Scrambled Eggs in a Tortilla

Here's a super fast and easy supper! This is one of those things to fix on a night when your refrigerator looks a little bare. I love having eggs for supper, but as vegetarians, we have to be careful about how many eggs we eat in a week. This is still a quick hit of protein and ready in about 5 minutes - if you have sauces already made.

The recipe recommends serving this with salsa cruda with avacados (pico de gallo with chopped avocado added) and with Salsa Ranchera. I didn't have home made versions of these on hand, so I just used some salsa and green sauce I had in my refrigerator. I've made both home made sauces and they are delicious, so if you've got time to make them, they are both wonderful.

Basically, you just scramble 6 - 8 eggs in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of water to make them fluffy. Melt 3 T. butter in a wide pan. When foaming, add the eggs and let them cook to your liking. Toward the end add a handful of feta cheese and some cilantro. (You could also use goat cheese or jack cheese.) While the eggs are cooking, warm 4 flour tortillas in a pan and wrap them in a towel to keep them warm.

Divide the eggs among the tortillas, wrap them up like a breakfast burrito, and serve. If you make ranchero sauce, you can smother it over the outside of the tortilla and top with more cheese.

I served this with hash browns (grate half a yukon gold potato per person into hot oil, season, and let it brown without moving it. When brown, flip the whole thing over and cook the other side. Cover with a lid to steam the potatoes.) I started this before starting the eggs and they were all done at the same time. I put some of the potatoes in the tortilla with my eggs and sauce.

Things I'd do differently next time: The quantities above serve 4 people. I used 3 eggs, which we divided between 3 smallish tortillas. I think next time, I'd make 4 eggs for the 2 of us and stuff our tortillas a little fuller.

Approximate cost to prepare:

6 eggs - $1.50

handful of feta - $.50

handful of cilantro - $.25

4 tortillas - $1.50

3 T. butter - negligible

Salsas - depends

TOTAL - $3.75 + sauce

Spinach Quesadillas

Quick and easy to prepare, and packed with flavor. This is a great weeknight supper. It only took me 20 minutes to put the filling together and grate the cheese, plus another 10 minutes to make the Salsa Cruda with avocado. I highly recommend this for a weeknight supper.

It's probably best to start with the salsa cruda, although I did it at the end. This salsa cruda is just like pico de gallo, but with chunks of avocado added. Chop up 4 roma tomatoes, 1 small white onion (or whatever you've got), 1 jalapeno chile, and a handful of cilantro. Add the juice of one lime and a little salt. Stir in 1 cut-up avocado.

Start with one head of spinach, washed and with stems removed, roughly chopped. Dice a small onion and a green jalapeno chile. Saute the onion and jalapeno with a large pinch of Mexican oregano over medium heat. When the onion is translucent, add the spinach and saute a few more minutes. While that is cooking, chop 1/2 cup of cilantro. Add to the saute mixture and taste for salt.

Turn off the heat. Grate 1/3 cup of cheese. I used muenster and it turned out to be more like 1/2 - 2/3 cup for my 2 quesadillas. Using 2 skillets, heat one whole wheat tortilla in each one, and turn it over to warm the other side. Scatter cheese on the hot tortilla surface, then cover with the spinach mixture. Cover with another tortilla, then flip them over when they've gotten a little crisp. Slide the finished quesadilla onto a cutting board, cut into triangles, and serve with salsa cruda and sour cream.

If I'd thought of it, I would have served the rest of my green rice, which was in the freezer. I'll have to do that next time.

Things I'd do differently next time: Start with the salsa cruda and consider adding a side dish.

Approximate cost to prepare:
2 small onions - $.50
4 roma tomatoes - $1.75
2 jalapeno chiles - $.35
1 avocado - $.80
1 lime - $.25
1 head spinach - $1.30
cilantro - $.50
4 whole wheat tortillas -$1.70
1/2 cup cheese - $2.00
1/4 cup sour cream - $.40
olive oil and salt - negligible
TOTAL - $9.55 for 2 people

We ate almost all the quesadillas in one sitting, but it did provide lunch for me the next day, and we had leftover salsa cruda.