We try to be diligent about not wasting food in our house. There are so many people who don’t have enough food to eat and it doesn’t seem fair to waste what we have when others are going without. But somehow, it doesn’t seem all that easy to ensure no food is wasted. We have the best intentions, but leftovers sometimes go forgotten in the back corner of the fridge, never to be seen again, that is until we clean out the fridge and realize we failed at our mission.
Well, we’ve been more dedicated lately to not wasting food. I’ve been trying to cook more proportionate meals that don’t yield as many left overs, we’ve been housing left overs in the front part of the fridge and we’ve been getting creative with the left overs we have. All to ensure we’re using them up and not putting them in the trash.
Last weekend, we had steak and had about half a steak left after dinner and used it to cook a healthy, delicious and protein packed scramble for breakfast the next morning. I wonder sometimes why we don’t do this type of breakfast more often. Time I suppose has a lot to do with it, but these breakfasts are so wholesome and packed with so much goodness. They really set you off on a good foot for the day and satisfy the need for fuel well into lunchtime – something a small piece of toast just can’t do.
I’ll provide the main ingredients I used in our scramble, but I’d also like to encourage you to get a little creative and make up your own version. There are so many different ways you can make a scramble and a lot of what satisfies the palate is dependent on each person’s preferences. Perhaps you like yours spicy with a lot of veggies. By all means, load your scramble up with some jalapenos, onions, garlic, peppers and other veggies that satisfy your palate. Maybe you like a good mix of spicy and sweet. If this is the case, try adding in some diced apples or maybe even a little date paste with some jalapeno, onions and garlic. Or maybe you like a good old fashioned Denver Omelet style scramble. That’s great! Pack if full of onions, garlic, peppers and cheese.
Whatever flavor you decide upon, here’s how to begin!
Dice up your meat and veggies of choice. Onions and garlic are a staple in our house, so we always start with this! If you’re using onions and garlic also, begin with about 2 tbsp. of oil (we use olive oil) in a pan. Heat it up until it sizzles when you add a drop or two of water to it. Turn the heat to medium low and add in the onions and garlic. Cook on medium low (sauté) until the onions begin to look see through (translucent). Add in your remaining crisp veggies such as sweet peppers, jalapeno, apples (yes, this really is a delicious ingredient in a scramble!), parsnip (a delicious and slightly sweet root), etc. Sauté until these veggies just begin to soften. Now add in your meat and spices.
When it comes to spices, there’s two things to consider: what spices do you like and what spices go well with the ingredients in your dish. What I’ve learned personally over the years is that personal preference wins over what goes best with the ingredients you cook. For instance, sage is most known for pairing best with chicken and turkey. But I love the taste of sage in a steak scramble. It gives it a good woodsy taste that pairs well with the veggies and cheese. However, I do not like sage on a grilled steak, which to me should be packed with robust spices that pop when you bite into it..
My point is…don’t worry too much about what spices go with what ingredients. Discover for yourself what spices you like and what ingredients you like them with. But if you’re just getting started and need a little guidance, here’s some general rules about spices and meats…
Once you add the meat and spices of your choosing, allow the mixture to sauté. If you’re using raw meat in your dish, make sure you cook your mixture of ingredients until the meat is fully cooked. If you’re using left over meat that has already been cooked, which is often what we do, you only need to sauté it for 5-10 minutes.
Now it’s time to add in your softer ingredients such as tomatoes, mushrooms, avocado, etc. Allow the mixture to sauté for about another 2-5 minutes, or until the softer ingredients are tender and you can smell the flavor coming out. Now it’s time to add in your eggs!
My rule of thumb for how many eggs to add is 1 1/2 eggs per person. If you are cooking a scramble for two people, use 3 eggs. If you’re cooking a scramble for four, use 6 eggs. And so on. If you’re cooking for little tikes, you can reduce the serving size per person to 1 egg for each little you’re cooking for.
Some people like to mix their egg with a little milk. If this is your preference, mix your concoction up before adding your eggs to your scramble. My personal preference is to use straight eggs. Again, this is about personal preference, so don’t feel like you need to do it one way or another. Maybe you want it with milk one time and without the next. Great! Or maybe you’ve never had it without milk and want to try it. That’s great too! Cooking is about being creative, adventurous and trying new things. So try something new and discover what you like, or what you don’t like – because let’s be honest, this happens sometimes too!
Add your eggs to your mixture and turn the heat up to medium. Continue stirring to thoroughly mix in the egg as it cooks. You want all the flavors of your dish to blend together, so stirring is important. As the egg cooks with the other ingredients in your pan, the flavors will seep into the egg.
If you’re adding cheese, add it when most of the egg is fully cooked and there are a few pieces of egg that are almost but not quite cooked. Adding the cheese at this stage will again help all the flavors to blend together well. Once the egg is fully cooked, your scramble is complete and ready to eat.
You can eat your scramble as it is or you can choose to go the extra mile and top it with something fun! If you’ve chosen to cook a spicy scramble, perhaps it would be tasty to add a dollop of sour cream and maybe even some avocado on top. If you’ve chosen a Denver omelet style scramble, you might light a scoop of gravy on top. Or maybe you want a bit of melted cheese oozing into every pocket. Again, this is about personal preference. If you’re not sure what you want, try something new and find out. You might just discover a new dish you’re crazy about!
Here’s a tip as you begin to explore in the kitchen. Pay attention to the ingredients and roughly how much of each you use. If you create a dish you absolutely love, you’ll be thankful when you’re easily able to make it again. If you end up with a dish you absolutely hate, you’ll know what not to combine next time. Remember,
cooking is an adventure! A good adventure is fun. But adventures don’t always work out how we planned and that’s totally ok! That’s part of exploring, so be ready for this as well!
I’ve included a recipe below if you’re interested in how I made mine…
I’d love to hear how your scramble turned out! Give me a shout and let me know.
Food Crush Cooking Connection 