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Friday, January 25, 2013

Freeze Ahead Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast is challenging for me.  I don't care for most traditional breakfast foods, at least, not the quick and easy ones (cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, etc.).  Many are unhealthy (donuts, muffins, bagels/toast w/ butter & jam, toaster waffles, pop tarts, etc.) or take too long to prepare (omelets, fruit salad, etc).  I'd be happy with a sandwich or leftover Mexican food, but that's not practical or necessarily healthy either.  I often resort to fast food because it's cheap, quick and tasty--though very, very bad for me.  I particularly like breakfast sandwiches with bacon, but upon occasion I've been known to enjoy McDonald's sausage breakfast burritos.  These little burritos or small, cheesy and include eggs, peppers and sausage.  They're also only a dollar a piece (you'd probably want two, easily) and are approximately 300 calories apiece with 16 g of fat and 790 mg of sodium (so maybe you don't want two...).

I happen to know that all of the ingredients in these little burritos are easy to prepare, assemble and freeze beautifully (that means they reheat well, too).  So, I decided to make a batch of my own and freeze them for quick breakfasts.  I knew they would have fewer calories than McDonald's but I had no idea they would come out so good, be considerably lower in calories (and I'm sure fat & sodium, too but I didn't do the math on those elements) and be a larger, more satisfying portion (just one does it for me!).  

So here's how I did it and they came out to be, approximately 280 calories** (remember, they're bigger than McDonald's version, so the calories really are a lot less than theirs).  If you leave out the potatoes, which McDonald's version doesn't have and use non-fat cheese, which I always have on-hand for Cainan, then the calories go down to 220**, which means it's a breakfast even Cainan can partake in, upon occasion.



Ingredients:
6 whole eggs
10 egg whites (Wondering what to do with 10 egg yolks?  This site gives you some great ideas)
3 medium red potatoes, cooked* (optional)
1 cup of cooked sausage crumbles*
1/3 cup diced bell peppers*
16 slices of American cheese
16 10" flour tortillas


  • Combine the whole eggs and egg whites.  Beat until frothy.  Add beaten eggs to large skillet and scramble over medium heat until soft set.
  • Add sausage, bell peppers and cooked diced potatoes.*  Continue to cook until eggs are done and remaining ingredients are warmed through.  Remove from heat.

  • To assemble the burritos, warm the tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds until they are pliable.  On each tortilla, place a slice of American cheese and a 1/16th of the egg mixture.  Fold the tortilla into a burrito.  Wrap for the freezer.
 Step-by-Step

After I cooked the eggs until soft, I added the sausage, potatoes and peppers. I continued cooking until the eggs were done and everything was warmed through.

 

I assembled my burritos individually.  So I used a small pan to warm a tortilla and place a slice of cheese on it. I tore the cheese slice in half to make it fit better in the burrito. 


Next I piled on the filling.


I rolled up the filled tortilla into a burrito.

I prepared a sheet of wax paper and foil to wrap the burritos.

Once the burritos were wrapped, I labeled them so they don't disappear into the freezer void.

I placed the completed burritos in the freezer.

To reheat, I remove the foil and unroll the wax paper.  I place it on top of the wax paper in the microwave and heat for about a minute and 20 seconds.  The America cheese gets melty, like a cheese sauce; the tortilla is soft and pliable; and the fillings is warm and satisfying!


*For potatoes, sausage and peppers:

  • I used Jimmy Dean fully cooked frozen "Hearty Sausage Crumbles".  I used half the bag, which ends up being 4.8 oz or about a cup.  My calorie calculations are based on using this sausage.  


  • When bell peppers go on sale, I buy a bunch, dice them and stick them in the freezer.  They're great to add to eggs, pizzas and other recipes that call for diced peppers. 



**All calorie calculations are approximate.  I calculate calories by adding the total calories for each ingredient together and dividing by the number of servings the recipe makes.

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