Breakfast Burritos

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I've been having slight maternal guilt about not making my kids a hot breakfast in the mornings. But breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day, so all my energy is not wasted on the many variations of bacon and eggs. But I do feel like I should switch up the cold cereal routine a little. My hubby generally cooks the kids a hot breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings, easing the guilt somewhat, but not completely. In his efforts to please the masses, he put me onto a breakfast that the kids absolutely LOVE--Breakfast Burritos. They were such a hit and so easy to make, that I went one step further and figured out how to mass produce and freeze them for a Hot Breakfast on the spot!! I figured I would get a jump start on the most important meal of the day early. I wanted to get a month's worth of breakfasts in the freezer before school even started. This led to the 30 minute assembling line last night, after 30 minutes of prep work. I made 60 Burritos that were individually wrapped and labeled in 3 flavors--Ham, Sausage, and Bacon...all with cheese, potatoes, and scrambled eggs. They are so simple and tasty. And the best part--they have no extra sodium, preservatives, and additives, thus are more nutritionally sound and healthy than anything store-bought.

Production:

I started the production by preparing all the individual ingredients--I cheated on the bacon. I bought the already cooked bacon that you only had to cook in the microwave for 1 minute. It was marvelous because it wasn't over-crisp and the clean-up was brilliant--like none.

I fried 1 pound of pork country sausage and drained the grease. I also dumped the sausage out onto a cutting board and minced it with a large knife so that the pieces were finer.

This is what 5 dozen eggs looks like....hmm. Somehow I thought that it would have looked like a ton more. I whisked 30 eggs at a time in the Kitchen-Aid and then cooked in a large Teflon pan. Total time in the production was less than 10 minutes. Easy peasy. I seasoned the eggs slightly with salt and pepper before cooking.

I was going to peel and cut whole potatoes, boil and drain before the production started. But I thought to myself..."Self. You don't even like breakfast. WHAT are you thinking?" So I pulled a 5lb bag of Southern Hash browns (cubed potatoes) out of the freezer. Prep work obsolete, except...I tossed the potatoes with olive oil and seasoning and put them on a cookie sheet and roasted for 20 minutes at 400 degrees while I got everything else ready. It just made them tastier and a little crispier. Frankly--delicious. And just because I don't love breakfast, doesn't mean that I should make others settle for less than delicious--right?

(all the ingredients mixed together in a large bowl)

I divided all my ingredients into thirds, because I didn't want to get the washtub out to make the slop that I filled my burritos with. That way I was also able to divide the meats between the potatoes and eggs for variety on the finished product. And remember--I went a little overboard with the quantities...5 lbs potatoes, 4 lbs of meats, 5 dozen eggs, 2 lbs cheese, and 1 lb sour cream. It can be done in smaller quantities, but I just wanted to make sure that they were gone the day after the all the work. So I made enough for a few days....hopefully. I bought the large flour tortillas--burrito-size, of course. I used the sour cream to act as a sticking agent with the cheese and other yummies.

I also used the paper sheets/liners that you can get at a Cash and Carry/Associated Grocers. I put the paper on the counter, placed the tortilla on it and added approximately 3/4 c. of the filling mixture, then rolled like a burrito. I folded the paper over to cover the burrito and wrapped again in a sheet of aluminum foil. I bought the foil sheets that are in a box that you just pull out like a tissue. They are 7"x10"--so when you roll the burrito, you bring the sides in, the bottom up and then roll it home. I placed a little sticker on the corned lip marked with an "S" for Sausage, "H" for Ham, and "B" for bacon.

(ready for the freezer)

I then placed all the burritos in a 2-gallon Ziploc for easier storage in the freezer. The whole production took less than an hour. I did the math for the final cost. It worked out to be about 47 cents a burrito. Cost wasn't my concern as much as it eased the guilt I mentioned and was quick to satisfy the masses before they were sentenced to another school year of dreaded cold cereal every morning. I feel like I'm redeemed myself somewhat in the nutrition department.

But Breakfast Burritos are the Bomb--and the variations are endless. Jeff told me that he wanted more sausage in his. Such a man! But I think I'm going to add some onions, green peppers, mushrooms, a variety of cheeses, and some Spanish rice...for some tasty combinations. I'm definitely going to do this again, and again, and again because they don't last long.