Nothing To Cook For Breakfast? Make Breakfast Anyway

Waking up on the weekend, one doesn't want to get dressed. One wants to throw on a pair of shorts, veg out on the couch, listen to music and possibly read the newspaper. One--and I'm pretty much talking about myself here--definitely doesn't want to go to the grocery store to buy breakfast ingredients. So what to do when there aren't enough breakfast ingredients to make a normal breakfast? You make breakfast anyway.

The best strategy for this is to raid your freezer and see what you find. Last weekend, I did just that and what did I find? Frozen leftovers from that time I hosted a Make Your Own Taco Night. That's chorizo, beans and onions cooked together. I took the whole thing, frozen, plopped it into a pan, added a little water, turned up the heat and waited. 15 minutes later, with some stirring and tasting, I had this.

That picture may not make your stomach growl because, ya know, meat and beans together in a pot isn't the sexiest thing. So how to make it look nicer?

In my refrigerator I had TWO eggs and a little leftover arugula. I tossed the arugula with olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper, and then fried the eggs in olive oil. To present this, I spooned the beef/bean mixture into bowls, put arugula around the periphery and the fried egg in the middle.

Amazing what a little dressing up can do. And amazing how putting a fried egg on something suddenly transforms it into breakfast.

I didn't have to spend a dime to make this and it tasted as good as something you might pay $14 for at a fancy brunch place. So this weekend: be bold, be inventive and be frugal. If you're unsure, just do what I do: put an egg on it. See you back here on Monday!