Build-Your-Own Breakfast Burrito Bar with Fresh Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Looking for a main dish to serve with the H-100's you have totally mastered?

How about something that is hearty, simple and can be made en masse? That's right, friends, it is time for breakfast burritos! More specifically, a make-your-own breakfast burrito bar.

Half of the fun of taco nights, after all, is custom-creating your own spectacular plate and crafting it to your liking. So why not apply this logic to breakfast burritos?

These are also kicked up a notch with the offering of homemade salsa verde. The most fascinating part of this salsa recipe... the entire pot took 80 cents worth of ingredients. EIGHTY CENTS! The tomatillos are extremely inexpensive at a Mexican market, although you can also find at most major grocery stores. Ryan started making this a year ago, and now we almost always have some in the freezer.

So lets' dive right in - how do we make this help-yourself masterpiece?

Let's start with the salsa verde. This can be made far in advance, and, indeed, freezes splendidly.

The star of this show is the tomatillo - this is also known as a "Mexican husk fruit" and the taste is reminiscent of a tomato crossed with a pepper. This is a big time staple in Mexican cuisine. Wash these guys to get started.

Chop up one onion, approximately half a cup of cilantro, three cloves of garlic and one serrano pepper.

Grab your trusty oregano and cumin.

Get your whole salsa verde family together...

...and throw them in a pot. A dutch oven is great here as it provides consistent heat but, if you don't have one handy, any pot will do (just be sure to keep your eye on the heat). Turn your stove on medium heat and, once at a boil, simmer for about 10 minutes.

Once the tomatoillos are soft,  blend together using an immersion blender OR ladle one scoop at a time into a blender and pulse until smooth.

The texture should be as such. Allow to cool, then pop into the fridge to chill. After about 20 minutes, it is ready to serve!

Now wasn't that easy? Plus, you have to remember... EIGHTY CENTS A POT! Have I over-emphasized that? Nonetheless.

Shopping note: I always found an immersion blender to be at the tipping point of expensive-to-the-point-of-not-being-worth-it, coming in at about $30-$40 each. Not a lot overall, but not something you use every day either. Then I started making salsas and soups. If this is a favorite of yours, I recommend purchasing. If for nothing else, it was worth it so I could quit scalding myself while transferring things to a blender.

This salsa can be used for dishes, great and small. Pour over a citrus-marinaded chicken for a quick sauce, or served with fish for a hint of heat. Naturally, it is also great with chips as a dip. Today, however, is the day we pair it with breakfast burritos.

These burritos are featuring pepper-rubbed bacon, onion, orange bell pepper and eggs tenderly scrambled together, lovingly served with your fresh salsa verde and shredded pepper Jack and cheddar cheese.

The recipe below is easily modfied to include or omit any ingredient based on your preference. Hate peppers, but love tomatoes? Swap the latter in for the former. Vegetarian? Swap in Soyrizo instead.

So let's go!

Start with your bacon. We used pepper-rubbed, available at many grocery stores, but plain bacon will work just as well. To get your bacon uniformly flat and crisp, cook on a baking sheet. We used a rack in our pan so the fat drains off.

While the bacon is cooking, dice up an onion and your orange bell pepper. Be sure to remove the vein in the pepper, to avoid the bitter taste.

Grate your cheese and put in the dish you will serve it in. Cover and chill in the fridge so it doesn't get melty.

Your bacon is ready when the dog starts staring at the kitchen like this.

...or when it the bacon looks like this. It should be brown all around with crispy edges.

Delicious, delicious, crisp edges.

Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and allow to cool slightly. Once cooled, chop into pieces.

Yes, these guys will get along royally. Add a little bit of butter to a nonstick skillet and cook the onions and peppers. They are ready once they are soft. Be sure to forget to take a picture of this...

Once the vegetables are cooked, toss in the bacon and 6 eggs, whisked  together in a bowl with a little milk and seasoned with salt and pepper (or cajun seasoning if the mood strikes you).

The best egg technique I received is from my friend Yolanda, who never stops moving her eggs around the hot pan. By not keeping the eggs on the heat for too long, they won't get brown or tough. The result is a more tender, even-tasting scramble.

The eggs are ready when it is no longer runny. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.

Serve with a stack of tortillas, warmed in the oven.

Along with your amazing salsa verde, feel free to add any other salsas or sauces you like.

Add the eggs to your brunch spread along with a potato side, such as H-100's (Tater Tots), and enjoy!

Breakfast Burritos with Eggs, Bacon, Onion and Peppers

7 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup pepper Jack cheese, grated
6 eggs
1 tbsp milk (approximately)
Cajun seasoning (if desired)
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp butter, for the pan
12 medium flour tortillas, for serving.

