Breakfast Entrees

Contributed by: Nimesh Tripathi, Waubonsee Community Member

History of Recipe: When my wife and I got married she was always trying to get me to eat food from her childhood. As I am vegetarian, my wife worked very hard to find and adapt her favorite foods so I could eat them with her. This recipe is from: https://www.feastingathome.com/chilaquiles/#tasty-recipes-32702

prep time: 10 minutes

cook time: 10 minutes

serves: 4 to 6 servings

Things You Need

1 cup fresh salsa -red or green (store-bought)

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (we use vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 cup can black beans, rinsed, drained or sub shredded chicken

1 cup frozen corn or other cooked veggies (like roasted bell peppers, spinach, cooked zucchini- see notes)

6–8 cups organic corn chips (or 10–12 corn tortillas, see notes)

1/2 crumbled queso fresco cheese ( or sub other melty cheese, or vegan cheese)

Garnishes:

sliced scallions

radishes

cilantro

pepitas (Pumpkin seeds)

pickled onions

avocado

hot sauce

sour cream

bean sprouts

sunny side up eggs (we prefer to have ours over medium)

Here’s How

1.) If using corn tortillas, heat oven to 300 F. (Easiest to make these ahead) Spray or brush tortillas lightly with olive oil ( on the top side only) and sprinkle with salt and bake the rack or on a sheet pan until crisp. About 25-30 minutes, turn heat off and let cool. Break them into quarters. NOTE: Fastest way is to use store bought corn chips.

2.) Pre-heat oven to broil or 400F

3.) Lightly grease the bottom and edges of a 10 inch skillet with oil, place over medium-high heat and add the salsa, broth and cumin and bring to a simmer. Add the black beans and corn or other substitutions, stirring until hot. If using tortillas instead of chips, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the tortilla chips and stir to lightly coat each side, about 2-3 minutes, lowering heat to low.

4.) Add the crumbled cheese, turn heat off and place in the warm oven and melt the cheese. This will have a “casserole” consistency.

5.) Prep your garnishes. Garnish with the scallions and cilantro. Top with sliced or grated radishes and avocado. Add pickled onions or pepitas if you like. Serve with lime wedges, hot sauce and sour cream if you like or top with a fried egg! (sunny side up is nice).

Helpful Notes

Instead of black beans or corn or try other cooked veggies like roasted sweet potatoes (diced), or sauteed or roasted bell pepper or even roasted zucchini. In summer, grilled veggies are nice here too! Or stir in big handful of chopped baby spinach to the salsa-broth. Or add frozen cooked veggies to the broth. Use what you have.

To give this more heat or smoky quality, add a little ground chipotle powder to the simmering salsa-broth.

To add extra richness to this dish, you could also add a 1/2 cup cream or half & half to the salsa broth.

Feel free to add shredded chicken which is traditional or add cooked turkey chorizo.

Leftovers can be reheated in the oven.

If made with store bought corn chips – this can be made in 20 minutes flat!

Contributed by: Nimesh Tripathi, Waubonsee Community Member

History of Recipe: When my wife and I got married she was always trying to get me to eat food from her childhood. As I am vegetarian, my wife worked very hard to find and adapt her favorite foods so I could eat them with her. This recipe is from: https://www.carolinescooking.com/breakfast-burrito/

prep time: 5 minutes

cook time: 10 minutes

serves: 2 servings

Things You Need

1/2 onion small

1/4 bell pepper (red/yellow/orange)

1 tomato small, or 1/2 large tomato

1/2 tbsp oil

4 tbsp black beans

4 eggs, lightly beaten

4 tbsp shredded Mexican style cheese

6 stems cilantro, leaves chopped, discard stems

2 tortillas flour or corn

Optional toppings

Sour cream

avocado

hot sauce

extra cheese

Here’s How

1. Dice the onion, pepper and tomato fairly small.

2. Heat the oil in a skillet/frying pan or shallow pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for a couple minutes until softening.

3. Add the pepper and cook another minute or two then add the tomato. Reduce the heat a little if sticking or drying out.

4. Add the beans and mix through then add the eggs. Cook, stirring regularly, as if you are cooking scrambled eggs. Take off the heat just before they are fully cooked as they will continue to cook a bit after in the pan.

5. Meanwhile warm the tortillas gently (in microwave, under grill or in a skillet/frying pan) - if you forget don't worry it's not the end of the world.

6. Add the cheese and cilantro to the eggs and mix through then fill the two tortillas. Add any or all of your preferred toppings and serve immediately.

Helpful Notes

If using extra-large eggs then only use 3.

