Chorizo Con Huevos y Nopalitos (eggs with chorizo sausage and edible cactus)

Serving Size :6
Preparation Time :15 minutes
Total Cooking time: 15

Admittedly, if you were to merely go by the recipe name here, this hardly sounds like an appetizing breakfast. But that would be like judging a book by its cover, for this hearty south of the border breakfast is a wonderful break from your basic scrambled eggs. The two exotic sounding ingredients, chorizo, and nopales really are not as intimidating as they sound. Chorizo is a prepared sausage of Hispanic origin, it can be found easily in the butcher section of your local supermarket. Nopales are the edible leaves of the prickly pear cactus. They can be found, either prepared in jars in the Hispanic or ethnic foods section of your local supermarket. or fresh in the produce section or local farmer's market. They are nowhere near as intimidating to prepare as they sound. Try this once and I'm positive you will be hooked

To prepare:
Heat a large skillet or frying pan over medium high heat. Next, add chorizo and let it cook down (it will appear to melt). Add the sliced onion and nopales and sauté till onions are translucent, add the eggs, stirring constantly until cooked through. Sprinkle cheese over the top and cover with lid, Heat tortillas, either over a flat griddle or in the microwave on high for 60 seconds, turning halfway through cooking time. Serve eggs with the tortillas taco style, with salsa and sour cream. Grande! (total preparation time 20 minutes).

(alternate) Breakfast Enchiladas: Roll prepared chorizo and eggs in corn tortillas, placing them in a 9x13 baking dish, cover with heated enchilada sauce and cheese and place in oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa, sliced olives, and sour cream.

How to prepare fresh nopales: De-spine the leaves by wearing gloves and knocking the spines off with shallow strokes of a knife, being careful to remove every trace of the sticky little guys. Then chop the cleaned cactus leaves into ¼" inch pieces and cover in a skillet with onions and enough water to barely cover. Simmer over medium heat, uncovered for 7-10 minutes or just tender, drain and use right away or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.