Huevos Rancheros

The other day, I woke craving Huevos Rancheros. From my favorite restaurant in Albuquerque: Charlie’s Front Door. Oh Charlie’s how I miss you! … but of course I’m not there, I”m here.

I can’t make Huevos like Charlie’s Front Door does. They have this green chile sauce they smother it in that is just flipping amazing. I am not even going to try to replicate that … I just want to tell you, if you happen to get to Albuquerque, please stop in and visit Charlie’s Front Door … they have so many dishes there I would almost kill just to taste them one more time … the Jocoque and the Indian tacos are ooooh so good …

Don’t get me wrong! I CAN make a pretty mean Huevos Rancheros.  AND it’s a healthy, filling Mexican meal you can make in minutes, so it’s doable even on a busy workday. And the awesome advantage of these is you can have them just about anywhere, anytime. All you need is tortillas, eggs, cheese, and a few basic Mexican toppings.

Huevos Rancheros

(per serving)

• 1 small tortilla (corn or flour … whole wheat is good … I didn’t have any corn so had to use flour)
• Refried beans (or whole beans … I just happened to have some very tasty spicy chipotle refried beans on hand)
• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 or 2 eggs (how much space do you have on your tortilla? how much protein do you want?)
• Salt & freshly ground pepper
• Toppings: Salsa, chopped onion, avocado, tomato, jalapenos, green chile sauce, cilantro … (did I miss anything? what else could you use?)

Heat a skillet pan (or cast iron skillet) over medium heat and spray it with cooking spray. Put a tortilla in the pan and let it toast until it’s golden brown on the bottom. Flip it over.

Slide it out of the pan briefly and on the toasted side, spread it with refried beans and sprinkle with a bit of sharp cheddar cheese. Put it back in the pan with the un-toasted side down. Crack an egg (or two) over top.

Now cover, and cook on medium low heat until the egg white is cooked and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Check it periodically to make sure it isn’t burning the tortilla on the bottom.  (If your egg covers the cheese and beans, you can even flip it to cook the egg “over easy” … I wouldn’t recommend that approach if you have any cheese sticking out, though.)

Slide your lovely cheesy egg tortilla onto a plate and garnish with your choice of toppings. The bottom of mine was a little crunchy. That’s totally okay in my book. I love crunchy! … by the way, I added a big, messy slather of my sister’s salsa after I took the pictures …

Now, if you’ll excuse me, things are starting to get a little messy over here …

This recipe was shared at Fit & Fabulous Fridays, Weekend Potluck, Everyday Mom’s Meals, Scrumptious Sundays, Moosewood Monday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways and Mealtime Mondays.