A Breakfast Bowl: Chicken Chorizo & Potatoes with Scrambled Spinach Eggs

The past couple weeks have been full of activity around our home and ministry. It has been great, but I am starting to feel like I need to "recharge"... meaning, get more sleep.

That's not exactly easy with 3 active kids and a robust baby girl, but I have been managing it by preparing simple breakfasts (like soaked oatmeal porridge) the night before so that my husband can easily get it going while I get a little extra shut-eye in the mornings.

But really, my husband is "The Breakfast Man" and I don't have to worry about him. He can make simple and delicious breakfasts with whatever he can find in my kitchen... especially with eggs!

I love my breakfast man!

Because of all the activity... I've been using my crock pot almost everyday and it was perfect timing that I got a copy of Crock On! from the Homemaking eBook Bundle (you can purchase the book this week for 31 cents along with many others!).

I.
love.
this.
cookbook.

Everything I have made from this cookbook, so far, has been devoured by my family. Even my oldest girl asked for seconds a few times and my hubby can't stop raving about the Enchilada Lasagna.

Yeah, it is good. Very good.

It is pretty rare for me to find a cookbook that almost all the recipes are good.

Anyway, while looking through it... I came across her recipe for Cheesy Sausage Potatoes. That inspired me to use my homemade chicken chorizo (yes, I made it and will share the recipe with you!), but you can use store-bought chorizo.

My husband and I have fond memories of enjoying huevos con chorizo y papas (eggs with mexican sausage & potatoes) while living in Mexico. It was especially delicious with homemade tortillas. Ah!

So, when I saw the recipe in Stacy's book... I knew I had to give it a try with the chicken chorizo that I recently made. I made a couple changes and used queso fresco instead of cheddar cheese, but overall it is somewhat similar to the recipe in Crock On!

I put everything in my crock pot the night before and by morning it was ready for breakfast, perfectly cooked and yummy!

And this is my first time doing breakfast in the crock pot!!

Jon, my breakfast man, decided it needed some greens... so he ran out to the gardens and cut some fresh spinach to scramble up with fresh eggs.

Buen provecho!

Chicken Chorizo & Potatoes

w/ scrambled spinach eggs

2 pounds homemade chicken chorizo (or store-bought)

6 cups potatoes, chopped

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup queso fresco (or cheddar cheese)

2 tsp sea salt

Grease a 4-5 quart crock pot and put in the potatoes.

Brown the chicken chorizo and pour over the potatoes. Add in sour cream, cheese and salt. Stir well. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until potatoes are fork tender.

2 fresh eggs

4-6 spinach leaves, chopped

sea salt & pepper

Crack eggs over a small bowl. Whisk well and pour into a hot, oiled cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Throw in spinach and turn eggs over them. Cook until done.

Scoop the chicken chorizo & potatoes into a bowl and top them with scrambled spinach eggs. Sprinkle on some sea salt and fresh pepper to taste.

If desired, serve with hot tortillas! Enjoy!

Also, this simple meal makes excellent leftovers and I just had a bowl of it with scrambled spinach eggs and fresh corn tortillas this morning. Yum!

Have you bought the Homemaking Bundle, yet? You can get Crock On! (along with 96 other books) in the bundle for $29.97 (that's 31 cents a book!) or you can purchase it alone through this link.

Note: There are some affiliate links on this post and if you make a purchase, I will get a small commission (no extra charge to you!). Thank you!

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VitaClay Winner & GREAT DISCOUNT!

Here's the moment you all have been waiting for!!


But first, I must say a big thank you to Vitaclay for generously giving away one VitaClay 2-in-1 Rice N' Slow Cooker - 8 cups to one of my readers! So, Thank you!


I really love this cooker. I just made Chicken Tortilla Soup yesterday and my chicken wasn't fully thawed, but I went ahead and threw it in along with some fresh carrots (my first from our garden!), onions, cilantro, garlic, spices, water and tomato paste. I turned it on to the "Soup" mode and added on 30 more minutes to make sure the chicken cooked thoroughly. It came out DEElicious! The meat was very tender and melting off the bones. The veggies was just right and the flavor was superb! The best part was that it only took 10 minutes tops to throw it all in there. I am totally making it again!

