Brinner

I love breakfast food! Truth is I don't always have time for a "fancy" breakfast or my tummy just isn't ready in the morning. We solve this problem with breakfast for dinner - brinner. On the menu - roasted potatoes (baked home fries); omelet and a fruit salad.

Starting with the home fries. I cubed red potatoes sprinkled them with garlic, onion powder, pepper and a bunch of chopped cilantro. There are many herbs you could use if you don't care for cilantro. We love cilantro in our house. Funny thing is that was not always the case. In fact, for a long time I despised (I can't emphasize the word enough) cilantro. I spent 2 months in Honduras with the Peace Corps. There was a distinctive flavor in the food. While I was there I got really sick and had to return home - that taste stayed with me. Turns out that flavor was cilantro. I would have nothing to do with it for years. I can't remember what changed my mind, but now it is by far our most used herb. I buy it by the bunch during the off season and grow several plants in our garden.

While the potatoes are baking (on a cookie sheet for about 25 minutes at 450F) I prep the filling for the omelets. My husband would die immediately if "fungus" came in contact with his food. Not really, but he would have everyone believe that. So I carefully chop my veggies keeping the mushroom separate. I even chop the mushrooms last so their "germs" don't transfer from the cutting board to the other veggies. I cook our omelet fillings in separate pans. The things we do for love! This particular evening my husband had peppers onions and zucchini. I had mushroom and spinach.

My husband is a sausage freak. I found this turkey sausage that has a good flavor. It is pre-cooked and super convenient for a quick meal. I like that I can keep it in the freezer and just add a little to the veggies for extra sausage flavor without the mess of cooking sausage.

I usually use two whole eggs per omelet. If my husband is feeling extra hungry I add an additional egg white or two to his.

I like to cut up a variety of fresh fruits and squeeze a little fresh lime juice on them. This fruit salad is a little more decadent than usual - I had pineapple, cuties, strawberries, red grapes and kiwi. Summertime in a bowl!

After the omelet is cooked I sprinkle a little bit of sharp cheddar on the hot eggs. We love cheese in our house and putting a sprinkle on top instead of mixing it in the filling maximizes the cheese flavor.  Maybe it hits the taste buds first and therefore the omelet seems cheesier than it really is. I am not a fan of the fat-free or reduced fat cheeses, so I needed to find a way to stretch a little of the "real" thing.

I don't remember exactly what the calorie count was on this particular meal. We generally try to keep dinner between 400-600 depending on the day. I know it was well within that range. I think this meal is a pretty good calorie bargain!

Crazy blogger confession:  I made this identical brinner two nights in a row because I forgot to take pictures the first night.  I wish the lighting had been better because the  colors were incredible! Thankfully my husband loved it. He didn't mind the repeat in the least.