Bag of stale tortilla chips.

I entertain enough that I often end up with a bag of stale tortilla chips around. Someone brings a bag, we eat most of them, and the remaining chips go stale. Instead of throwing them out, I recently started using them up in the following Mexican-style breakfast recipe.

Mexican Scramble

Ingredients:

1 Tbs vegetable oil
6 eggs
1 medium tomato, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped
A small handful of stale tortilla chips
1/3 c. cheddar cheese
salt
pepper

Directions:

1. Put oil in the pan. Add onions and cook until translucent, approximately 1-2 minutes. Add jalapeños and cook for about 30 more seconds.

2. Add tomatoes and let them cook down until they start to darken and blend in with the onions, about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, break eggs into a separate bowl. Grate in 1/3 C of cheese into the eggs. Beat eggs and cheese together.

4. Add egg mixture to the tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños. Lower heat to medium. Scramble.

5. Finally, add the handful of crumbled tortilla chips. Cook a minute more until the eggs are scrambled and the tortilla chips are soft. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

The resulting is a great break from traditional scrambled eggs. The jalapeño gives the eggs a little bite and the tortilla chips add a pleasant, corn meal-y flavor. If you want, you can also add ground beef, olives, or sour cream to the dish.

Cost of Dish: Eggs: $.90; Cheese: $1; onions, tomatoes, and jalapeños: free from the garden; oil: $.10; tortilla chips: free since I would have thrown them out.
Total Cost: $2 ($1 per person).