Chicken Breakfast Sausage Taquitos

Hey, peeps!!! Guess what? Easy peasy brunch... breakfast sausage taquitos.

How did I come up with this recipe? Well, I forgot to make my kolache dough and wanted to make breakfast with chicken breakfast sausages. Saw flour tortilla I bought a few days ago from Trader Joe's. Then I had a lightbulb moment... taquitos. Yeah, why not? 

When buying sausages, look for something without sodium nitrites. I found the Never Any's chicken breakfast sausage at Aldi. It is the cleanest breakfast sausage I found so far and trust me... I've searched for new products all the time. You know, I just want something as a backup when life gets too hectic.

Let's get cooking!!!

Chicken Breakfast Sausage Taquitos

makes 7 

1 package of Never Any's chicken breakfast sausage 

8 homemade or store-bought flour tortilla

cooking oil

toothpicks

1. Place a cooling rack over a baking tray. Set aside.
2. Heat 1-inch deep of cooking oil in a heavy bottom pot.
3. Cut the flour tortilla slightly shorter than the sausage.
4. Roll the sausage tightly around tortilla.
5. Secure with a toothpick.
6. Repeat until all breakfast sausages are wrapped around the tortilla. 
7. Deep-fry in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides.
8. Place the chicken breakfast sausage taquitos on the cooling rack allowing them to drain.
9. Enjoy them while they are warm.  

Allergy Info: These chicken breakfast sausages taquitos are free from dairy, egg, legumes (soy and peanuts), nuts (not coconut), and fish.

Coffee Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

What's not to like about making my own ice cream? Not a single thing!!!

I came up with the coffee ice cream recipe many moons ago. The original recipe was made with dairy condensed milk, so I wasn't inspired to blog about it. For one thing, I didn't wanna blog about dairy ice cream. I mean, I can just buy dairy ice cream pretty much anywhere. I wanna share allergy-friendly recipes. You know, the food that I can't find in the stores. The food that I have to make it on my own.

Months ago, I found coconut condensed milk while browsing the health food store. Right then and there, I had a lightbulb moment. Dairy free coffee ice cream for Brek. DONE!!!

What's else to blog about. Let's do it!!! With less than 20 minutes, I present you... dairy free coffee ice cream. And by all mean, sprinkle some crispy bacon on top. I did, and it was... well, you try it and let me know how you like it. Or try other toppings. The possibilities of adds-in are endless.

Coffee Ice Cream (Dairy Free)
serving 4 - 6

2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) coconut cream
2/3 cup (5 oz.) coconut condensed milk
2 Tablespoons (0.3 oz.) instant coffee granules
crispy bacon or your favorite toppings (optional)

Use the ice cream maker

1. In a large (4 oz.) cup with a spout, whisk all of the ingredients together.
2. Pour the coffee mixture into the ice cream maker's freezer bowl.
3. Turn on the machine and allow the coffee mixture to churn for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Enjoy the soft serve coffee ice cream right away, or scoop it into a freezable container and freeze it for an hour or overnight.

No ice cream maker? No worries...

1. In a large bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together.
2. Transfer the coffee mixture to the freezable container.
3. Freeze the coffee mixture for an hour.
4. Take out the soft serve coffee ice cream and beat it with a fork.
5. Put the coffee ice cream back in the freezer.
6. Freeze it for four hours or overnight before serving. Enjoy it with your fav toppings!!!

STORING: Keep the coffee ice cream in an airtight freezable container for up to 3 months.

Allergy Info: This coffee ice cream is free from dairy, egg, corn, legumes (soy and peanuts), wheat, nuts (not coconut), and fish. I've used Aroy-D coconut cream, Nature's Charm coconut condensed milk, and Trader Joe's 100% Columbian Instant Coffee.

Basil Pesto

After scanning through too many cookbooks for school lunch ideas, I came across a lot of recipes calling for pesto. For cold lunch, pesto pasta is a great option. Of course, all of the prepackaged pesto have some sort of cow cheese, something that Brek tries to avoid.

I decided that it was time to learn how to make my own pesto. After reviewing recipes after recipes, pesto is nothing more than basil leaves and oil with added nuts and cheese. With my homemade pesto, I just skip the cheese and use whatever nuts I have at the time. I have to admit that I prefer almonds over other nuts.

The possibility of using basil pesto is endless. I added it to pasta for my kids' cold lunch. It's a great flavor bomb in stir-fried noodles (Italian style), soup, or pasta sauce.

Be sure to add lemon juice so the pesto will stay brightly green. Feel free to sub other nuts or skip the nuts. Sub other oil too. Because all of the ingredients aren't cooked, use organic ingredients if possible. And save the basil stems (in the freezer) to add to pasta sauce to up the flavor.


Basil Pesto
makes about 1 cup

2 large garlic cloves (peeled)
4 cups fresh basil leaves (washed, dried, and stemmed)
1/2 cup (2 oz.) sliver almonds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup (4 oz.) sunflower oil
zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. In a food processor, add garlic cloves and pulse about 10 times until the garlic is coarsely chopped.
2. Add basil leaves, almonds, and salt.
3. Pulse until the thick green sauce is formed.
4. Add oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
5. Pulse a few times to combine.
6. Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.  

Allergy Info: My basil pesto is free from dairy, egg, corn, legumes (peanuts and soy), wheat, and fish.