Getting your family fed in the morning before everyone rushes off to school and work is a very challenging task. You want breakfast to be filling, nutritious, and easy to prepare… all without making a lot of dishes to clean up after, right? And, to tell you the truth, we all get very easily bored with the usual quick breakfast options such as cereal, yogurt, granola bars and oatmeal.
When it comes to making a quick and delicious breakfast for me and my kids in the morning before the craziness of the day begins, there's one recipe that makes a very regular appearance. It's always a crowd pleaser, adds great variety to the week, and takes approximately 12 minutes to make. I know it seems impossible, but it's true!
Let me introduce you to the amazing world of Chilaquiles! This Mexican dish has many variations, but the way I make it involves corn tortilla chips, yummy store-bought salsa, cheese, and eggs.
Here's how to build this awesome breakfast:
1. First thing you'll need are corn tortilla chips. I like the thick variety such as El Milagro or El Ranchero best. I used a thinner, crispier chip once, and they got way too soggy when heated with the salsa.
2. Pour the chips into a saucepan, and add a generous pour of your favorite salsa. You can use green, red, spicy or mild salsa. Anything you like! Or, if you were inspired by my Homemade Tomato Salsa blog (and I hope you were because it's so good) use that!
3. Set the saucepan over low heat, and cook just until the salsa heats up. Give the chips a stir, and continue to heat until the chips are just very lightly wilted. You don't want them to get too mushy. You can let them get very soft if you prefer that texture, but I like my chips to still have a little crispness around the edges.
4. Place a spoonful of the salsa-coated chips on a plate, and top with any cheese you like. Something spicy is nice… maybe pepper jack.
5. Set eggs, cooked to your liking, on top of the cheese making it melty and gooey. My favorite egg preparations for this recipe are poached, over easy, or sunny-side up. All of these eggs contain soft yolks that you can break, and watch the liquid gold cascade down into the chips. Yum! Scrambled eggs are ok, too, if you must.
6. Approximately 12 minutes later, you're ready to eat!
Whaddaya think? Super easy, no? I must mention that this quick breakfast is a pretty incredible hangover cure, too! Just add some cooked and crumbled Mexican chorizo to the chips and salsa and you’re well on your way to feeling better.
If you want to learn how to make Chilaquiles from scratch, then you'll definitely want to join The Chopping Block for our "From Jalapeños to Habaneros" class this April. The classes in March are sold out, so sign up now to reserve your spot. April calendars were just released this morning!
We also have a new class this April called "The Amazing Egg". Eggs are such a simple ingredient, but they can be challenging to cook properly. Come learn some fundamental techniques like how to make sure you never get that green ring around your hard-boiled eggs again, and how to poach the perfect egg.
We're also offering an amazing French brunch class this April called "Bonjour Brunch" that includes a glass of bubbly, and a seasonal brunch called "Spring Forward: Brunch".
I look forward to seeing you in one of our classes this spring! Be sure to take a peek at our new April class calendars.
