Egg-in-a-hole

This is pretty easy, fun to make, and low-cost. I used to make this almost every weekend when I was in high school. While it’s not quite as fun without the egg inside the bread, you can get the same flavor by just frying the bread and eggs separately. 

Ingredients

• Sliced bread (larger slices preferred, two per person)
• Eggs (two per person)
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

Steps

1. Start by stamping out circle holes in your bread slices. I usually use a glass, but a cookie cutter also works. Save the cut-outs.
2. Butter the bread slices and the cut-outs. It helps if you leave the butter out to soften for an hour or so beforehand. 
3. Preheat a skillet to medium-low heat, and evenly coat the surface with butter or cooking spray.
4. Place 2 bread slices in the pan, and the cut-outs if you have room. Let cook for about a minute.
5. Crack an egg into the center of each of the bread slices. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Once the egg whites are solid and your spatula is able to easily slide under the bread and egg, about 5 more minutes, flip over in a quick fluid motion, being careful not the break the yolk.
7. I like my eggs more over-easy, so I let it cook on this side for only about 2 minutes, but you can let it cook less if you want it more runny, or longer if you want the yolk fully-cooked.
8. Repeat two slices at a time until finished. Serve immediately. 

Eggs Benedict

Eggs benedict is one of my favorite breakfasts! You can also easily switch out the bread, protein, and sauce to change the flavors. Hollandaise often gets a bad rep for being hard to emulsify and “breaking” easily, but making it in the blender is great way to solve these problems.

Ingredients

• 2 English muffins, halved
• 4 large eggs
• 4 slices of Canadian bacon
• White vinegar (optional)
• Hollandaise sauce (you can also use a packet from the store)
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 stick of butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • Cayenne

Steps

1. Separate the yolks for the hollandaise sauce. This can be done fairly easily by cracking the egg in half over a small bowl, and transferring the yolk in between the two half shells, letting the egg white fall into the bowl.
2. Blend the yolks, lemon juice, and cayenne for a full 30 seconds. The mixture should turn lighter in color.
3. Add in the melted butter slowly while stirring or blending and put aside.
4. Now, we’ll poach the eggs. In a large skillet or medium pot, bring about 2-3 inches of water to simmer. Adding in a splash of vinegar helps the eggs stay together in the water by setting the whites more quickly.
5. While waiting for the water boil, in small skillet, sauté your slices of Canadian bacon over medium-high heat with a small amount of oil, about a minute and a half on each side.
6. Crack an egg into a small bowl or measuring cup. Ease it slowly into the water and gently ease it out the cup. Repeat until all the eggs are in the water.
7. While the eggs are cooking, put your English muffins in the toaster.
8. Let the eggs cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove each egg with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to absorb excess water.
9. Assemble, with the English muffin on the bottom, then the Canadian bacon, then the poached egg, then the hollandaise sauce. If you want to be fancy, you can also sprinkle cayenne on top. Serve.

Breakfast Tacos

An Austin staple you can easily make at home!

Ingredients

• 8 slices thick-cut bacon
• 9 large eggs
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper
• 8 tortillas, flour or corn both work
• ⅓ cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, or cotija all work)
• Salsa (optional, for serving)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange the bacon evenly. Bake for around 20 minutes until browned and crispy. Then, place the cooked bacon on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and melt the butter. Once the butter bubbles, crack the eggs directly into the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Let the eggs cook, and when an edge of the mixture turns solid, push it gently with a rubber spatula towards the middle of the pan, let the liquid egg fill the gap where the space used to be and repeat. Once you’ve done this a few times and you have less liquid, you’ll have to tilt the pan.
3. Repeat until there’s not enough liquid to continue. Then, turn off the heat, stir gently until there’s no more liquid and the eggs are somewhat firm. Try to keep the pieces large and not break them up too much, which can cause parts of the eggs to be overcooked and rubbery.
4. Once the eggs are done, you can toast the tortillas in the same pan or in the toaster. They should only need around 30 seconds one each side on medium-high heat in the skillet.
5. Assemble, adding eggs, a slice of bacon, and cheese in each tortilla. Serve with salsa of your choice. 

Chorizo Egg Casserole 

This is a recipe my mom came up with a few years ago and I always ask her to make it whenever I come home! 

Ingredients

• 20 oz Simply Potatoes shredded hash brown potatoes OR frozen shredded hash brown potatoes thawed
• 1 9 oz package of chorizo sausage pork or beef
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups cheese, shredded (cheddar, Monterey Jack or Mexican blend)
• 2 cups half and half
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup butter
• salt and pepper
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• Hollandaise sauce (you can also use a packet from the store)
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 stick of butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • Cayenne
  • 1 4 oz can chopped green chiles

Steps

1. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle with 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot add the hash browns and season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, also adding pats of the butter to the top. Brown the hash browns and flip to brown the other side. When they are evenly browned, spread in prepared baking dish.
3. In the same pan, drizzle with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the chorizo. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through, drain if needed. Spread the chorizo evenly over the potatoes.
4. While the chorizo is cooking, grab a mixing bowl and beat the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. I use about a teaspoon of each. Once the eggs have been fully beaten stir in the shredded cheese.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the hash browns in the baking pan.
6. Bake, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, or until the egg center has cooked through.
7. While the casserole is cooling, we can make the hollandaise. Separate the yolks for the hollandaise sauce. This can be done fairly easily by cracking the egg in half over a small bowl, and transferring the yolk in between the two half shells, letting the egg white fall into the bowl.
8. Blend the yolks, lemon juice, and cayenne for a full 30 seconds. The mixture should turn lighter in color.
9. Add in the melted butter slowly while stirring or blending. After combined, add in the can of green chiles.
10. Slice the casserole, and serve topped with the hollandaise.