So, breakfast tacos may not be the most innovative or exciting dish on the planet, but this recipe is very dear to me. Not only is it the first meal I ever created, but it also contains a super secret ingredient that will finally be revealed to the world [wide web] …
As for the wonderful things about breakfast tacos, like most of the recipes this month, you can mix-n-match and load it up any way you please– it can be a great way to work veggies into your morning! And for those looking for quick fixes before jetting off to work, this taco filling keeps quite well, so be sure to try out making a big batch on Sunday and then reheating the next morning or two.
Now that I’ve digressed, let’s get back to the big secret. This is obviously a tex-mex dish, which opens the door for any number of special sauces. Lots of people plop their favorite salsa on top before wrapping it up and some adventurous types will mix in tomatillos or green chili sauce, but twelve-year-old me had a whole different idea…
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Yup, that’s it. Taco Bell sauce. And for those of you wondering how I manage to cook with this wonderful sauce while living oceans away from any sign of a Taco Bell, it’s time for another confession: I horde it. About once a year, somewhere in a video surveillance room back at my neighborhood Taco Bell in Texas, there is a security guard cursing, “There’s that blonde girl emptying the mild sauce bucket again!” I’ve left books and shoes and sweaters behind when my luggage gets too heavy, but I will always make room for a pound of sauce packets. I know I probably shouldn’t be confessing to pseudo-petty theft online, but with Taco Bell dinners popping up in grocery stores nowadays, common’ guys– SELL THE SAUCE! Then maybe I wouldn’t have to steal it…
[Prep: — / Cook: 15-20min]
– breakfast sausage of choice (~3 small links, 2 patties or 1/3 of a sausage roll)
– 3 large eggs
– 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend (cheddar and monterrey jack)
– 4 packets of secret sauce
– flour tortillas
– seasoned salt (or just salt)
– black pepper
– dash of milk
- In a large skillet, heat the sausage links (cook thoroughly if not pre-cooked).
- Meanwhile, beat/whisk the eggs, 2 packets of sauce, salt & pepper and a dash of milk (no more than ¼ cup) in a bowl.
- When the sausage is finished, remove to a bowl or plate, cut-up and mash with a fork to get ground sausage.
- In the same skillet, scramble the eggs in the sausage grease. Just as the eggs are almost fully cooked, mix in the cheese and add the sausage back in.
- Divide the mixture as desired across flour tortillas. Top with remaining sauce and wrap up tight.
[Serves 2]
Notes- Cooking the eggs in the sausage grease is obviously not the healthiest idea, but it does make for better flavored eggs. Proceed as you wish.
- It’s taken years of tweaking to get the sauce “dynamics” perfect. You get a better kick from the sauce when it goes on last, but some still needs to be mixed in to make the eggs right. And, of course, more is even better…I just have to ration my supply!
- As a twelve-year-old, I put the heated/cooked sausage in a plastic baggie and then mashed it up with my hands. It was quite efficient. Not sure why I stopped doing it that way…
Variations
- I personally like a meat-based breakfast, so the main way I tweak this is to add potatoes/hash browns and bacon/bacon bits.
- But they’re also great with veggies– you can always pile on onions, mushrooms and peppers. Try a frozen mix to keep the recipe quick and easy.
- Sausage: use your favorite. Chorizo would be fabulous and oh-so much more Mexicano, but I can’t eat pretty much all store-bought chorizo and therefore cannot speak for it. What I can speak for, though, is the ease of cutting open a simple sausage link from the butcher’s/meat section. Just add some chili powder/pepper/cilantro, etc and the meat’s already conveniently ground up.
- I know my secret sauce may not be for everyone. I just hope that the next time you decide to make breakfast tacos, jazz them up a bit with some taco sauce or salsa before it’s finished cooking to give it a bit more punch!