Huevos Rancheros

When I was 16, my Brother, Josh, and I decided to travel to Costa Rica for a month of intensive Spanish language school. Since we were both homeschooled at the time (Yes, I was homeschooled. Make your judgements as you feel necessary), we had the freedom to experience many different educational experiences. We decided to live with a host family so that we could fully experience the "Tico" or Costa Rican lifestyle. Our host family was amazing. We had a great time getting to know them over the month long period we lived with them, and we enjoyed the foods and cultural experiences that came along with the host-home experience.

One of my greatest memories from that trip was breakfast each morning. Our host mother would cook up the traditional Costa Rican breakfast for us, commonly known as "Gallo Pinto" (pronounced guy-o). Salty beans, rice cooked perfectly (and in a way that I have tried to imitate but don't think I will ever succeed), and fried eggs. It was delicious. I wish I could re-create the dish the exact same way our host mom made it. Unfortunately, I can't. But, Jacob gave gallo pinto a serious contender the other night for dinner.

That's right - Jacob cooked this meal. I got home late from work, and Jacob was slaving over a hot stove creating this:

Funny thing is, this dish was actually made using duck eggs. My Father in Law gave us some duck eggs that he had been given from a friend. We couldn't taste a big difference from regular chicken eggs, but the duck eggs were much bigger and had much thicker shells than "normal" eggs.

A large salad was served on the side - made up of spinach, carrots, and mushrooms.

Just one more picture - it was just so pretty.

Huevos Rancheros Recipe:

(serves 2-3 people)

- 2 cups rice, prepared according to package directions (brown OR white is fine)

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 2-3 Eggs

- 1 tbsp Butter

- Salt/pepper to taste

- 1/4 Cup Salsa

- 1 Avocado, sliced

- 1/2 Cup Cheddar cheese

Directions:

- Once rice is finished cooking, add black beans and toss. Cover, and let the beans steam in the hot rice.

- Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat.

- Add butter to pan, crack eggs into the skillet.

- Cook eggs to desired consistency, season with salt and pepper.

- Place 1-2 cooked eggs on each serving of heated beans and rice.

- Top with desired toppings (salsa, avocado, cheese)

Weekend Breakfasts

Weekends. Ahh. The blissful two days of freedom we experience at the end of each week. Well actually, it wasn't until recently that Jacob and I have started to enjoy weekends filled with leasure activities and travel. During the summer months, Jacob and I work for a local caterer (Reid's Catering Company) here in Boone, so our weekends are typically filled with serving food (really good food, none the less) and beverages to rich people at weddings.

Since the wedding season is slow during the winter months and we both have Monday-Friday "normal" jobs, the weekends are ours. Now I'm sure you're wondering what I like to cook for breakfast on the weekends, right? I thought so. Here are some snapshots of breakfasts we've had recently.

French toast - made using Stickboy Bread Company's Challah. Topped with banana, dried cranberries, coconut, chia seeds, and raw almond butter. A little drizzle of syrup to finish it off.

Baked Oatmeal - with all the favorites mixed in, bananas, cinnamon, chia seeds, nutmeg. Topped with almond butter and a few drops of maple syrup. On the side? Grapefruit. Gotta love that citrus! 

Fried Eggs with bacon and toast - the ultimate weekend breakfast. Simple, yet so satisfying. I usually pair this breakfast with some fresh fruit.

And of course, there's the coffee - around our house we don't just mess around with coffee. Jacob is a quality coffee lover, and if I drank anything but the best my family may disown me. It's true, Jack does NOT take the coffee subject lightly. So here's a short tutorial on how we typically make our morning coffee.

First, you boil the water. Then, you grind the beans in the fanciest of fancy burr grinders (thanks Joel and Lin for the AWESOME wedding present). A burr grinder grinds beans in a more consistent, uniform way than a normal grinder does. It truly makes a difference, but is not a crucial step to good coffee.

Once the coffee is ground and the water is hot, we use a cone filter and cone filter holder to brew. The grounds go in the filter, and hot water is poured over the grounds and into a insulated carafe.

Jacob likes his coffee black, but I enjoy the indulgence of a little half and half and a few pinches of sugar. 

Nothing like it! And yes, we are coffee snobs.

Bacon, Cheddar, and Asparagus Quiche

My Mother is the queen of pie crusts. She can whip up a pie crust that's flaky, tender, just salty enough, and perfectly crimped around the edges. I did not inherit this trait. I have tried several times to create the same quality crust as my Mom, but they just don't turn out as well as hers. I'm OK with this, since I know of this awesome bakery (Stickboy Bread Company!) where I can purchase pie crusts that are hand made and formed into a nice little recyclable pie tin.

Before I gave up on from-scratch pie crusts I tried once more at perfecting the art. Flour, Crisco (I know, but it really does work well), salt, and ice water.

Formed into a nice round ball that is just right consistency. Maybe this is where I go wrong?

Rolled out, and formed into a pie plate, crimped on the endges. Not the prettiest, I know.

Here's where the good stuff starts. Bacon, cheddar cubes, asparagus.

Oh, and a little red onion.

Eggs + cream + salt + pepper whipped up and pour into the crust. All the topping piled into the eggy mixture.

Baked for 35-45 minutes or until the middle doesn't jiggle (does that rhyme?)

Served this time around with some roasted veggies and orange wedges.

It's the perfect breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Great the next day, day after that, and day after that. We're big quiche fans.

Bacon, Cheddar, and Asparagus Quiche Recipe

- 1 pie crust (home made or store bought), unbaked

- 6 large eggs

- 3 tbsp heavy cream (half and half works well too)

- Salt/pepper to taste

- 4 oz cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

- 10 asparagus stalks cut in half

- 1/2 lb bacon

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

- Chop bacon into small pieces, cook in a heavy skillet until very crispy, let excess fat drain on a paper towel.

- Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, salt/pepper until well combined.

- Pour egg mixture into the pie crust.

- Drop asparagus, cheese cubes, and crispy cooked bacon bits on into the egg mixture.

- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until pie crust is golden and the center of the quiche no longer jiggles (meaning the eggs are set and cooked through).

- Serve warm, or refrigerate and heat for later use!