The 25 Days of Holiday Goodies Day 23: Denver Omelet Burritos…Freezer Friendly!

Let me just start this post by stating for the record that breakfast burritos have always been a let down for me. I think it is the bland effect that scrambled egg gives the final product.

When I was pregnant with Muffin, in an effort to ensure I ate a good breakfast each day before work, Josh spearheaded the whipping up of several breakfast burritos for the freezer. Most stayed uneaten, though not for lack of trying.

I wish I had discovered this recipe back then. I could probably eat these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, freshly made or straight from the freezer.

They are that good.

The funny thing? I’ve never had a Denver Omelet before.

This recipe is easily adaptable. Not fond of the veggies in the mix (Muffin)? Leave them out. Require a little extra kick? Add several dashes of hot sauce before rolling up the burritos.

These are very large burritos, so, if you don’t have a “Chipotle Burrito” appetite, feel free to share this with someone you care about.

I just found this recipe when searching for make-ahead breakfasts for when my in-laws visited this past summer.

These truly do freeze and reheat well.

Denver Omelet Burritos

Source: Tablespoon

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 large onion, diced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

1 (16 ounce) package frozen hashbrowns

salt and pepper, to taste

cooking spray

12 eggs, beaten

8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

1 cup diced ham

8-10 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in vegetation and cook until tender (5 minutes).

Add in remaining butter and potatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, until potatoes are brown and soft (8 minutes). Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat a second large skillet over medium heat and spray liberally with cooking spray. Add in the eggs and scramble until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and ham. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Assemble the burritos by placing a heaping 1/3 cup each of the two mixtures. Roll burrito closed.

Repeat with remaining ingredients. You should be able to get at least 8 burritos.

These may be wrapped in foil, frozen, and reheated.

If you make ones that don’t have onions or peppers, these are Muffin Approved.

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A Catch-Up Post: Sour Cream Noodle Bake

That picture really doesn’t do it justice.  This recipe is a godsend in egg-noodle form.

(And I’m usually not a fan of egg noodles.)

A few things went wrong with this picture.  I had obviously already started eating.  Sometimes this happens before I can take a glamour shot of the dish.  To me, that makes it more authentic.  I can gussy it up (and I have before), but it shows me that I actually liked the dish enough to take a picture of it after having a bite.  Meaning that it was blog worthy.

The second problem is that this was during my time of using filters in Camu, so it really doesn’t look like that.  A bit more red and a bit less yellow, in fact.

I first saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman’s Food Network show.  She sets it up as a freezer meal, and the next time I make it I’m going to make two and freeze one.  It’s easy cheesy and peasy.  Well, not peasy, but peas of all kinds would go well with it.

She stresses the need to make it in separate layers, almost like a lasagna.  I have since seen it other places where they mix it all up in a big hodgepodge.

Even though it makes the process a bit more difficult, I have to agree with the layered, strata method.  So that you don’t ruin the effect, make sure to let your baked casserole sit for 10-15 minutes to “re-solidify” and be cut-able.  Otherwise, you end up with hodgepodge (see the picture above).

One aspect I love about this casserole (that Muffin, of course, does not) is the green onion.  The lovely little bits of green and white confetti really brighten up the flavor and make it not just another casserole.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Adapted from Pioneer Woman via Food Network

1 1/4 pounds ground meat (The chief deviation from her recipe:  I used ground turkey)

15-ounce can tomato sauce (or two 8-ounce cans if you can’t find it or already have the 8 ouncers in the pantry)

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper, freshly ground, of course

8 ounces egg noodles (half of a 16-ounce bag…see how it’s made for doubling and freezing one?)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cups small curd cottage cheese

1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, plus more for topping

1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded

*Note:  Ree Drummond recommends grating your own cheese.  It really gives a much better melting result (other than the negative effect of fingernail breaking).

Now, that I’ve grossed everyone out, I’ll continue with the directions.

If cooking immediately (AKA not freezing), preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the meat in a large skillet and drain meat.  (I’ve been known to forget this step and end up with an oil slick in some dishes…sorry.)  Add tomato sauce and stir.  Add salt and pepper and stir, leaving the skillet contents to simmer while you prepare the rest.

Boil noodles in salted water until al dente.  Don’t overcook or you will have mushy noodles in the casserole.  Drain and set aside (but don’t rinse).

Now for the white ingredients:  combine the dairy ingredients (sour cream and cottage cheese) in a large bowl.  Stir in green onions, pepper and pepper flakes.  Stir the noodles into the mixture.