Preheat oven to 425°.

On a cookie sheet, lay out the bacon. Cook until crisp, approximately 20 minutes. I find that every oven is a little different when it comes to bacon, so this should be based on doneness rather than time in oven.

While cooking, chop the onion and orange bell pepper and set aside. Grate the cheeses, place in a serving dish, cover and chill in fridge until ready to serve.

Remove bacon from oven, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and allow to cool slightly. Chop and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Start with 1 tbsp milk, and add more if you like yours creamier. Add cajun seasoning, if desired, and salt and pepper to taste. If using cajun seasoning, be sure to use less salt, as it is often salted already.

Timing Note: Now is a good time to toss your tortillas in an oven to warm them up. Use the dish you intend to serve them in, ensuring it is over-safe. Wrap in a clean dish towel.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers, and sauté until soft, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Lightly salt and pepper (more is coming in the eggs). Add bacon and stir. Add egg mixture and softly move around the pan with your spatula. Keep moving the eggs slowly, and remove once it is no longer runny.

Transfer to a serving dish and set out with the salsa verde, grated cheese and tortillas (warm from the oven). Enjoy!

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa Verde

adapted from AllRecipes.com

1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano chile pepper, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt, to taste
2 cups water

Timing Note: This salsa is best if allowed to chill in the fridge. Plan for an extra 30 minutes before serving to account for cooling down and chilling.

In a Dutch oven (or large pot), combine all ingredients and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately 10 minutes, or until the tomatillos are soft. Remove from heat, and blend until smooth using an immersion blender. If you do not have an immersion blender, ladle one scoop at a time into a blender and pulse.

Set aside to cool slightly, about 10 minutes, then allow to chill for about 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Homemade H-100's (aka: Best Tater Tots Ever) with Garlic Aioli

I love making brunch. It is a great reason to get up early and jump right into the kitchen, setting to work making universally loved dishes (looking at you, bacon). It is also, really, the most convenient time to have friends over - you get the morning to cook and clean pre-party (read: shove all of your unfolded laundry into the closet) and the evening to clean up post-party (read: declare that you now will finally fold aforementioned laundry, but really just eat leftovers).

So, what are some elements of brunch that makes the meal so dang appealing? Some options:

1. It feels luxurious. Saying you are "brunching" feels deliciously upper-crust.
2. If you are combining breakfast and lunch, you have every excuse to eat two meals' worth of food.
3. Drinking in the morning. Just sayin', mimosas are amazing.
4. You have a loose framework to follow - unlike a dinner party where you feel the need to 'wow' with new, clever dishes, everyone has a general idea of what to expect for brunch. There will probably be eggs, some form of bread/pastry and, God willing, pork breakfast meat.
5. Despite said expectations, it is super fun to play with breakfast food conventions to create something special. Love breakfast burritos? Make breakfast tacos! Minds will be blown!
6. It is super easy to make vegetarian options for non-meat-eating friends.
7. It is inexpensive. Flour and eggs will likely be the bulk of your ingredients, and it's hard to get much cheaper.
8. What you don't eat can often be frozen and re-heated for future brunches. Baked goods such as muffins, biscuits and scones are fantastic for this, and, SPOILERS, potato dishes...

Gratuitous bacon shot. Delicious with H-100's (and everything).

In anticipation of this upcoming football season, Ryan and I have decided to host a standing brunch for anyone who feels like swinging by. No RSVPs are required, which means we are trying out dishes that can scale from as a few as six people to as many as forty.

This is a cooking challenge I am SUPER excited for, as it stimulates the producer-ly planning part of my brain combined with the fun of binge cooking comfort food. The items have to be easy to make and ideally easily frozen if there is a small turnout. Above all, they should be crowd-pleasers.

...and what is a bigger crowd-pleaser than enormous, cheesy, Tater Tots?

Specifically, H-100s from Alhambra's heavy metal-themed burger joint, Grill 'Em All. These babies are packed full of garlic and cheese, then fried in a seasoned panko breading and served with a garlic aioli. For crying out loud. They also have burgers that will make your taste buds explode with pleasure, but that is a different story (:cough: Vampiro burg).

Now are you ready for information you can't un-learn?

Tater tots, including these suped-up heavy metal potato beasts, are totally simple to make at home. That's right, you could eat these every night. Every. Freaking. Night. (Disclaimer: You probably shouldn't do this.)

Not only are they delicious, but they are also a great item to cook at a party because, if you run late, you can have your friends help with the forming of the tots and/or breading.

So who wants to learn how to make some H-100's???

Start with three large potatoes.

Drop them into a pot of lukewarm water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until the potatoes easily split with a fork.

While the potatoes cook, grate 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese and 1 cup pepper Jack cheese. Be sure to grate extra snacking cheese, if you are anything like me.

