Scrambled Eggs with Beans

This is my comfort food, weeknight meal of the moment.  I tend to find something I like, eat on it repeat, and then burn out.  My current food crush is scrambled eggs with cheese and refried beans.  This simple preparation of store-bought ingredients results in a quick, satisfying meal.  It consists of slightly doctored refried beans, topped with perfectly scrambled eggs and shredded cheese, along with a splash of hot sauce and a little avocado, if you have it. 

I have made it a few times now, and timing is essential for success.  Everything must be ready and waiting for the scrambled eggs.  Since it is a simple meal with only a few ingredients, the eggs must be perfectly cooked.  Scrambled eggs are a delicate food because they cook so quickly; they must be removed from the pan immediately when they have reached your desired level of doneness (or even just prior) because extra time in the pan results in residual cooking, even if you have removed them from the burner.  I like to get my refried beans in the bowl (about a half cup, and I typically prefer refried black beans), cheese shredded, avocado sliced, and eggs beaten before I apply any heat to anything.  Then I heat the beans up in the microwave for about 30 seconds, stir, and season with hot sauce, pepper, and whatever else strikes your fancy (extra cumin, garlic salt, whatever sounds good).  Give the doctored beans a stir, and 30 more seconds in the microwave.  Then leave them in the microwave, pending a final zap just prior to serving.

Now is the time to cook your eggs.  I add about a teaspoon of olive oil to a small sauté pan, and allow it to preheat for a couple minutes over medium heat.  When it is hot, I add the eggs, and stir in long, slow strokes toward the center of the pan as the curds start to form.  When the eggs are still wet, but approaching doneness, give the beans their final jolt of heat in the microwave (about 15-30 seconds).  Give your eggs a final stir; add them on top of the beans with avocado slices, and sprinkle with cheese.  This past week, I was using a cheddar-gruyere combination from Trader Joe’s, which has the flavor of medium white cheddar, but a creamier texture, that allows it to melt more smoothly than your typical cheddar.  This dish would be great with homemade refried beans; making refried beans is simple, but it would detract from the quick, easy quality of the meal.

extra Frank's Red Hot on top

This dish could be prepared with over easy eggs.  The runny yolk would be delicious, but I enjoyed the uniformity of the scrambled egg version.  When I eat over easy eggs, I sometimes feel pressure to ration out the golden yolk throughout my dining experience; this is likely singular to me, but this week, I didn’t want any undue stress.  This is a flexible recipe, so make it to suit your tastes, but my mental health required the consistency of scrambled eggs.  I also like the way the soft textures of the beans and eggs complement each other, but still maintain their identities.