Chipotle Sweet Potato and Black Bean Hash with Guacamole

Up next for my menu for the Big Game is a hearty, tasty and healthy sweet potato and black bean hash topped with a simple guacamole for breakfast to ensure that you start the day off right! (Although I will be making this for the big game it is perfect any time of the year!) This hash is super simple to make, it starts with bacon (omit for vegetarian), followed by onions, garlic, cumin, chipotle chili powder, the sweet potatoes and finally the black beans before being topped with a simple guacamole. The key to a quick cooking time is to dice the sweet potatoes small as the larger the sweet potato cubes are the longer it will take to cook them until tender. I like to keep things simple and go with an avocado topping with lime juice and salt but if you want something a little more complex you can go with a more robust guacamole. Of course pretty much everything is better when topped with a fried egg so I like throw some on as well and that gives me a trio of my favourite foods: bacon, eggs and avocado all on a tasty bed of sweet potato and black bean hash! Feel free to add any other extras like sour cream, salsa, cheese, etc.

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Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quiche with Quinoa Crust

I have really been enjoying the cauliflower and mushroom combo lately, especially if they are roasted, and I thought that it was about time that I used them in a breakfast dish and a quiche is the perfect way to do it! I wanted to keep things on the lighter and healthier side so I started out with a quinoa crust, which is easy to make, you simply mix an egg and possibly some cheese into the cooked quinoa, press it into a pie plate and pre-bake it before filling it and baking it again. From there I roasted the cauliflower and mushrooms and added the usual quiche suspects, eggs and cream, along with some goat cheese, since a quiche just isn't a quiche without cheese! (Aged white cheddar or blue cheese would also be amazing in this quiche!) The cauliflower and mushroom combo works amazingly well in this quiche and now I can enjoy my favourite combo for breakfast lunch and dinner!

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Eggs Benedict with Bacon, Avodaise (Avocado Hollandaise) and Harissa

Avocados have to be one of my favourite foods so when I came across the idea of an avocado hollandaise sauce I just had to try it! A hollandaise sauce is a lemony sauce that is made by emulsifying eggs with a ton of butter that is decadently good but a little rich so a lighter and healthier version using avocados sounded amazing! This avocado hollandaise, I am going to call it an avodaise sauce, is a super simple mixture of pureed avocado and lemon juice along with some water to thin it to the consistency of a sauce and simply irresistible.

One of the classic dishes that a hollandaise sauce is used in is eggs benedict, consisting of english muffins, ham and poached eggs in addition to the sauce, and it was the perfect dish to try the avodaise sauce on. Although ham is great in eggs benedict, bacon goes so well with avocados so I could not resist going with that instead and I added a hit of harissa for a spicy kick. I have to say that this avodaise sauce is even better than the original and it is absolutely divine in bacon eggs benedict!

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Strawberry, Bacon and Goat Cheese Strata with Balsamic Syrup

This weekend is Mother's Day and over the next few days I will be trying out some new recipes for breakfast in bed for mom or a special brunch and up first is this sweet and savoury strawberry strata! (A strata is essentially a bread pudding where bread is soaked in a custard filling of milk and eggs and baked until it sets.) For this strata I was going for aspects of both sweet and savoury by combining strawberries with bacon and goat cheese. I start the recipe off with a loaf of King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread which is perfect as it's sweetness complements the strawberries! This recipe is super easy to make; once you have everything mixed up you simply need to bake it; anyone can make it for mom! The strata is finished off by topping it with fresh sliced strawberries and a balsamic syrup made by reducing balsamic vinegar and sugar until it thickens and it's sweetness and tartness perfectly complements the sweet and savoury strata.

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Chorizo and Egg Breakfast Nachos

On Cinco de Mayo there is no reason to hold off on celebrating until later in the day; start it off with a Mexican inspired breakfast, nachos! Spicy chorizo sausage and scrambled eggs make for a tasty breakfast all by themselves but why not enjoy them nacho style on tortilla chips covered in melted cheese? These breakfast nachos are fully loaded with salsa, beans, tomato, avocado and jalapenos in addition to the sausage and eggs making them a hearty and tasty way to start the day!

