A bag of 66 cent breakfast burritos!
One of Trader Joe’s new items this fall is breakfast burritos, two for $2.99. The burritos are filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, turkey bacon and cheddar cheese. Although it was a splurge, I picked up a package to have the girls check them out. Their verdict: OK, but very, very bland. My verdict: Very expensive for just two burritos, and I’d have to buy two packages to feed all three girls (Meiling would get two). I knew I could make my own and that they would not only be cheaper but taste better too.
The girls and I discussed what would make a tastier breakfast burrito and decided that breakfast sausage would have more flavor than bacon, and that either sharp cheddar (or extra sharp) or pepper jack cheese would boost the tastiness of the burritos. Meiling also asked that I mix the eggs, sausage and hashbrowns when I filled the burritos and then top with cheese, rather than layering them, so that each bite is guaranteed a mix of flavors.
Here’s what I paid for ingredients:
- 3/4 pound local bulk breakfast sausage: $2.73
- 1 package local flour tortillas (10): $1.29
- 1/2 package hash brown potatoes: $.85
- 4 oz. local sharp cheddar cheese: $1.11
- 5 eggs: $.62
- onion and salsa: on hand
Total spent: $6.60 for 10 burritos, or 66 cents per burrito.
To make the burritos, after cooking each separately I gently mixed together the sausage, eggs (scrambled with some diced onion) and hash browns as requested. I put about a 1/2 cup or so of filling in each tortilla, topped with a little salsa and some grated cheese and wrapped. I then placed each finished burrito on an aluminum tray for the freezer, then bagged the frozen individual burritos so they can easily be taken out and heated in the microwave, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high.
The verdict: Sorry Trader Joe’s – these are way better. Easy, frugal and delicious!
September 15th, 2011 at 7:56 am
I am adding this to my list of breakfast items to make and freeze for my kids. I love the idea of having breakfast ready in under 2 minutes!
September 15th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
I frankly have no idea why I hadn’t made these before. They were so easy, and I LOVE how quick they are to prepare in the morning. My oldest is not a big fan of tortillas, but she ate two of these the other morning!
September 16th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Alea, do you have other ideas for make-ahead quick breakfasts? My son will NOT sit down to eat breakfast at the table before school. Breakfast simply has to be portable. I’ve been making burritos for ages, and I also keep home-made muffins in the freezer — but would love some other ideas.
September 15th, 2011 at 8:55 am
My kids are the same way. They think most of the frozen items just lack flavor. They will almost always ask me to cook something rather than pick up a frozen entree of any kind. I think it is cool that they still want me to cook. They both have jobs and could eat out but choose the better for them meal at Mom’s place.
September 15th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I was kind of surprised by how bland TJ’s burritos were because they sounded tasty from the ingredients. I couldn’t taste any bacon and the potatoes were flavorless. They didn’t even bother to add salt and pepper, it seemed.
My kids still want a home-fixed lunch for school. I hope they’re like your kids and still want a home-cooked meal from Mom when they’re older.
September 15th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Breakfast burritos are one of my favorite, easy-to-freeze breakfast go-tos. This is my “recipe” (I just kind of throw it together and see what works:
1 package soy chorizo (cheaper than sausage and tastier, in my opinion, but real food lovers usually complain cuz it’s made with TVP)
some eggs (5? 6?)
1 bunch kale
some onion
some garlic
some roasted corn (I am so good with these recipe things!)
Handful of grated sharp cheddar
Cup or so of black beans
1-3 bell peppers, whatever color you have
Saute everything but the cheese (depending on the type of kale, I will sometimes boil or steam it first and then add it to the creation) and eggs. Toss in eggs or scramble separately. Let cool, throw in a dollop or two of creation into tortillas, toss in some cheese, wrap in tinfoil and freeze. They are usually thawed by the time lunch rolls around or you can take them out to defrost the the night before. Bam! Delish. Oh, sometime I will also throw in some salsa.
Ok. I’m done blabbing now.
September 15th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Blab away all you want! I always love hearing from you.
Your burritos sound AWESOME. But I have one who does not like chorizo, soy or otherwise. And other who does not want beans at breakfast before she goes to school (you can imagine why). But I may sneak in the bell peppers, kale and corn next time. Garlic would be good, too.
September 16th, 2011 at 10:46 am
No chorizo? (Ok, I get the beans, I just make my coworkers suffer!) No chorizo is CRAZY TALK.
September 16th, 2011 at 5:25 am
Sounds delicious! Thanks for posting the recipe and idea for a quick breakfast!
September 16th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
We’ve been making our own breakfast burritos around here for ages. Easy and delicious. I usually add black beans to mine, and I often saute some garlic with the potatoes. But every time it’s a bit different… depending on what I’ve got in the house and what I’m in the mood for. My son heats one in the microwave and then eats it on the way to school.
September 16th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Our oldest has been anti-burrito for breakfast for as long as I can remember – she doesn’t like bread in the morning for some reason – so I was surprised when she agreed to try one of the Trader Joe’s burritos, and then ate two of the homemade ones the other morning.
I plan to mix it up a bit and use what I have on hand the next time I make up a batch, although I have been told “no beans” from all three girls so will not add those.