Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Breakfast Tostadas

Brunch Dishes

Cinco de Mayo is almost here! I’m planning on making a recipe from my new Rick Bayless cookbook on Wednesday, but couldn’t resist starting the celebration early by whipping up these tasty breakfast tostadas this weekend. I will always have a fond spot in my heart for Cinco de Mayo due to Wheel of Fortune. I know you’re thinking, huh, what’s the connection there? Well, a couple years ago while we were still in Chicago, I auditioned for the show when the Wheelmobile came to town. Thousands of people showed up and they packed about 500 of us at a time into a theater in Joliet. About 20 people were randomly called up to the stage in each group, and if your name wasn’t picked, you could wait in line all over again for another chance. It must have been my lucky day because I was immediately called up to the stage and solved the puzzle, which was “Cinco de Mayo!” I was rewarded with a tshirt and a spot in a call-back audition. I aced the written puzzle test, but unfortunately didn’t get picked for the show, which I attributed to the fact that I would have towered over Pat Sajak. It was a cool experience though and the term “Cinco de Mayo” now always makes me smile.

Anyway, for the breakfast tostadas I crisped up some whole wheat tortillas under the broiler and covered them with scrambled eggs. Then I made a chunky salsa of sorts from black beans, corn, roasted red peppers, avocado, and lime juice, to top the eggs. I covered the tostadas with cheese and popped them back in the broiler until the cheese melted – yum! You can also drizzle a bit of salsa on top if you have it around. They were very filling and I had a whole one for dinner one night, but half a serving definitely filled me up for breakfast. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Breakfast Tostadas
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 whole wheat tortillas
16 large eggs
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked corn
1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa, if desired

Directions:
Heat broiler. Place tortillas on several cookie sheets and broil on each side for 1 to 2 minutes or until toasted.

Place eggs in a large greased nonstick skillet and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until cooked, stirring frequently. Top crispy tortillas evenly with scrambled eggs.

Meanwhile, mix black beans, corn, roasted red peppers, avocados, lime juice, and salt in a large bowl. Spoon 3/4 cup of mixture evenly over eggs on each tortilla and top with cheddar cheese. Return tostadas to the oven and broil for one minute or until cheese is melted. Top with salsa, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 773 calories, 40.1g fat, 16.2g fiber, 46.1g protein per serving
Cost: $2.38 per serving

Pumpkin Beer Bread

We’ve been all about beer lately. Apolinaras has recently gotten into home brewing and just proudly sealed 40 bottles of Oak-Aged Baltic Porter last night. It's supposed to age for at least a month before it’s really ready, but I snuck a couple sips of the green stuff...

Egg, Bacon, Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches

Having just visited San Diego last fall for our friend Renee’s wedding, I decided to take it easy on the tourist attractions during this trip and instead use my time off from the conference to unwind. I slept in late, ate breakfast while enjoying the amazing views...

Tuscan Frittata

I’ve gotten into the habit of buying one pound logs of goat cheese from Costco and since goat cheese goes bad faster than other varieties, I’m always trying to quickly use it in several different ways after opening the package – there’s nothing worse than wasting goat...

Egg and Potato Squares with Gruyere, Asparagus, and Mushrooms

Happy New Year! Did anyone else make any foodie resolutions? My goal last year was to get my blog up and running, and I remember spending the first few weekends in January designing the header and side bars for my little site. This year I just want to continue...

Blueberry Cottage Cheese Squares

It's finally time for our Lithuania trip recap! We traveled throughout the country and I'm going to spread the highlights of our adventure over the next three posts. Lithuania is the same size as West Virginia and sits above Poland and Belarus and across the Baltic...

Breakfast Sandwiches with Leeks, Brie, and Avocado

If you could only eat five different food items the rest of your life, what would they be? I used to mull this over regularly with one of my friends growing up – it just seemed like the worst situation ever and I was even a pretty picky eater then! I can’t remember...

Apple Spiral Chai Coffee Cake

I was super excited when my friend Shannon organized an apple picking field trip the other weekend to Smolak Farms! Not only would I get to check out a local orchard for the first time, I also would get to meet several of my favorite fellow Boston food bloggers,...

Banana Boat Pancakes

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day celebration! My parents have made it a tradition to visit us in Boston over the holiday and this year the highlights were visiting Castle Island, attending a cookbook signing with my mom (more on this in a future post!), and...