Spray a large baking dish with nonstick spray.  (You will need a deep 9×13 dish or larger.)  Make a bed of half of the noodle mixture on the bottom.  Then layer on half of the mixture of meat and top with half of the cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Top with extra green onions.  (This makes it totally delish!)

Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, approximately 20 minutes if your other ingredients were warm (meat sauce, noodles).

WAIT at least 10 minutes before cutting into the dish.

Serve with warmed crusty French bread.

This recipe (once Muffin removed the green onions) was Muffin Approved!

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Meal Plan Monday: Hopefully More Closely

So…another week that didn’t work so well, meal-plan-wise.

Sickness and multiple appointments pretty much ruled the day, er, week.  Muffin has a sinus infection (nothing viral or in his ears or lungs…yay!), but he gets to get another robot tooth.  He had a check-up with his doctor.  My dad was in the hospital having a pacemaker put in.  Josh worked pretty much solidly the whole week.

Yeah, I didn’t feel like cooking (or eating) much.

This next week will be spent trying to cook ahead in mini-freezer cooking sessions in an attempt to ready things for the school year (like Muffin lunches, etc.).  It’s not as much about trying new things as it is filling the freezer.

Saturday:  Muffaletta casserole, green veg

Sunday:  meatloaf in the slow cooker (I’m going to risk it once more)

Monday:  red beans and rice (save leftovers)

Tuesday:  Chipotle copycat carnitas made with rice bowls/taco salads

Wednesday:  Josh is off, so he will prepare something yummy (possibly breakfast/pancakes for dinner)

Thursday:  leftover/Josh grill

Friday:  pizza rollups (freeze extra for Muffin’s lunches)

Saturday:  chili (freeze extras)

What are y’all planning this week?

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Please Don’t Heat Up the Kitchen New Recipe Challenge: Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pork

How many people believe I followed last night’s recipe correctly and word for word?  (Crickets chirping)  Good, everyone has learned that I seem incapable to follow most recipes in the challenge word for word.  The recipe in question is New Leaf Wellness’s Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken for the Freezer.  All I can say is ummm….and then mmmmmmmm…because it was yummy…even though I didn’t follow the recipe.

We are big fans of sweet and sour chicken and pork in our house.  And pineapple (Muffin has been known to eat most of a fresh pineapple in one sitting).  And he did like this recipe.  Josh and I agree that I probably should have added a slurry of cornstarch and water to the sauce to make it thicker and more unctuous.  But again, that’s all on me because I didn’t follow the recipe exactly.

First of all, I didn’t have the time or the patience first thing upon returning from buying and putting away groceries yesterday to prep a fresh pineapple (also Muffin would be hugely upset if I didn’t let him eat said pineapple by himself).  Second, I had already decided to use canned pineapple and had previously purchased the canned pineapple for the dish.

Second, I had the remaining pound of pork tenderloin tips from the pork tips over rice to use up before they went bad.  (And I prefer sweet and sour pork to chicken any day)  And I had a bell pepper and green onions that I needed to use up, and they were just crying to go in the slow cooker.  No, really, they were.  And they made all the difference.

So, follow along for fun with the original and see how I changed it.  Because I did.  A lot.

The beauty of this one, though, is that ‘Red could get in on the action, it’s a freezable slow cooker meal, and it’s a set-in-and-forget-it one.  You don’t have to babysit it.  However, if you use one like ‘Red, I would recommend being home all day (or at least in time to set it to warm at 6 hours…or use a digital model that automatically goes to warm after cooking is done).

Here…we…go!

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pork (for the freezer)

Adapted from New Leaf Wellness

1 pound pork loin (or tenderloin), cut into bite-sized pieces (or 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

28 ounces of canned diced or chunk pineapple (one large can and one small can), undrained

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 green onions, cut in half-inch diagonal cuts

one bell pepper, cut into half-inch chunks

slurry made with one tablespoon cornstarch and one tablespoon cold water

cooked white or brown rice

(If prepping for the freezer, place all ingredients except pork into gallon-sized zippy bag.  Plop the meat on top.  Remove as much air as possible from the freezer bag, seal, and place in freezer.  The night before cooking, move frozen bag to the fridge to thaw.  Then, the morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your slow cooker).

(If cooking immediately).  Mix the brown sugar, undrained pineapple, and soy sauce in the crock of your slow cooker.  Stir in meat and veggies.

Cover and cook on LOW for 3-6 hours, or until meat is cooked through and tender.  After that, pour the slurry into the slow cooker, stir, and turn the heat up to HIGH long enough for the mixture to bubble and the sauce to thicken.  Serve over rice.

What is your fave slow cooker freezer meal?

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