 

So, the winner of this fabulous machine is...........

Ann Pettenaude!!!

Star_2000_shineat@------------

"Hi Mare, how cool is that cooker? I've wanted a rice cooker for a long time but I try to avoid nonstick at all costs. If I won I would make simple brown rice for my first meal, I just can't get it right on the stove. "   - Ann P 

This is so fun! Ann is actually a good friend of ours and we worked together several years back at Rancho Sordo Mudo. So cool that she got randomly chosen to win this giveaway!

Congratulations Ann! I know you are gonna love it once you see how perfect the brown rice comes out! Hope you will have many more good meals coming out of that fabulous machine and that your hubby will be impress  ;o)   -Your Friend, Mare.

Now, for the rest of you mamas... VitaClay is giving the first 100 shoppers a nice 20% discount for the VitaClay 2-in-1 Rice N' Slow Cooker - 8 cups. That's $18 off the already reduced price on their website! The original price is $129.99, but on sale for $89.99 ($40 off!) & the first 100 shoppers can get it for $71.99 ($58 off!).


VitaClay said you won't be able to find a nice deal like that anywhere. So, if I were you, I could take this code: EW20 and buy that sweet cooker!! I promise you that you will be so glad you did! Think about it... you are getting two things for a good price, a rice cooker & slow cooker made in a non-toxic clay pot. I looked and saw that many of the upscale rice cookers sell anywhere from $100 to $300 on Amazon and that's not including a slow cooker mode.


Alright, I know I said enough... now, go talk to the hubby or just buy it!  ;o)


Thank you everyone for participating in the giveaway and I have another one coming up very soon, keep a lookout for it! Have a great week.

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Mother's Day Review & Giveaway: Vitaclay Rice Cooker & Slow Cooker ($129 Value)

This giveaway is now over. A big thanks to Vitaclay for their generosity and to all of you who entered! Winner will soon be announced!!


With Mother's Day coming up quickly, I knew I had to post a giveaway for all you mamas out there who would love to have one of these. Thanks to the generosity of VitaClay, I have a cooker to giveaway to one blessed mama!


First, I must share my review and how I came across this amazing dual cooker that now sits in my kitchen.

Finding the VitaClay Cooker
Several months back I started doing research on rice cookers to see if they were really worth having in the kitchen. I've been able to make nearly perfect rice, both white and brown, on my stovetop consistently. It never really cross my mind to get a rice cooker... just one less thing to have in the kitchen, right?


Well, my husband made a comment how maybe a rice cooker would be nice to have to give me more space on my stovetop. He had a good point. I often wish my stovetop was a better build (it is Latin American made, not recommended!) so that the heating is even and there is enough space for me to put in my big pots next to each other when I am cooking for large groups.


...But I am not here to complain  :o)  It is what I have and I make the best of it as much as I can. LOL!


Anyway, while doing research and not finding anything good... I came across the VitaClay Rice Cooker & Slow Cooker. I was thrilled to find out that the company had developed a rice cooker and slow cooker dual that uses a natural clay pot, rather than aluminum or non-stick. The clay pot is made from unglazed Chinese Zisha Clay!


Of course, I knew I had to try it out and send off an email to the company. They wrote back and generously offered me the VitaClay Chef Gourmet Rice N' Slow Cooker Pro - 8 Cup (makes 16 cups of rice and has a 4.2 quart size capacity) to review. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this cooker!

This cooker is so unique! The outside is all high techy and fancy looking, but then you open it up... there in that fancy machine is a traditional clay pot! It is surprisingly very light-wieghted and easy to work with. VitaClay combines all the rich flavor of traditional clay cooking with the convenience of a slow cooker. Now that's my kinda cooker!


Not only does it help make the food moist and very flavorful, the unglazed clay is toxic-free... making it a much better choice over the usual non-stick or aluminum that pretty much all rice cookers use.