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Jalapeno Popper Deviled Eggs

Looking for a last minute Easter appetizer idea? You can't go wrong with deviled eggs and why not make them a little more interesting by making them with all of the flavours of bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers? These deviled eggs are stuffed with the mashed egg yolks, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapenos and bacon and then they are sprinkled with even more cheddar cheese before some brief time under the broiler to melt the cheese! Who says you can't enjoy one of your favourite game day snacks at your family holiday? These deviled eggs taste just like jalapeno poppers and they will make the perfect addition to any holiday spread!

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Shakshuka

Next up in the Taste of Israel tour of the old city of Yafo was a stop at Dr Shakshuka for some Shakshuka. Shakshouka is a dish where eggs are poached in a tomato and pepper sauce and served along with bread making for a pretty tasty meal. I had actually made shakshuka before but this was the perfect opportunity to update the photos for my recipe. Of course there are pretty much as many different recipes for shaksuka as there are people that make it and I like to keep mine nice and simple with tomatoes and peppers along with a touch of cumin and paprika.

Other than that all you really need is some crusty bread for scooping it up and you are all set! I like my eggs sunny side up with runny yolks so I only cook the eggs briefly after adding them, pulling the whites away so that they cook in the sauce, but you can cook them to your desired level of done-ness and you can place a lid on the pan so that the tops of the eggs cook.

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Ham and Cheese Egg Casserole

Over the holidays I always like to make some tasty breakfasts and things work out really well if you make a ham for dinner as the leftovers can be used to make this quick and easy ham and cheese egg casserole. I first came across the idea for this egg breakfast casserole on Kalyn's Kitchen about four years ago and I made it right away and I have been making it ever since. With some leftover ham in my fridge and the holidays here it was the perfect time to make it again and update the four year old photos for the recipe!

This breakfast egg casserole is super easy to make and really light to boot. It consists of eggs and cottage cheese at it base and from there you can add pretty much whatever you want. I like to experiment with different flavour combinations but the one that I keep coming back to is the classic ham and cheese combo. You pretty much just need to mix the eggs, cottage cheese and the fillings and bake until golden brown! You can even assemble everything the night before so that you only have to bake it in the morning making it even easier for a busy morning.

I am a big fan of spicy heat so I like to add some pickled jalapenos to my ham and cheese egg casseroles and you can never go wrong topping it off with some salsa and sour cream! What a tasty to start the day!

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Brussels Sprout and Mushroom Hash

Ever since I made the brussels sprout hash with sweet potato and bacon a couple of weeks ago I have been kind of obsessed with it making different versions every couple of days! Out of all of the different versions that I have been experimenting with this brussels sprout and mushroom hash is definitely one of my favourites and not just because of my love for mushrooms! Brussels sprouts and mushrooms are a fabulous combo and they go amazingly well together in a breakfast 'hash' along with a fried eggs with a runny yolks! This hash is really easy to make where you basically saute the mushrooms and cook until they start to caramelize, add the brussels sprouts, cook until they start to caramelize, add the eggs and cook until the desired level of doneness. To avoid dirtying another pan, just make small holes in hash and fry the eggs in them.

What a great way to enjoy your brussels sprouts for breakfast!

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Ham and Eggs au Gratin

Are you looking for a special breakfast for the holidays? This is it! Until recently I had actually never heard of a ham and egg au gratin but when I saw it on pinterest recently, via Scrumptious South Africa, I knew that I would have to make it! The ham and egg au gratin is essentially slices of ham and hard boiled eggs that are made 'gratin' style, covered in a creamy sauce and baked until golden brown and bubbling! Besides the fabulous ham and egg combo what really makes this recipe work is the super tasty sauce, which is pretty much a basic bechamel sauce that is seasoned with dijon mustard, lemon juice and parsley and I could not help but throw in plenty of cheese!

In addition to being one of the tastiest breakfasts that I've had in a long time the recipe is actually really easy! You pretty much just need to make the hard boiled eggs, make the sauce and then assemble and bake it. With the ham and egg combo I immediately thought of this as a breakfast dish and it is perfect for days when you have a bit of time in the morning like the weekend or a holiday but if you assemble everything the night before you can easily bake it on a busy weekday morning!

