One day a week, I try to set aside some time to do some batch cooking. I find that taking the time to make certain meal items ahead has great benefits in both the time and money departments. I especially like to batch cook items for breakfast because it is the one meal at our house we typically do not eat all at the same time. I find that I can still offer a variety of nutritious, low cost options if I do some batch cooking of things that can just be reheated or defrosted. I don't have to play short order cook in the mornings nor do we all have to face a bowl of cold cereal. (A bowl of cold cereal is still the 8 year Cereal Monster's first choice, but it's not for the rest of the family!)
This week I finished up the ham I had bought last week for $1.49/lb at Kroger. There was still plenty of usable ham near the bone, it just had to be cubed instead of sliced. After cubing about 1 cup, I still have plenty of ham left near the bone to make a good pot of soup. I had a partial package of tortillas and one extra large potato in my pantry. I had some shredded cheese in the freezer from a recent trip to Yutzy's Farm Market in Plain City. Their deli sells "cheese ends" for 99 cents a lb, and I love to pick those up if they have any when I am there. I shred the cheese and bag it in 1 cup packages and put it in the freezer.
"Cheese ends" are what is left at the end of the big block of cheese when they slice it for you at the deli. When you buy a package, you never know what kind of cheese might be stacked together. It's that mix of all the different cheeses that make it so wonderful to add to dishes, especially egg dishes. I try to look for packages that do not have the Pepper Jack cheese in them because my family does not like that, but I also know that those particular packages are often the ones first grabbed by other customers. Maybe some year my family will like peppers!
So, with these ingredients on hand, I put together 10 ham, egg, cheese, and potato breakfast wraps for us to enjoy in the next couple of weeks. We can have a hot breakfast in 60 seconds. They're individually wrapped, so I can even eat mine on the go as I drive the girls to school as there are many mornings that I get ready to walk out the door and realize that I've taken care of everyone's breakfast and lunch, except my own!
Usually when I make breakfast tacos, I do not put the cheese in with the eggs. The last time I made these, however, I experimented putting the egg right in with the cheese, and I like how they turned out better. The cheese kind of holds it all together so nothing falls out of the wrap as you eat it. It made for a much quicker assembly, too. I like to throw a little potato in our morning wraps if we have one on hand because it will stretch the ingredients to make just a couple more and I just like potatoes!
Here's the recipe:
Ham, Egg, Cheese, and Potato Wraps
1 large potato, baked and diced (I baked it in the microwave while I got everything else ready)
1 cup diced ham (deli ham would also work, maybe 1/2 cup)
6 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese (any kind you like except mozzarella; makes it too stringy)
10 tortillas
several shakes Onion powder (or you can saute some diced onions/peppers/mushrooms, etc)
several shakes of Lawry's Seasoned Salt
several shakes of Salt & Pepper
1. In a medium bowl, crack the 6 eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and whisk briskly. (You can also add a little milk if you like)
2. Add the shredded cheese to the egg mixture, mix gently, and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. (or a tsp of bacon drippings if you're not counting calories and want real countrylike, homecooked flavor)
4. Lightly saute the diced potato for 1 min or so. Add a few shakes of onion powder and Lawry's seasoned salt.
5. Add the ham and stir it all around.
6. Pour the egg and cheese mixture over the top and gently scramble using a silicone spatula careful not to mash the potatoes too much. (It will look like a big gooey mixture and then all of a sudden it will start to set up and look like scrambled eggs)
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| The eggs will set up, but it will still look creamy because of the cheese. |
7. Place a large spoonful of the cooked filling in the center of your tortilla shell and fold.
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| It took less than 15 minutes to cook, fill, and package 10 wraps! |
8. Wrap each filled tortilla in wax or freezer paper and place in a large ziploc bag.
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| Place folded, filled tortilla on wax paper |
Make an envelope as you roll. Here it is ready to go. . . .
8. Wrap each filled tortilla in wax or freezer paper and place in a large ziploc bag.
9. Cool wraps completely in the refrigerator before freezing.
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| There's also egg. . . forgot to write that on the label! |
10. Reheat each wrap for 60 seconds in the microwave. Let stand 1 minute before eating.
What foods do you like to make in a big batch to have on hand later on?
