Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast

No sugar is added to this bowl of cereal. The oatmeal is a good source of dietary fiber.

Ingredients

¼ cup dried skim milk

dried cranberries, amount can vary

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup of water plus a shot glass

Preparation

Add ingredients to a microwaveable bowl. Place bowl in microwave oven and heat for 99 seconds. Open microwave and stir. Replace bowl in microwave and heat for 45 seconds before stirring again, and heating for an additional 45 seconds. Remove bowl from the microwave, stir the oatmeal and eat.

Homemade Chorizo

The chorizo was made using pork loin that is ground in an old-fashioned hand-cranked meat grinder. The fine template of the meat grinder is used in lieu for the coarse template.

Ingredients

4 pounds of boneless pork loin, ground as stated above
3 tsp. Kosher salt
1 ½ tsp. ground coriander
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
1 palmful of Mexican oregano (not to be confused with Mediterranean oregano)
several garlic cloves
1 or more Tbls. of ground chile powder (not chili powder)*
1/4 cup of cider vinegar

* Chili powder also contains salt, cumin and oregano

Preparation

Cut the pork loin into small chunks. Grind the meat into a roasting pan that can be used to mix it with the other ingredients.

Add all the other ingredients except the vinegar. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together. Once it is decided that the mixture is homogeneous, add the vinegar and mix it in until is completely absorbed.

Form the mixture into 8 patties. Put each patty into a separate plastic sandwich bag that has a flap for closing. Put 4 such bagged patties into a freezer bag large enough to hold them. Place both freezer bags into the freezer for future use.

Frittata with Chorizo, Onion and Cheese

This is a frittata made with rehydrated powdered egg whites, whole eggs, homemade chorizo, onion, and shredded mozzarella cheese. A 10-inch old-fashioned cast iron skillet is used to cook the frittata. 

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons of powdered egg whites (equivalent to 6 whole eggs)
7 fl. oz. warm water
3 whole eggs
8 ounces of homemade uncured chorizo (usually made into patties before freezing)
1 small onion, diced
Shredded mozzarella cheese enough to sparingly cover the finished frittata
cooking spray to coat skillet before ingredients are added to it

Nota bene: No salt is added because the chorizo contains salt.

Preparation

Measure the powdered egg whites into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add half of the water to the egg whites and slowly stir the mixture until the clumped eggs are moistened. Then add the rest of the water and stir until there is an almost smooth consistency. Set aside for a while and stir at frequent intervals. When the egg white and water mixture is of smooth consistency, add the whole eggs one at a time, breaking the yolk and softly beating to incorporate each whole egg. Set the egg mixture aside an proceed to sauteing the onions and chorizo.

Preheat the skillet after spraying it with cooking spray. Add and saute the onions at medium low temperature. Add the chorizo, which should be thawed, to the skillet, breaking up the patty with a spatula, and making sure that the meat is properly browned. Distribute the chorizo and onion evenly in the skillet.

Stir the egg mixture just before adding it to the skillet. Allow the bottom of the frittata mixture to set, takes about 2 or 3 minutes on the cooktop, before removing to the broiler position of the oven. Expose the frittata to the broiler element until the egg mixture no long looks wet and it starts to brown. Once it is lightly browned, remove it from the broiler to a table top onto a pot holder, and add the shredded cheese. Allow the cheese to be melted by the heat of the frittata. Slice the frittata into wedges and serve.