Leek and Mushroom Fritatta Breakfast Sandwiches

After eating fritatta breakfast sandwiches every weekday for three weeks, hubby and I were ready for a little change.  We still wanted a tasty breakfast that was full of good things, so I grabbed some leeks and mushrooms, used a couple of chicken thighs, and came up with a new recipe.

This is brunch on a bun.  It’s all the gorgeous flavor of leeks and mushrooms that you can find in my leek and mushroom tart (and most of the same ingredients), in a cute little easy-to-eat package.  It’s savory and feels like you’re eating a meal, but it’s not heavy.  We’ve been shopping a lot at Trader Joe’s and this recipe was scaled up to accomodate two packages of leeks and a package of goat cheese…  As a result it’s going to make more than my original breakfast sandwich recipe does.  But that’s okay…  More leftovers!

It takes a little time to prep (especially since leeks are so difficult to clean), but the results are stellar.

Leek and Mushroom Fritatta Breakfast Sandwiches

• 4 medium leeks, cleaned well and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dry thyme)
• 8 oz mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 small chicken thighs, poached and shredded (or leftover chicken from another application; about half a pound)
• 2 oz crumbled goat cheese
• 12 eggs
• 2 tbsp half and half, cream, or milk
• salt and pepper, to taste

In a large sautee pan, cook leeks and garlic in olive oil on medium-low until softened.  Add mushrooms and thyme and cook through.  Season.  Drain off excess water (the mushrooms always give off lots) and place in large bowl with shredded chicken.  Allow to cool thoroughly before adding eggs, milk, and goat cheese and scrambling well.  Pour into two pans (I used a 9×13″ and an 8″ square) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until set.  I found that this takes a little more time than the spinach and mushroom fritatta to cook; just be sure that the center doesn’t jiggle when you take it out of the oven!  Cool and cut into 16 pieces (if you’re using English muffins, as we are this week, and you cut these according to their size, you’ll actually get “edge” pieces too – I think we have a total of 20 servings).  As with the original, simply let the fritatta cool complete and wedge it between halves of a bun or English muffin before freezing your sandwich.  When you’re ready to eat it, microwave it until it’s warm.

Now, you may be wondering why I don’t have any photos of this…  And there’s a very simple reason.  It looks ugly.  Lots of lumpy white bits, between the chicken, the goat cheese, the mushrooms (I used white button mushrooms this time, since that’s what they had at our local Trader Joe’s), and the leeks (which start off green but usually end up greyish when they’re cooked).  I thought the original wasn’t pretty – but I couldn’t even bring myself to take a photo of this incarnation of the breakfast fritatta.  I wish it looked more visually appealing – but regardless of visuals, you will want to try this, because it tastes amazing!!!

Fritatta Breakfast Sandwiches

I started a new job a few weeks ago.  It’s absolutely perfect for me right now – doing precisely what I was looking to do in exactly the place I was looking to do it – and my coworkers are super supportive of my business too.  But my time is seriously at a premium.

To tell you the truth it’s been a tough transition – to go from working full-time on my business to working full-time plus my business.  I’m starting to find a balance, though.  One of the most important things for me to get control of was how we were eating – for the first week that I was back I think we did nothing but eat out, because we just didn’t have anything prepped.  Now we’re trying to plan our meals out on the weekend and at least make sure everything is in the fridge.  We’ve actually been more on top of everything this week, including doing dishes after cooking.  Getting ourselves re-trained to manage time has been good for us!

One of the things I started doing the first week of work was preparing protein for breakfast.  I notice that I’m far more awake and alive if I eat something substantial in the morning (I tend to just gravitate towards toast and coffee otherwise).  And we’re trying to get more vegetables and fruit worked into our diets (we’ve actually started to pack “salad wraps” – lunchmeat + veggies in lavash or tortillas – for lunch).

This is my favorite breakfast so far – and it’s so easy to make.

Fritatta Breakfast Sandwiches

• 8-12 oz portobello or crimini mushrooms, cut fine
• One 10 oz bag fresh spinach
• 3-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4-5 pieces turkey bacon, cooked, cooled, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 2-3 oz Swiss cheese, shredded
• 8 eggs
• 1 tbsp cream or milk
• 12 toasted English muffins or sandwich thins

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute.  Add garlic and cook until softened (1 minute).  Add mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes or until soft.  Add spinach and stir until wilted.  Put spinach mixture into a medium bowl.  Add bacon, cheese, eggs, and cream and stir well to combine.  Pour into a well-greased (I used Pam spray) 9×13″ baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until set.

All I can say is that it might not look pretty but it tastes AWESOME.

The result is less than 1/2″ thick but it’s packed with flavor, protein, and vitamins.  Cool, pat dry, and cut into pieces.  If you’re using sandwich thins you can cut the fritatta into 12 pieces and it will be perfectly sized.  For English muffins you may even be able to cut it into 16.  Place one piece onto each toasted bun/muffin, bag, and freeze.  When you’re ready to eat it, you can bake or microwave it for a yummy breakfast that is lower in fat and calories than any fast food sandwich with more flavor and one serving of veggies!

This is possibly the best breakfast you will ever reheat.

This recipe is great because there is no mess – unlike making homemade McMuffins, where all the ingredients are stacked and tend to squish out when you bite them, you can take a bite of egg, cheese, veggies and meat all at once!