Chilaquiles Rojos con Huevos Revueltos – Tortillas with Salsa and Scrambled Eggs

Chilaquiles, that is fried tortillas and salsa, with scrambled eggs are the perfect breakfast for a weekend morning if you like your eggs spicy and are in need of some carbs. They can be made meatless or you can use leftovers from your roast chicken or steak dinner the night before. This may well be the best hangover cure breakfast but, of course, I have no personal experience of such things. 

Last month one of my favorite blogger friends posted her recipe for a delicious chilaquile casserole, and that got me thinking and reminiscing about how I love chilaquiles.

Years ago, my older sister and I used to go for breakfast at a Mexican restaurant in Montrose, an area of Houston known for being eclectic and seedy and, somehow, at the very same time, trendy. Or maybe trendy came later. There was certainly a whole lot of eclectic and seedy going on. This was a very long time ago. Now you hardly ever have to step over drunks sleeping it off in doorways and unsightly puddles of who knows what on the way to breakfast in Montrose. 

The restaurant was in an old wood-framed house that had been added on to and extended to accommodate more and more patrons over the years. Even on a weekday morning, there were plenty of people enjoying the breakfast menu. I’m not sure that some of them weren’t still there from the night before, to be honest, since it was open 24 hours. Yeah, that kind of joint. 

There were probably some lovely things on the menu but I really couldn’t tell you because I always ordered the chilaquiles. Their version was like my favorite huevos rancheros, that is to say, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions and jalapeños, but with crunchy corn tortillas and cheese. Always a winning combination.

According to my non-extensive research, read lazy, chilaquiles were created as a way to use up stale corn tortillas but I’d call them reason enough to rush out and buy some fresh ones too. Those tortillas add crunch and flavor, and if you are grasping for a healthy attribute, I’m guessing fiber. But don’t quote me on that.

Ingredients to feed two
4 soft corn tortillas - we are not talking about chips here
4 eggs
2 2/3 oz or 75g extra sharp cheddar
Canola or other light oil
Leftover meat – optional – shrimp, chicken, beef, pork, it’s all good. Or try refried beans!
1 cup or 240ml spicy tomato-based picante sauce or salsa plus extra for serving

Optional for serving – avocado and green onions or cilantro. Some people even put sour cream.

Method
Cut your tortillas in triangles and beat your eggs in a small bowl. Grate your cheese and set it aside. Cut your leftover meat into bite-sized pieces, if using.

This was leftover grilled rump steak.

Drizzle a little oil in a non-stick pan and fry the triangles until crispy. Remove and drain on some paper towels.

In that same pan, warm your leftover meat, and then push it to the sides and add the beaten eggs in the middle.

Stir frequently to break the eggs up into bite-sized pieces, mixing in the meat as you go. When the eggs are cooked to your satisfaction, remove them from the pan and set them aside, covered, on a plate.

Now add the tortillas back in to the pan and pour on the picante sauce.

Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. You want fairly good coverage with the salsa, but keep some triangle corners dry so they are still crispy.

Add the scrambled eggs back in and stir well.

Top with grated cheddar and put the lid on so it melts.

Divide onto two plates and serve with sliced avocado, if desired, and more salsa.

Enjoy!

Saving Summer Preview

The Sunday Supper Movement is dedicated to bringing back mealtime around the family table with great new recipes every single Sunday and quick and easy weekday suppers, Monday through Friday. This Sunday, we are celebrating the bounty of summer by sharing recipes and methods for ways to make the most of fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit and even extending their use into the next season. 

It has been my privilege to be a part of the Sunday Supper Movement for more than a year and a half. In fact, this week is my 50th post with the group! I am delighted to be co-hosting for the very first time with my friend, Tara, from Noshing with the Nolands.

Enjoying the bounty of each growing season used to be a given before the days of refrigerated trucks and airfreight. My grandfather grew many of the vegetables his family ate while my grandmother preserved what she could by blanching and canning or pickling the harvest shortly after each crop was picked. This was a way of life for them, despite owning and running their own full time business. It’s just what you did back then to feed your family as economically and as healthfully as you could.

