Thanksgiving has come and almost gone here in the United States. We, like many people, have been spending a bit of time in the kitchen making tasty morsels for dinner and desserts for the main meal. And while I have the fixings for many different types of breakfasts that would please even the pickiest of eaters, I like to sometimes fly by the seat of my pants and throw something together from a new recipe I’ve found.
This year, my mother-in-law presented me with a new cookbook for my holiday collection: Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cooking from the Heart, Volume 12. As I thumbed through the cookbook, I found several intriguing recipes. The recipes for Roasted Pear and Clementine Salad was a winner since I was just about to cobble together a salad and this recipe gave me the chance to use some of the newly ripened clementines from my backyard tree! But I digress.
When I gazed into my overflowing fridge on Black Friday morn, I knew I wanted to make eggs, but didn’t have a plan. I pulled a carton out and placed it on the counter and thumbed through my new cookbook. The recipe for Spanish Eggs resonated with me because I had some chili peppers and tomatoes fresh from the garden, but I was still missing some key ingredients.
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1 small fresh Anaheim chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced (I used a big heaping spoon from my jar of minced garlic)
- 4 thick-cut slices of Applewood bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped potatoes
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 2 T fresh cilantro (don’t be afraid to add more!)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 eggs
- Crumbled queso fresco (optional)
- Avocado (optional)
- Corn tortillas (optional)
- Your favorite hot sauce (optional)
- Fresh cilantro (optional)
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon to your desired consistency. Remove from bacon and set aside. Discard all but about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease.
- In the hot bacon grease, cook potatoes, onions, garlic, and chiles over medium heat. When the onions start to turn translucent (about 4-5 minutes), add the mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, fresh cilantro, salt, and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes or until tomatoes release their liquid and the mushrooms and potatoes are tender.
- Add the cooked bacon and stir well. Spread the vegetable mixture in an even layer across the skillet.
- Make 4 wells in the vegetable mixture. Break 1 egg into a measuring cup and slide the egg into one of the wells. Repeat the process with the remaining wells and eggs. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes or until egg whites are completely set and yolks are to your preferred doneness. (I like them to be a little runny).
- Serve them with your favorite fixings. I put the fixings on the side so everyone can customize their own.
