Cooking with Dillon: vegetarian breakfast taco

If you’re like me, you get sick of campus food pretty quick. Even worse, you can end up spending hundreds of dollars a semester on food that’s never exactly what you expected it to be. That’s why I’ve nailed down a few simple, cheap recipes that I, and you, can make at home in just a few minutes. The first recipe in this series was cheap and easy fried rice. Then I showed you all how to make spaghetti with tomato sauce. This time we’re diving into the most important meal of the day — breakfast. 

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There are few things in this world more satisfying than a breakfast taco. This meatless version relies on the heavenly pairing of refried beans and scrambled eggs, wedded together with some queso fresco and a bit of hot sauce. All the components besides the eggs can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge, so this is a perfect meal for those mornings you wish you could just stay in bed.

Ingredients:

  • 4 small flour tortillas
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 can black beans, drained of their liquid
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • ½ cup queso fresco 
  • Cumin, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
  • Hot sauce for serving (I use the green chile Cholula brand, but stick to your favorite).

Chop the peppers, onion and garlic. Saute on medium in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until the onions are soft and translucent. Smash down the beans with a fork until a paste is formed. Season with cumin, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan with the red bell pepper and cook on medium high until the pepper chars a bit. Set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan and set on high. Once the pan is hot, crack two eggs into the pan and scramble with a spatula until eggs are cooked, about 10-20 seconds. Set aside quickly as to not overcook the eggs.

Warm the tortillas by heating them in the microwave for 10 seconds. Assemble the taco by adding the beans, red bell peppers and eggs to the tortilla, topping with cheese and hot sauce. Makes 4 tacos.