Mince 8 cloves of garlic either by hand, or with your nifty garlic mincer. 5 cloves will be for the potatoes, and 2 for the aioli.

Combine garlic and cheese in a bowl and set aside. Try not to eat.

See this tater? It is fully cooked, as evidenced by the clean split.

Let the potatoes cool and peel the skins.

Grate the potatoes on the large side of a box grater.

Combine with heavenly cheese mixture, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Shape into cylinders, approximately an 1 1/2" high, and 1/2" wide. It should fit nicely into the palm of your blurry hand.

Line up your little soldiers on baking sheet and pop into the fridge to chill. While chilling, start preparing the aioli.

Add 2 coves of minced garlic, 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp fennel seeds to a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk, baby, whisk.

Once combined, pour into serving bowl and chill in refrigerator. Set out about fifteen minutes before you are ready to serve the H-100's so that it has time to reach room temperature.

Back to the Tots. Set up a breading station comprised of flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs.

The panko should look like this - heavily seasoned with paprika, salt and pepper.

Remove your H-100's from the fridge and toss in flour. I find it helpful to do the flour in one batch...

...and egg wash and breadcrumbs in a second batch. The latter is super gooey, so it helps keep things streamlined. This is a great time to have a friend step in and help you, if you are working on other dishes.

Look at all the tasty seasonings on this - this is why seasoning the breadcrumbs is so deliciously important.

Pour an inch of canola oil into a skillet (or other frying vessel) and heat over medium-high heat. When it is to temp (when water sizzles when sprinkled onto the surface), carefully drop in the H-100's with a spoon. Look at 'em bubble. 

Check after about 40 seconds to see if the bottom is brown - it will happen quickly. Once golden, flip and let the other side cook.

Remove from oil and set aside on either a cooling rack or a plate lined with a paper towel.

Place into your favorite serving dish, uncover the aioli and enjoy!

There you have it! What is your favorite potato side dish?

H-100's (Cheesy Tater Tots)

Adapted from Les Petites Gourmettes

Serves 6 with ample portions, 8 for moderate portions.

3 large potatoes (I used Russet)

5 cloves of garlic, minced (if making the Garlic Aioli, can mince all in one go)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup pepper Jack cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups flour, for dredging

2 eggs plus 2 tbsp water, for dredging

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1 tbsp smoked paprika

Salt

Pepper

Timing note: When making these, be sure to leave about 15 minutes for the potatoes to cool post-boiling. When you peel and grate them, you really don't want them to burn your hands. I learnt this the hard, impatient way.

Start by placing your potatoes in a pot and bringing them to a boil. Once at a rolling boil, cook for 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, grate your cheese using the large side of a box grater and mince your garlic. Toss into a big bowl and set aside.

After 20 minutes, pierce the potato with a fork - it should split the potato, or at least slide right in. You are checking to make sure it isn't hard and undercooked. Once cooked, set aside to cool.

[At this stage, it is handy to make the aioli. See below.]

Once your potatoes are cooled, peel the skins off and grate the potato using the same large side of a box grater. Add to bowl with the cheese and garlic, add salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine. 

Use your hands to shape the potato mixture into Tater Tot-shaped balls, setting them down on a baking sheet once formed. Aim for about 1 1/2" high and 1/2" wide. Once they are all formed, place the baking sheet in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill and solidify slightly.

While chilling, prepare your dredging station with flour, egg wash and bread crumbs. For the egg wash, combine the eggs and water in a bowl and whisk heartily with a fork until smoothly blended. For the bread crumbs, combine the panko with paprika, as well as salt and pepper to taste. I love paprika, so I add an ample amount.

Place a cast iron skillet (or any frying vessel) over medium-high heat and fill with 1 inch of canola oil. The oil is ready to go if it sizzles when sprinkled with water. Remove the H-100's from refrigerator and gently lower 5-6 into the oil using a spoon. They will sizzle and quickly turn golden brown.

Check regularly and flip when the underside is brown, about 40 seconds. Flip and cook the other side, then remove and set aside on a cooling rack, or a plate lined with a paper towel. Continue until all tots are cooled.

Serve warm, and enjoy the heck out of them!

If Freezing: Let cool, and place into a freezer bag in one layer. To reheat, place in a 350° oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until warmed through.

Garlic Aioli

Adapted from Les Petites Gourmettes

Note: The original recipe calls for malt vinegar and tarragon, which I am sure is lovely. I didn't have any around, so I adapted to the below.

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp fennel seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to the bowl you wish to serve it in, and whisk. Allow to chill for at least 15 minutes. If your sauce seems too thick, whisk in 1/2 tsp more vinegar at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.