As Ben’s mom, my day is starkly divided between modern pursuits and cave(wo)man ambitions. I get up early and walk on the treadmill. I eat breakfast and pack my lunch, parsing out sad little portions of protein and vegetable matter to consume throughout the day. I make coffee (yes, Millennials, you too could retire one day if you opt for homemade brew.) Everyone else is still sleeping soundly when I drive to work in my wee car, lifting weights on the way. (For real. Who knew a long commute could actually tone you up?) I teach-ity teach teach teach all day and then drive home, thus bringing to an end the modern portion of my day.
When I walk in the door at home, ravenous woolly mammoths roar to life. OK, maybe that’s still me, but Ben is hungry too. Really hungry. Caveman hungry. The only hope I have is that he laid a base in the morning with a solid breakfast. I aim to produce enormous batches of individual breakfast portions that can be pulled from the freezer and reanimated in the microwave at a moment’s notice.
This week we made Chorizo Breakfast Pockets, and they were great. When we make a big batch of breakfast pockets, we always enjoy them fresh for dinner before freezing the remainder for future breakfasts. After years in the lab of life, I have found a way to make them delicious AND healthy.
Pocket Dough
3 Tablespoons yeast
4 cups warm water
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 eggs
12 cups flour
Allow yeast to bloom in water about 5 minutes in large mixer bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and mix with dough hook until well combined. Mix an additional 2-3 minutes until smooth ball forms. (We have an enormous Kitchen Aide mixer, but if you don’t, you may need to halve the recipe.) Cover and let dough rise until doubled (or chill several hours.) Roll out half of dough into large sheet (about 20 by 25 inches.) Scoop 1/2 cup dollops of filling* (meat, cheese, egg, veggie) at even intervals in 4 rows, 5 columns. If you don’t want to fiddle with making chorizo, put in whatever fillings you like! Cut dough into 20 pieces, one dollop of filling per piece. Bring corners of dough together, pinch edges, turn over, and tuck corners under. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet to rise 15 minutes. Bake at 350º about 20 minutes. May be cooled and frozen.
*Chorizo Breakfast Filling
Chorizo
4 dried ancho chiles (stemmed, seeded, and rinsed)
3 dried guajillo chiles (stemmed, seeded, and rinsed)
5 cloves garlic
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds ground turkey
Pocket filling
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 onions, diced
Seasonings to taste (chili powder, paprika, cumin, coriander, adobo, salt, pepper)
1 1/2 cup frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed in microwave
3 to 4 cups grated cheese (pepper jack is great)
12-16 eggs, lightly beaten
Make chorizo. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil then remove from heat. Toast the dried chiles in a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, turning frequently until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Submerge chiles in the hot water and soak 15 minutes.
Drain chiles and place in the blender with remaining chorizo ingredients, except turkey. Blend on high until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Stir this spice mixture into ground turkey until thoroughly blended.
Cook chorizo by heating oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and cook, stirring frequently until cooked through. Because the color is reddish brown, it is difficult to gauge when it is cooked. Cook at least 7 minutes, then remove to plate.
In same pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add pepper and onions, cooking until tender but not brown. Add seasonings to taste, and hash brown potatoes.
In a separate skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-low heat. Cook scrambled eggs. Pour eggs into skillet. When outside edges begin to set, push eggs from the outside in towards center. Continue cooking in this manner until eggs are set and cooked through.
In a large bowl, mix chorizo, vegetable mixture, cheese, and scrambled eggs. If you plan to freeze the pockets, you will need to be sure that the eggs are in small pieces (large pieces tend to freeze like blocks of ice.) Use filling to make chorizo breakfast pockets.
These breakfast pockets are an investment in your future. Do these delicious, nutritious little nuggets take hours to produce? Sure. That is what modern you is for. But we guarantee that with just one bite, you will immediately reacquaint yourself with your caveman side.
