Mexican Breakfast Scramble

This delicious dish here consists of a bunch of random stuff we needed to use up before it went bad (and also to clear some room in our fridge for more stuff that we will ultimately use to create more recipes like this one day). This is nothing but a couple scrambled eggs, some corn, black beans, shredded cheddar, chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, and cilantro. A mexican morning mixup if you will. I like that…. perhaps that’ll become a series one day… showcasing all the various breakfast dishes we can create with our leftover mexican ingredients we have on hand. Anywho – this turned out great, and was packed with enough protein to keep us full for most of the day! Thank you eggs, beans, and cheese.

Garden Gumbo

This meal is basically just a big mash up of all sorts of fresh veggies we got from the farmer’s market. Though I was  really craving a cajuny gumbo type flavor (maybe it was the okra?), so we decided to basically make a gumbo, sans sausage and seafood. We used a few different kinds of peppers, okra, celery, carrot, onion, and James cooked up a real zesty brown sauce with your typical cajun spices. We served it over some rice, and since it was more veggie than saucy, it almost seemed like a ‘gumbo stir fry.’ Either way, it tasted good and satisfied my craving, but I don’t think anything compares to the added Nawlins flavor you get from that andouille sausage. Check out previous posts “Red Beans & Rice with Andouille Sausage” and “Cajun Gumbo” for our take on that. This meal does go to show that you can do just about anything with a bunch of veggies, even if there’s a particular flavor you’re craving… it’s just a matter of combining the right spices and knowing the flavors your veggies will produce when cooked with them.

Orange Zest French Toast with Fresh Squeezed OJ

We certainly love a good breakfast on the weekends and this one certainly did not disappoint. We had a few oranges on hand so we decided to juice them for some fresh OJ (oh my it was so sweet and slightly tart…. the best). Then we decided to make something we really don’t make that often (hmm.. not sure if we ever have made this together or not actually!) – french toast. THEN we decided to really kick that french toast up a notch and incorporate some of the orange flavor that we were so enjoying in our freshly juiced Jefferson cups. So instead of using milk when making the batter for the french toast, James used orange juice. Then he added a little of the orange zest (peel) as well. It came out REALLY tasty… pretty moist, maybe too moist for those who prefer a sturdier french toast, but it was definitely packed with that fresh orange flavor. What you see on top is a mashed banana cooked in a pan with a little butter and cinnamon… for some added sweetness and substance. Not that it needed it, but we did drizzle a little maple syrup over – which definitely brought all the flavors together in each bite. Served with a cup of melon, peach, and coffee, this orangey morning was a real winner. Maybe next time we’ll try other fruits and flavors in our toast…..

Huevos Rancheros with Pulled Pork

As promised, here is what we made with the leftover pork shoulder our friends sent us home with after the first VT football game of this season (see previous post “Football Season! (Tailgating Snacks).” We woke up this particular Sunday morning and I almost immediately knew what we were going to have for breakfast…. huevos rancheros! This Mexican breakfast dish is one of our favorites when we brunch (so cool right?)… along with shrimp n’ grits, biscuits & gravy, skillets, omelets, ok most anything…. when did brunch become one of the best food groups by the way?! Answer: probably sometime in those transitional years right after graduating from college, trying so hard to make it as an adult but not really wanting to be an adult. ANYWAY, here we had ourselves a delicious, zippy homemade brunch favorite on our hands…. scrambled (local) eggs, cheddar, amazingly seasoned pork shoulder that our friends smoked the day before, black beans, cilantro, salsa and a few tortilla chips to add some crunch and scoop it all up with. It was extremely tasty and really set our Sunday off on the right foot. Never underestimate what you can concoct with a little leftovers and some other everyday ingredients you may have on hand!