Now we have many options for saving summer produce, including our handy home freezers and Sunday Supper is making the most of them all this week! I would be most appreciative if you would stop by again on Sunday to see all the wonderful recipes and instructions we’ll have for you.

But, meanwhile, here’s a sneak peak at the Sunday Supper Saving Summer link list:

Learn how to …

• Dry Fruit - No-Dehydrator-Needed from Take A Bite Out of Boca 
• Freeze Cherries from Pies and Plots
• Freeze Herbs from Rhubarb and Honey 
• Make Freezer Harvest Soup Kits from Cindy's Recipes and Writings 
• Make Pesto Cubes from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen 
• Make and Freeze Rosemary Butter from Momma's Meals 
• Make Ready to Blend Smoothie Packs for Your Freezer from The Educators’ Spin On It 
• Oven Dry Cherries from The Redhead Baker 

Sip sunny cocktails and smoothies

• Blueberry, Peaches and Cream Green Smoothies from Cupcakes & Kale Chips 
• Green Tea and Chocolate Saketini from Ninja Baking 
• Sangria from Confessions of a Culinary Diva 

Scoop up special salsas and sauces

• Classic Freezer Tomato Sauce from Noshing With The Nolands 
• Peach Salsa from The Texan New Yorker
• Pico de Gallo from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen 
• Spicy Apple - Carrot Chutney from What Smells So Good? 
• Spring Conserve from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 

Jump into jellies, jams and preserves

• Apricot Habanero Jam from Food Lust People Love 
• Corn Cob Jelly from Daily Dish Recipes 
• Hot Pepper Jelly from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures 
• No Pectin Apricot Jam from Curious Cuisiniere 
• Peach Preserves from Delaware Girl Eats 
• Pineapple Mango Moscato Jam from Seduction in the Kitchen 
• Raw Raspberry-Vanilla Chia Jam from Shockingly Delicious 
• Savory Fig and Sweet Onion Freezer Jam from Peaceful Cooking 
• Spicy Ginger Tomato Jam with Coconut Sugar from Sue's Nutrition Buzz
• Spicy Red Pepper Jam from The Wimpy Vegetarian

Pucker up for pickles

• Bread and Butter Pickles from That Skinny Chick Can Bake 
• Pickled Beets and Onions from Kudos Kitchen by Renée 
• Pickled Green Tomatoes from Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Refrigerator Pickled Jalapeños with Herbs from Magnolia Days 
• Refrigerator Pickled Radish and Turnips from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen 
• Refrigerator Pickles from Webicurean 
• Sweet Pickled Cauliflower from Because I Like Chocolate 

Slurp and spoon soup and a side dish

• Easy Garden Fresh Tomato Basil Soup from Neighborfood 
• Savory Summer Kimchi from A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen 

Dive into divine desserts

• Easy (no machine) Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream from Mama Bee Does
• Freeze 'em For Later Peach Berry Hand Pies from eating in instead
• Frozen Yogurt Covered Blueberries from Peanut Butter and Pepper
• Lemon and Blackberry Meringue Cakes from Happy Baking Days
• Lemon Curd Coffee Crumb Cake with Vanilla Drizzle from Wallflour Girl
• Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream from Killer Bunnies, Inc

Lora’s Avocado Tomato Feta Salsa

When I lived in Kuala Lumpur, I got together once a month with a lovely group of ladies, ostensibly to play Pokeno.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, we did play, but the best part of the evening was definitely the potluck meal we shared.  We took turns hosting and if we were playing at your house, you were responsible for the main course.  The rest of us brought appetizers and side dishes and salads and desserts.  I don’t remember who was hosting when Lora made this lovely salsa but, after that, we hardly ever let her sign up to make anything else.  And, of course, she had to share the recipe.  I made it again a few weeks ago for my sweet neighbor’s even sweeter daughter’s third birthday celebration.  All the accompanying parents seemed to love it and even some of the children were digging in, with the tortilla chips.  Its delicious flavors made me miss my Pokeno ladies so I was grateful for new friends.

Ingredients

2 ripe avocadoes

4 red ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped (Lora says:  You can substitute, but make sure they are quality tomatoes. It makes a difference!)

