Make Ahead Breakfast Bowls

After our October Unprocessed adventure, I haven't really gone back to cereal as a breakfast staple. I've been sticking to whole wheat muffins, and quite honestly, I was getting bored. I needed something different-and something with substance. Enter the breakfast bowl!

And the best part about these-you can make them ahead of time!

It does take some time to prepare, but it's well worth it early the next morning! Plan on about an hour and 15 minutes to cook and assemble.

Full recipe is at the bottom, but here's how I made these:

Start with potatoes. I used red and purple potatoes just to add some more color to breakfast.

While the potatoes are cooking, you can also cook and chop your bacon.

Then the eggs. Scrambled was the direction we took, but I'm sure other ways would work too.

Then top with a bit of cheese.

All that's left is to pop the lids on and into the refrigerator they go!

In the morning, I can grab one of these as I head out the door. I can heat it up at work and have a hot breakfast bowl ready to go.

Make Ahead Breakfast Bowls
Makes 9 bowls, but if you want to pack them full, then only about 6

Potatoes (enough to cover a large cookie sheet when cut into 1" cubes)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt
1 lb bacon
About a dozen eggs
1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like)

Start out by cutting potatoes into 1"(ish) cubes. Then toss them with some olive oil, paprika, garlic powder (or minced garlic), and salt. Spread them out on a cookie sheet and roast for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees, or until soft in the middle with crunchy exterior. Let cool just until they can be comfortably touched.
While the potatoes are cooking (or cooling), cook the bacon. I prefer to do this much bacon in the oven. 400 degrees for about 12 minutes is perfect for us, but you may want to cook it a bit longer if you want crunchy bacon. Drain on paper towel lined plate and chop into bite size pieces.
Last, cook the eggs. I used about 10 eggs, plus some more egg whites (maybe 4?). I had a few containers of egg whites in the freezer that I had put in there over the summer. I figured they really should be eaten soon, so defrosting those and mixing them in here seemed like a great way to use them up.

Then it's time to make the bowls. Start with potatoes, then bacon, then eggs, and top with about a tablespoon of cheese. I tried to make sure each bowl had an equal amount of each ingredient, and I knew I wanted 9 bowls, so I probably only had about a quarter cup of potatoes, 2 strips of bacon, and about an egg and a half in each bowl. But, if you want a bigger breakfast, I would only use 6 bowls. Refrigerate for up to 5 days-or freeze!

To reheat them in the morning, about 45 seconds is all it takes.

These would be really good with salsa, or goat cheese with chives, or I suppose some people would prefer sausage instead of bacon, but I was making these for 3 of us, and I didn't want to mess with figuring out which bowls were mine that early in the morning, so we all got the same.

These were so good, I even got a text from my 16 year old stepson telling me how good they were this morning!

Loaded Potato Soup

It's been a while since I've paid this blog any attention. Ok, a while may be an understatement. I've had thoughts about a great revival, with a promise to myself to actually take the time to write a couple of posts a week. But, those were short lived. It's taken a back seat to other import things in my life, like the garden, chickens, turkeys, ducks, Netflix....

Being realistic about my latest Netflix obsession, Grey's Anatomy (I know, I'm way late on that train), I figure I can squeeze in a few posts here and there. And honestly, I kind of use this blog as my own recipe book. Many times I've made a dish and thought about blogging about it because it was so tasty, but then I don't because we bring home baby ducks, or peas need to be picked from the garden, or season 2 of Orange is the New Black is released. And then six months later, I can't remember how I made it and I'm full of regret. So for now, I'm going to make an effort to push out at least one post a week, but no promises!

We had a decent potato harvest this year (more on that later), so I've been digging into lots of potato recipes. Surprisingly, Loaded Potato Soup has been the favorite of my husband and stepson. They're not really "soup guys", but they liked this a lot and it's very filling. I will definitely make it again this winter!

Red and purple potatoes 

Loaded Potato Soup

3 T butter

3 T + 1 t Flour

2 T green onions, sliced thin

1 T dried dill

½ lb ham cubes

4 ½  cups milk

½ lb bacon ends, or thick slice bacon cut into pieces

1 ½  c shredded cheese (I used Colby jack)

1 T dried parsley

1 lb to 1 ½ lb peeled and cooked potatoes (I made potato skins the night before, so I had scooped out the insides and saved those for the soup)

Salt and Pepper

Saute 1 T green onions in butter until they are soft (just a minute or so). Add in flour and cook on low until it forms a thick paste and slightly browns. While that is going, cook the bacon in a separate pan. When the flour/butter/onion mixture is slightly brown, add in the milk all at once and stir well to break up the clumps and add in the cooked potatoes. When the milk starts steaming, add in the ham, dill, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer on low until it starts to thicken. When it starts to thicken, add in ½ of the bacon and 1 c of the cheese. Stir well and continue to simmer until thickened. Serve with remaining bacon, cheese and green onions. I probably would have liked it better without the ham, but everyone else wanted it. If I left out the ham, I would add in some chicken stock and reduce the amount of milk-maybe ½ c-and I would add the chicken stock to the browned flour/butter mixture before adding the milk. 

We ended up with around 50 lbs of potatoes, so I imagine we'll be checking out some other potato recipes this fall and winter. Any suggestions?