Tortilla Egg Scramble

In my current quest for comfort food due to my writing schedule (almost done), I have been making things that are super easy and fast, which is always a good combination when I am stressed. And, from my frugal Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry, I am quite obsessed with using up leftovers as I hate to waste food. So, here's what I found: a bag of stale tortilla chips - about 2 cups worth, some leftover meatloaf, 1/2 of an onion, 1/2 of a red pepper and a bit of corn - about 1/4 cup. What to make with that? Well, with several eggs - 4 to be exact, you can make what my kids call Tortilla Eggs. 

My older son never liked eggs when he was younger and the only way he would eat them was if I put a lot of stuff in them to disguise the eggs. Actually the eggs became a binder for whatever I had on hand and could be made into a scramble or a frittata. The resulting combination of eggs and assorted meats and vegetables were dubbed "Eggs and Stuff" and became very popular in my household. Their favorite combination was whenever I added stale corn tortillas cooked in butter until browned or stale tortilla chips. Sometimes that's all I would put in but I like it even better with more stuff. As I have a great love of breakfast for dinner, it is also a wonderful way to create a meal in less than 15 - 20 minutes. This may be something you already make, but if you haven't yet, you need to try this. Just for the record, the name of this dish in Mexico is Migas.

Tortilla Egg Scramble

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups tortilla chips (or about 6 corn tortillas cut or torn into pieces)

1/2 cup of meat - ham, beef, chicken, chorizo sausage, meatloaf, taco meat - cut in small pieces

1/2 onion minced

1/2 red or green pepper or both cut in a dice

2 Tablespoons of butter (may need more if using fresh tortillas)

Optional: I used 1/4 cup corn

In a large bowl, add the eggs to the tortilla chips while you are cutting up the rest of the ingredients.

Heat butter in a frying pan and add onion and red pepper and cook until onion is wilted. (If using fresh tortillas, this is when you add more butter and cook them until lightly browned.) Add other vegetables if using and cook until onion is just beginning to brown. Pour in egg mixture and pull back sides to let more of the egg cook underneath. Let it set only slightly before turning it over and then cutting it up into large chunks with your spatula. Cook until the eggs are just past being runny or it will be overdone and put on a serving plate. Serve with salsa on the side.

Five Element Analysis

Eggs belong to the Water Element so there is plenty of that element represented in this dish. Corn tortillas add the Earth Element and so did the beef that I added in. The onions bring in the Metal Element and the red pepper and the salsa bring in the Fire Element. The only thing missing is the Wood Element and using chicken would solve that, but so would adding any green vegetable to the dish or on the side and that would make this part of a balanced Five Element meal.