble, flip and cook another 1-2 minutes. 

6.Remove from heat. Continue the pancakes in batches - for each one, melt a new teaspoon of coconut oil. Top with a thin layer of lime butter and serve. Makes about 18 small pancakes, serves 4. 

Original post here.