10 Features That Made the VitaClay Cooker a Winner:

• The all-natural clay enriches the flavor and texture of your food
• Free of aluminum, added lead and Teflon... no chemicals touches your food
• Clay is naturally non-stick
• Heats up considerably faster than a slow cooker
• Cooks twice as fast as a slow cooker and keeps the food warm until you are ready to eat
• Saves up to 50% more energy then a slow cooker and gives 60% more cooking efficiency
• Makes perfect rice
• Multi-program functions (VitaClay Chef Gourmet Rice N' Slow Cooker Pro - 8 Cup) for savory stews, porridge, soups, fluffy rice, brown rice and sticky rice.
• Has a delayed timer and automatically keeps warm for up to 20 hours
• Push-buttons controls and an easy-to-read LCD display / clock

I only have 3 complaints so far in my testing... the first is to make sure I have enough liquid to cover the food or it will boil down and burn the bottom. I've had that happen only twice because I wasn't paying attention to how much liquid I needed to add in. The second thing is the lid on the clay pot has a small handle that sometimes makes it difficult to pick up without feeling like I might drop it. Don't know if that can be changed or not. The third thing is that I would love the cooker to be larger... it works great for my family plus another person or two, but I would love to be able to have a large enough pot of stew to feed up to 10 people or more.

Overall, I have really enjoyed my VitaClay cooker and excited to keep trying different recipes. Below are what I've tested so far in my cooker... the first 2 meals I got out of the recipe book that came with the cooker:

Thai Curry Chicken 

This was the first recipe I made and it was delicious! I am making a batch this in the VitaClay cooker right now as I type... yeah, its that good!

Greek Beef Stew
I was very surprised by how tender the beef came out in such a short time! Beef here are usually tough because the cows mostly roam on grass and whatever else they can find to eat. The recipe for this Greek Beef stew was simply delicious and rich with spices!

Morrocan Beef Stew
I love this stew and have made it several times in my crockpot, but I made several adjustments and was able to try it out in the VitaClay cooker. It was delicious and the flavors seemed more intense than they did coming out of my crockpot. Great served over wholegrain couscous! Remind me to share the recipe with you later!!

Brown Rice, Jasmine Rice and Basmatic Rice
I was VERY surprised by how perfect the rice came out each time I used it. Not too wet, not too dry and not sticky whatsoever... with just the right amount of chewiness, tenderness & firmness. I know, its hard to believe that rice would come out that perfect... but each one of them have over and over! It is amazing how I can scoop out the rice easily and they crumble apart so nicely into a bowl. I've had NO problems with the rice sticking or browning at the bottom. Its amazing! I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures! The pictures of the bowls above are rice I cooked on my stovetop because the cookers were being used for the stews.


I would like to try other grains and see how they come out. I also want to try making some desserts in the cooker... you know me and my sweet tooth! LOL!


Now, the Giveaway!
Thanks to the generosity of VitaClay, you have a chance to win a VitaClay 2-in-1 Rice N' Slow Cooker - 8 cup (makes 16 cups of rice and has 4.2 quart size capacity).

How to Enter...

Simply leave a comment below what your first meal would be if you won this cooker. That's one entry... please read on for more entries to increase your chance of winning!

Extra Entries...

You must do the main entry above first before doing the extra entries. Remember that each entry is a separate comment! Thanks and have fun!

1. Subscribe to receive my posts via email (1 entry)
2. "Like" Just Making Noise on Facebook and share giveaway on your wall. (1 entry)
3. Follow me on Pinterest and pin this giveaway! (1 entry)

Remember, if you are already subscribed, liked on facebook and follow me on pinterest... you automatically get those entries. Please post a separate comment for EACH entry. You can have a total of 4 entries!

The Rules...

Every comment must have an email address. The giveaway ends May 16th, 2012 and is open to those who live in the USA. The winner will be chosen via random.org

I will contact the winner and the winner will have 48 hours to reply with his/her contact information. If there is no reply, then the winner will be disqualified and a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks for participating and spreading the word about the giveaway.  Hugs!

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