Looking for a great breakfast in San Diego? Try The Broken Yolk.

Breakfast out has been a tradition in our family since before we were a family. Some of my first dates with hubs were breakfast dates. It’s hubby’s favorite meal of the day — and his favorite for dining out.

While some may eschew the thought of going out to eat for breakfast — or even skip breakfast altogether — it’s an important aspect of our family’s food culture. My husband grew up in a divorced family. Breakfast out was often a special time with his dad. And I have no qualms in continuing the tradition. It’s really more than the food.

As such we’ve made it our mission to find good local breakfast spots wherever we have lived. In Santa Barbara it was the now defunct Pavlako’s or Barcliff and Bair. In Paso Robles we frequented Hoover’s Beef Palace. (Yes, really.) Kansas City boasts a number of great Le Peep locations. (I recommend “The Dawn Breaker”.)

In San Diego? It’s the Broken Yolk. In business since 1979, The Broken Yolk Cafe has seven locations in San Diego County and is currently expanding throughout California and the Western United States. You can check them at in Pacific Beach, La Costa, the Gaslamp Downtown area, Chula Vista, San Marcos, Oceanside, and Point Loma.

The Good

We’ve visited several of the locations as a family and have always been graced with great food, generous portions, and friendly service. And no one raises an eyebrow at a party with SIX children. Big groups and families are pretty common place.

This is no secret spot. We have found certain mornings to be jampacked with friends and families enjoying a cuppa and some good eats. Yet, the facilities are so large, we rarely have a long wait before we are seated.

Since our family is moving away from processed foods and working to incorporate more real food into our diets, I appreciate the small details that set The Broken Yolk apart from the nationwide chains, such as half and half and butter served at the table rather than imitation creamer and margarine. (The cream cups also make great building material while you wait.)

Food is made to order and it’s always tasty. The portions are generous making it possible for two people to easily a meal. The fruit is really fresh, nothing from a can.

The Cheap

We typically order the 2-2-2, an unlisted breakfast special that includes your choice of 2 sausage links, patties, or bacon strips; 2 pancakes or slices of French Toast, and 2 eggs. This special is abundant — and only costs five bucks.

The children’s menu features a coloring page as well as games. A kid’s meal is $5 and includes a meal and a beverage. Also available for children is a treasure chest of plastic eggs at the front desk. Kids can choose a prize to take home.

We typically have three of our middle kids split 2 specials. Our little girls share a child’s meal of pancakes and fruit. Hubs and our oldest can each tackle a 2-2-2 on their own. I usually order an egg and hashbrowns for about $5. This brings our bill to about $30 plus tax and tip.

Surely there are more expensive items on the menu. The Broken Yolk features a full menu of omelettes, skillets, and other breakfast foods as well as other specials for certain hours. Through trial and error, we’ve found this combination of items to work well for our family, allotting for taste and variety without overbuying.

Ways to Save on Eating Out:

1. Split plates.
2. Order the special. (Ask about unadvertised specials.)
3. Order from the a la cart menu.
4. Join the club.

The Broken Yolk has a frequent buyer’s club, something in vogue with a number of restaurants. Use your club card at each visit to accrue points, one point per dollar spent. For every 100 points you earn, you get a $10 reward on your next purchase. It’s like getting 10% back on your purchases.

If you live in the San Diego area — or are just visiting — be sure to stop by  The Broken Yolk for a delicious and plentiful breakfast.

Do YOU have a favorite breakfast joint?

Disclosure:  The Broken Yolk does not know I exist. I have not been compensated in any way to write this post. All opinions are mine.

The Broken Yolk: Good Cheap Eats in California is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

A great read has inspired me to keep on cooking and to remember the value of meal planning, eating from the pantry, and simple, homecooked fare.

Queso Fundido

I just finished reading The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn. It’s a great book about learning to cook simple, wholesome fare, but more importantly it’s a memoir of a food writer teaching others to do just that. I was in a cooking lull when I started reading it — and it was just the ticket to help me get re-energized about working in my kitchen.

‘Cause somedays it is work.

The book is full of data about what’s actually in processed food as well as contains a shopping guide of sorts to point you in the right direction in terms of sourcing the best food for you and your family. It reaffirmed the value of home cooking, simple ingredients, and eating outside the box.

It may have been the impetus for my jam-making, bread-baking, yogurt-incubating, ice-cream churning fit of last week. Here’s to more good eating this week!

20. Hot Dogs on Homemade Buns, Macaroni Salad, Green Salad

21. Bday dinner: Bday Boy’s choice

22. Pasta Night, Good Bread, Green Salad

23. Queso Fundido, Rice, Beans, Salad

24. Sandwich Bar with Focaccia, Veggie Dippers, Fruit

25. Pizza Night

26. Roast Chicken and Potatoes, Salad

What’s cooking at your house this week?