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Brussels Sprout Hash with Sweet Potato and Bacon

Brussels sprouts have to be one of my favourite fall green vegetables and I had been meaning to try something new with them, a brussels sprout hash. Hash is a dish that often consists of diced meat, onions and potatoes and it is typically served as a breakfast dish along with eggs. I was thinking that it would be great fun to change things up a bit and do brussels sprouts for breakfast in a 'hash' along with some bacon, onions and sweet potato served with fried eggs! Brussels sprouts can be a little on the bitter side so I went with sweet potatoes for this hash to balance things out and the bacon adds a nice smokiness and saltiness. Hash is super easy to make and it is a one pan dish as you can cook the eggs in the pan in little holes or wells made in the hash and you can transfer the pan to the oven to finish cooking the tops of the eggs.

The brussels sprout hash with sweet potatoes and bacon turned out wonderfully well and I have to say that it is fun to have brussels sprouts for breakfast! I enjoy this brussels sprout hash so much that I have been making different versions of over the last few days and although I prefer it with sweet potatoes it also works with regular potatoes and even without the potatoes!

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Pesto Caprese Omelette

With summer quickly coming to an end I have been trying to enjoy it as much as I can and recently I have been focusing on the fresh field ripened tomatoes and basil. The other day I realized that I was not making the most of the summer produce with my breakfasts and that led to the idea of these pesto caprese omelettes! The basic idea was to take all of the ingredients of a caprese salad including tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and use them in an omelette. Of course the easiest thing to do would be to make an omelette and simply throw the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella into it but I knew that they would be even better if I used a fresh homemade basil pesto instead of just basil and not only did I place the pesto into the omelettes filling along with the tomatoes and mozzarella but I also mixed some into the eggs. The trick to these omelettes is to place the mozzarella into the eggs while they cook so that it melts and then place the tomatoes and pesto in later so that they both remain as fresh as possible! I have to say that the pesto caprese omelettes are both a great way to start the day and to enjoy some of summers produce!

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Carnitas Eggs Benedict

On the weekend when I have more time on breakfast I often like to do something special and given my passion for them, it often involves runny egg yolks. I kicked this weekend off with some eggs benedict with a Mexican twist using moist, tender and crispy carnitas that I had made earlier in the week. Eggs Benedict is made with ham and a poached egg on an English muffin covered in hollandaise sauce but you can easily change things up by swapping the meat, sauce or even the muffin. Although I am totally into hollandaise sauce I felt that a nice salsa verde would be a better option to go along with the carnitas and I mixed a mashed avocado into it to thicken it up and because avocados are simply amazing! I finished the carnitas egg benedict off with some pickled red onions and some crumbled cotija.

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Steak and Eggs Benedict with Asparagus in Bearnaise Sauce

Father's Day is this weekend and what better way to show him how much you care than to cook something special for him. Dads might not be all that big on breakfast in bed but you cannot go wrong making him a nice breakfast or brunch. Some dads aren't into the whole quiche or even eggs benedict breakfast thing so when I came across the idea for this steak and eggs benedict on Nibble Me This I knew that I had found an eggs benedict that even dad would love! Steak and eggs is a classic breakfast combo, asparagus goes well with steak and bearnaise sauce goes phenomenally well with both steak and asparagus so this dish is a hit on every front!

Although eggs benedict is more involved than a lot of breakfast recipes, it is actually pretty easy to make. To lighten the load in the morning, grill up an extra steak for dinner the night before and set it aside in the fridge for breakfast the next day. All that is left to do is toast the english muffins, steam the asparagus, make the bearnaise sauce and poach the eggs. To make things even easier I like to use a simple blender version of the bearnaise sauce that only takes a few minutes to make which means that the hardest part of this recipe is poaching the eggs which is easy peasy.

Dad is sure to appreciate this steak and eggs benedict with asparagus in bearnaise sauce for breakfast on Father's Day!

