Easy Breakfast Skillet

I've been terrible at keeping up with this blog lately and I apologize.  I've been working a lot and any time I get any free time, I have to do laundry, clean, or go to a practice for either tennis, softball, or soccer.  I typically don't get home from any of my activities or job until after 7 and by that time, it's dark and there's no point taking pictures of food because they look like crap.  Josh has also been gone a lot this month so being alone, I don't feel like cooking nice meals anyway. 

I managed to cook a decent breakfast one day when I didn't go in to work so early last week.  It's one of my easy favorites that I usually make when I have a bunch of veggies about to go bad or just lying around because it's very forgiving as far as ingredients go.

This is how I made mine: 2 servings, 30 min

2 tbs olive oil
3-4 decent-sized red potatoes, chopped into 1/2" cubes
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/4 yellow bell pepper, chopped (or about 1 small red bell pepper if you don't have the others)
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
5-7 slices low-sodium turkey bacon, chopped (optional)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs (optional)

 

Start by whipping out your cast iron skillet (that's why it's called a "breakfast skillet") and heating the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and potatoes and let them cook until the onions are juuuuuust starting to get translucent.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop your peppers.  When the skillet contents are ready, add the peppers and give it a stir.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the mix and let cook another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the potatoes get cooked evenly and nothing is getting burnt to the bottom of the pan.

When the potatoes are almost completely tender, add the garlic, bacon, parsley, and cumin.  Stir to combine and let cook until the garlic is very fragrant and the potatoes are soft.  If you want, you can use regular bacon but add it to the pan at the beginning with the onions and potatoes and only use 1 tbs oil.  It's quite a bit greasier than my bacon so it'll lube the pan up all by itself once the fat renders out.

Oh goodness, smell that garlic!  Add a touch more salt if you think it's necessary.  You must taste throughout the process to get the right flavors!

While your skillet is finishing up, get a pot of salted water boiling.

I have these cute little egg poachers from my personal Heaven, Crate and Barrel.  I've tried many times to poach eggs the old-fashioned way but it's very difficult to get right without having boiled egg ribbons all over your pot so go ahead and spend the $4 to get one.  It's totally worth it.

Boil the eggs until the whites are almost completely opaque.  I found myself needing to use a spoon to flip the egg over in its little cup to properly cook the top.

What you end up with is a relatively quick, healthy, hearty breakfast that will keep you full well past when you think you should be eating lunch.  That's always a plus for me.  Cereal or smoothies sometimes just don't do it and I'm hungry an hour later.

Not so in this case.

The egg puts that perfect finishing touch on this dish.  When you split it open and the gooey yolk spills out over the potatoes and veggies, it adds this wonderful softness and creaminess to an otherwise rather business-like meal.  You can easily make this dish vegetarian by leaving out the bacon and egg, but what's life without bacon?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

Tomato Basil Omelette

I started making this in Oklahoma City when I developed my taste for tomatoes.  I never really used to like them and I still don't like them raw on sandwiches but I love them in salsas or cooked into anything, really.  Oklahoma City is also when I started putting fresh basil in everything too.  The freshness it adds to your food is amazing and it goes perfect with tomatoes.

This makes 2 servings and takes about 30 minutes start to finish.  You can leave out the mushrooms and jalapeno if you want.  I just like to mix it up and I had them lying around.

4 large eggs
1/2 c egg whites
Squirt of cooking spray
1 tbs olive oil
1 small onion, diced (I like sweet yellow ones)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/3 c mushrooms, about 4, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
small bunch of fresh basil, about 5 big leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Start by heating the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and jalapeno and season with salt and pepper.

When the onions start to soften after about 4 minutes, add the mushrooms and garlic.  Saute until fragrant.

When you start to smell the lovely aroma of the garlic, add the tomatoes and basil and turn the heat down to low.  Stir it every minute or two.

While the filling flavors are slowly melding together, whisk the eggs and egg whites together in a bowl.

Heat a small skillet over high heat and spray it with cooking spray.  Pour in half the egg mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Let the egg cook a little and then start gently pushing in the edges with a spatula.  Tip the skillet from side to side to get all the raw egg onto the cooking surface.

When the top is no longer wet, gently slide the egg to the front edge by tipping the skillet forward.  Quickly flick your wrist back to flip the egg over back toward you.  You can use the spatula to flip it but I used to work the omelette line at a restaurant so I don't need no stinkin' spatula.

Let the egg cook on the other side for just a few seconds and then transfer it to a plate.

Spoon the filling onto the bottom egg layer.

Repeat the egg steps with the other half of the egg mixture and put it on top.

Cut it into slices and serve.  If you're just making one serving or are short on time, you can just make one egg layer and fold it over the filling like a traditional omelette.  This makes a great, healthy, filling breakfast that's definitely worth the time.

294 calories, 16 g fat, 730 mg sodium, 21 g protein per serving   (All the fat is in the egg yolks so you can do all egg white if you want.)