1 small purple onion

1 small red chili pepper or 1 green jalapeño

1 bunch cilantro or fresh coriander

4 oz or 85g feta cheese

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt (I used Maldon flakes.)

Method

Mix your salt, cumin, vinegar and olive oil to make a dressing in the bottom of a mixing bowl.

Cut the avocados into halves.  Remove the seeds and, using the tip of your knife, cut just down to the peel, going first one direction and then perpendicular.  

Scoop the avocado out into the bowl and toss lightly with the dressing.

Core and chop the tomatoes.

Share a little with your helper, if he has been a good boy.  

He adores tomatoes! 

Mince your pepper, removing the seeds if you would prefer your salsa to be less spicy.  

Peel and dice the onion.

Trim the tough stalks off of your bunch of cilantro.  Chop the leaves roughly.

Crumble your feta cheese, if purchased whole.  

Add the tomatoes, pepper, onion, cilantro and crumbled feta to the avocado bowl.  Mix everything gently.

Chill, covered, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.  If you can leave it for half an hour or more, that would be good since it allows the flavors time to merge.  

Serve with warm toasted pita wedges or tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Arepas with Pulled Pork and Black Bean Corn Salsa

What inspires you to cook?  For me, it can be something as simple and as fleeting as a Facebook mention by a friend of a meal she is eating.  Sometime this summer, my friend and former college roommate, Susi, went to Miami with her beautiful daughter.  She posted a photo of an arepa with pulled pork in a restaurant and it looked so delicious that her meal has been in the back of my mind ever since.  She has probably not given it a second thought!  I just went back to find the photo, only to discover that she had shredded chicken in her arepa!  But never mind.  I made pulled pork!  Because that’s what I’ve been dreaming about for weeks.

Ingredients for four stuffed arepas with leftover pork and two generous servings of salsa. Everything can be easily doubled or trebled, if your crockpot is big enough.

For the pork:

2 pieces of pork shoulder – 1/2 kilo or about a pound total

1 large yellow onion

6 cloves of garlic

Sea salt

Black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Water

Method

Mash the garlic with the side of a knife and then chop coarsely.

Slice your onion thickly and place them in the bottom of a slow cooker or crockpot. 

Put the pork on top of the onion and season with salt, pepper and cumin.

Scatter the garlic around and fill the basin with enough water to come halfway up the pork.

Put on the lid and cook on high for five to six hours.

Take the lid off and use the pork and onions to rub the lovely brown stuff off of the sides of the crockpot.  

Use two forks to shred the pork.  Check the seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

For the arepas:

1 cup or 150g of Harina P.A.N.

1 1/4 cups or 295ml lukewarm water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Add the salt to the Harina P.A.N. and pour this into a bowl with the water and stir until it is completely absorbed and makes a soft dough.

Tip it out on the counter top and knead a few times. Divide your dough into four equal pieces.

Make a circle of each about three inches in diameter. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Place on a hot griddle and brown both sides.  (Mine scorched a bit, as you can see. I think my fire was too high so be careful to keep it on a medium flame. Despite the color, they didn’t taste burnt at all though.)

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes.

For the salsa:

1/2 cob of boiled corn

1/2 small purple onion

2 small hot chilies

1 cup or 170g of cooked black beans

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Sea salt

Small bunch of fresh cilantro or coriander 

Method

Holding the stems, split the chilies down the middle and then chop them finely.

Slice the onion very thinly and then cut across to create tiny little pieces.

Add lime juice to the chilies and onion and leave them to marinate for at least 10 minutes. This takes the sharpness out of the onion and helps tame the heat of the chilies.

Finely chop the stems of the cilantro and add to the bowl, reserving the leaves for later.

Slice the corn off the cob, break the kernels apart and add to the bowl.  Mix thoroughly.

Add the black beans and mix again. Salt to taste.

Chop the coriander leaves roughly and add right before serving.

To serve all:  Slit the arepas and, using a slotted spoon, stuff them with the pork mixture. Add some extra hot sauce, if desired.  Each person gets two arepas and a good serving of salsa.

Enjoy!