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Asparagus, Baby Artichoke, Pesto and Goat Cheese Quiche with Quinoa Crust

I don't know what it is about spring and asparagus but at this time of year I always seem to think about asparagus quiches which I never tire of and I always love experimenting with. This year was no different and I wanted to try something a little different, a quinoa crust instead of the more standard all butter pie crust. Up until recently my favourite crust for quiches has been a brown rice pie crust and I figured that quinoa should work equally as well as a pie crust. The quinoa pie crust is pretty easy to make and all you need to do is cook some quinoa, mix in an egg and some cheese as binders and pre-bake the crust until golden brown before continuing with your quiche recipe as normal. For this quiche I had to go with the asparagus which had been on my mind, along with baby artichokes and I flavoured the quiche with a healthy dose of fresh homemade basil pesto and some creamy and tangy goat cheese. This asparagus, baby artichoke, pesto and goat cheese quiche may take a bit of time to make but it is well worth it and it definitely makes for one impressively tasty weekend breakfast or brunch! With the quinoa crust and the use of milk rather than heavy cream you can enjoy this healthy quiche with little or no regret!

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Baked Avocado Bacon and Eggs

I have been seeing these baked avocado bacon and eggs on pinterest for a while now and I cannot believe that it has taken me so long to make them! Both avocados and bacon are two of my favourite foods and eggs are not far behind so combining them together in one simple dish can only be loads of goodness! The basic idea is to cut an avocado in half, scoop out enough to fit an egg, fill it with the egg and then bake it until the egg is set the way you like. In total it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes and in that time you can cook some bacon up to sprinkle on top. Once baked you can eat it by the spoonful right out of the avocado shell or you can spread it on toast. The warm baked avocado is sublimely good and combined with a runny egg yolk and smokey bacon and you have a breakfast made in heaven! (See below for the runny egg yolk in all of it's glory!)

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Ham and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas

Are you lucky enough to still have some leftover ham from Easter? (Or do you have some bacon on hand?) These ham and egg breakfast quesadillas are a great way to enjoy it in a tasty breakfast that is easy to make and comes together in a matter of minutes! It is so easy to add some leftover ham into scrambled eggs for a tasty breakfast but why not try doing something new and fun like quesadillas? You could throw pretty much anything that you want into these quesadillas and since I like mine spicy I tend go with salsa and jalapenos along with the ham, eggs and cheese. After a few days of these amazing ham and egg breakfast quesadillas I will be sad to see the rest of the leftover ham disappear!

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Buffalo Chicken Deviled Eggs

I have been on an egg kick this Easter and with the success of the bacon guacamole deviled eggs I could not help but think of other flavours to use in deviled eggs and of course one of my first thoughts was of buffalo chicken deviled eggs! You really can't go wrong with buffalo chicken anything and I really liked the sound of combining chicken and egg in a tasty buffalo chicken deviled egg appetizer! The recipe for these deviled eggs could not be easier with a chicken and egg 'salad' with mayonnaise and finely diced carrots, celery, onions and a bit of blue cheese. Once everything is mixed up you just add some buffalo hot sauce, stuff the hard boiled eggs and you are all set to impress at your Easter, or other, get together!

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Bacon Guacamole Deviled Eggs

It is hard to think about Easter without thinking about eggs and deviled eggs are a great way to include some eggs in your Easter menu. Deviled eggs are hard boiled eggs that are served cut in half and stuffed with a mixture that typically includes the egg yolk along with some mayonnaise, mustard and a touch of hot sauce or a garnish of chili powder. Although your basic deviled eggs are great all by themselves you do not have to stick with the basic filling; you can go crazy with the flavours and one of my favourite ways to stuff them is with guacamole! You cannot go wrong combining two already amazing things like eggs and guacamole in a new dish like guacamole deviled eggs! As good as the guacamole deviled eggs sound I could hardly resist stopping there and I had to throw in another amazing ingredient, bacon! Bacon and eggs is a match made in heaven and bacon and avocado is not far behind so why not combine them all in bacon guacamole deviled eggs? No matter how you cut it, these bacon guacamole deviled eggs are bound to be a hit at your Easter gathering!

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Reuben Cauliflower Corned Beef Hash

If you are lucky enough to still have any leftover corned beef, I have one more tasty way for you to enjoy it; in a reuben style corned beef and cauliflower hash. This hash has all of the flavours of a reuben sandwich including the corned beef, sauerkraut, melted swiss cheese, russian dressing and caraway seeds for the dark rye bread flavour. This dish could of course be done with the more common potatoes but I wanted to lighten it up a bit and went with cauliflower this time as it does amazingly well in hash! This might just be one of the easiest and tastiest ways to enjoy some leftover corned beef for breakfast!

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