Contributed by: Unknown, Waubonsee Student

History of Recipe: A tamale is a traditional Mesoamerican dish, made of masa or dough, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Street vendors can be found selling them morning, noon and night across the country, although they are most popular as a breakfast food. This recipe is from: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/mexican-tamales/ .

prep time: 25 minutes

cook time: 20 minutes

serves: 24 tamales

Things You Need

For the Dough:

• 4 cups Masa Harina (Maseca brand if available)

• 3 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable broth)

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 1/3 cups lard s(if vegetarian substitute 1 1/3 cups olive oil)

• 8 ounce package dried corn husks

Filling ideas:

• Red chili pork

  • Salsa verde chicken See notes for recipe

• bean and cheese See notes for recipe

• Authentic Mexican Rice , for serving, optional

Here’s How

1. Soak the corn husks in a bowl of very hot water for 30 minutes or until softened.

2. Prepare desired fillings. (See Notes)

3. Make the masa dough: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the lard and 2 tablespoons of broth until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Combine the masa flour, baking powder, salt, and cumin in a separate bowl; stir into the lard mixture and beat well with an electric mixer.

4. Add the broth, little by little to form a very soft dough. Beat on high speed for several minutes. The dough should spread like creamy peanut butter and be slightly sticky.* Cover the mixing bowl with a damp paper towel, to keep the dough from drying out.

5. Assemble the tamales: Lay a corn husk, glossy side up, on the counter with the wide end at the top. Scoop about ¼ cup of dough onto the top, center of the corn husk. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and use your hands to press and spread the masa into a thin layer, about 1/4 inch thick. Keep the dough spread along the top half of the corn husk to allow plenty of room to fold the bottom husk up, when it’s time.

6. Place 1-2 tablespoons of desired filling in a line down the center of the dough. (Youdon’t want too much filling).

7. Fold in one long side of the husk over the filling. Fold in the other long side, overlapping the first (like folding a brochure). Fold the bottom of the husk up.

8. Tying tamales (optional): You don’t have to tie a corn husk string around the tamales--it does take more time and they will hold together without it. However, if you’re making multiple fillings, tying ones of a certain kind can help to identify them.

9. Cook on the stove-top or Instant Pot: Add water to the bottom of your steamer or instant pot. (About 1 cup for IP and a few cups for a steamer pot—don’t fill above the steamer rack.) Lay a few extra corn husks on the bottom rack to keep the tamales from falling through and any boiling water from directly touching them.

10. Place tamales standing upright, with their open end up, just tightly enough to keep them standing. If using a steamer pot, lay a few soaked corn husks or a wet towel over the top of the tamales before closing the lid.

11. Steamer: Bring water to a boil (in Mexico they would often place a coin at the bottom of thesteamer and when the coin started to tap in the pot you know the water was boiling.) Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and steam for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check them after 45 minutes.

12. Instant Pot: Cook on Manual/High Pressure for 25 minutes. Allow pressure to naturallyrelease for 10 minutes, and then quick release.

13. To test if the tamales are done: Remove one and try to pull the husk off. If the husk pulls away cleanly from the tamale they're done. If the dough is still sticky or wet looking, cook them for 5-10 minutes longer and try again.

14. Store leftover tamales in the refrigerator for 5-7 days depending on the freshness of your ingredients.

Helpful Notes

To test the masa dough. You can test if the masa tamale dough is ready by placing a tiny ball of dough into a glass of water — If the dough floats, it’s ready. If the dough sinks to the bottom of the glass then beat it for longer and add a little more broth. Test again.

Tamale Filling Suggestions: You’ll need about 3 ½-4 cups of filling for one batch of tamale dough.

• Salsa verde chicken: 3 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken mixed with 16 ounce can salsa verde (I like Herdez brand)

• Bean and cheese: 15 oz can refried beans and 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

• Red chili pork: recipe for red chili pork

Freezing Instructions: Allow the cooked tamales to cool, then place them in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Reheating: Wrap leftover or frozen tamales in a few dampened paper towels and microwave until warmed through. The wet paper towels will help them "steam" as they are reheated. Be careful when unfolding them--they will be hot!

Contributed by: Unknown, Waubonsee Community Member

History of Recipe: unknown

prep time: 15 minutes

refrigerate: 8+ hours (optional)

cook time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

serves: 8 -10 servings

Things You Need

• 1/2 onion, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 4-ounce can of green chilies

• 1 cup small curd cottage cheese

• 1-2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

• 10 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• 3 cups frozen diced potatoes with red and green peppers

Here’s How

1. Brown onion in butter. Mix all ingredients together and place in a greased 9x13 inch dish.

2. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (optional)

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, or until set.

4. Serve with salsa on the side.

Helpful Notes

This dish can be made in one skillet to save extra clean-up. Brown the onions in an oven safe skillet. Mix everything together in the skillet and bake.