For more meal planning inspiration, visit Menu Plan Monday each week.

Meal Planning: May 20-26 is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Adding a few creative ingredients to your grocery cart can help you regain your passion for cooking and help get back your mojo.

(Heads up! If you make a purchase through any Amazon links in this post, I do receive a small percentage of the sale.)

It’s been a quiet couple weeks around Good Cheap Eats, in case you hadn’t noticed. I’ve been having a hard time getting on my game. I fell off the vitamin wagon and am definitely feeling the effects of that. Exercising went kaput. I haven’t really wanted to cook. I’ve been tempted to get more takeout.

I’ve done some reevaluating and some more careful meal planning to see if I can boost my energy and get my cooking mojo back. I started reading a great book about eating and cooking simple, real food; it’s made me eager to get back in the kitchen. The Husband and I went grocery shopping on date night so that I could have more raw materials to work with. The kids and I spent a happy morning prepping a large salad and veggie tray. They devoured it in two days.

And the produce box had cherries this week. Things are clearly looking up.

This past week I’ve been cooking a lot. One day I made homemade aprium jam (a cross between an apricot and a plum), baked bread, made homemade ice cream, and used a heating pad to make yogurt. However, these are not any recipes of my own to share. I’m happy to draw on the wisdom of those who’ve gone before me.

I did do a few experiments that have worked out really well. Homemade hummus (without the tahini because I don’t like the taste or the price point) was a great hit with the aforementioned veggie tray. We’ll be making that a lot more in the coming weeks.

And one night I made a huge pan full of roast potatoes, onions, carrots, and chicken. It was fab. Hubby said it was missing something. The day he took the leftovers to work he called to say he ate them cold and it’s the ideal potato salad. So, I guess we have some more testing in our future  to verify that it’s just as good cold as it is hot.

For grocery shopping this week, I tried not to go many places.

Vons

One morning I made a quick run to Vons. I’ve been doing that more often since I signed up for their Just for U program. The savings have been significant. All this food: croissants, mushrooms, cilantro, avocados, strawberries, bananas, eggs, milk, and half and half. Some items, like the organic strawberries were pricey ($4.39), but the other things were at some of the lowest prices I’ve seen, justifying the splurge on berries.

18-ct eggs $1.70
gallon milk $2.60
quart half and half $2.69
15-ct croissants $5.00
bananas $.39/lb
avocados $0.97/each
mushrooms $0.65/pkg

Total spent $24.

Date Night Grocery Shopping

I love it that my husband doesn’t mind spending date night in a grocery store! We prefer to spend the time talking so we rarely go to movies. And we can shop and talk just as well as sit and talk. Oh, we’re so efficient.

We did runs to both Albertsons and Trader Joe’s that night.

Sorry for the poor picture. It was late, and I was tired.

Albertsons

To be honest, the trip through the regular grocery store (Albertsons) was a little distressing. All the sales and deals were for highly, HIGHLY processed foods. I just really don’t get that. So, I guess you could say that I’m voting with my pocket book.

My purchases at Albertsons were limited to olives, water chestnuts, and laundry soap. I stocked up back in October and just used up the last bottle. These six bottles should last us about three to four months.

I spent $25 at Albertsons.

Trader Joe’s

I breathe a little easier at Trader Joe’s because of their no GMO, no artificial colors guarantee, and the dairy is hormone-free. Many foods are still processed and I still have to read labels, but I can let my guard down a little more.

I think part of the lull in my cooking was not feeling like I had enough to work with. So, while I didn’t have a plan per se for each item I bought, it lifted a huge burden knowing that I had stuff to be creative with, pasta, cheeses, peppers, cucumbers, etc. The kids devoured all the fresh produce within a few days. And we’re stocked on pasta, cheese, and a few basics.

(Yeah, I got some junk food, too, for a birthday boy. He’s never had a pop tart. So, these are “organic”. Hehe.)

I spent $110 at Trader Joe’s.

Abundant Harvest Organics

We continue to enjoy our weekly box from Abundant Harvest Organics. I’ve switched to the home delivery option so that I can save the time. We’ll see if that continues to work out. So far, so good.

In our box we had cherries, strawberries, basil, tomatoes, zucchini, radishes, lettuce, onions, garlic, chard, apriums, peaches, potatoes, and snap peas. The apriums made a fabulous jam. And the basil went right into a garlic-infused compound butter that I froze for another day. Can’t wait to try it!

I spent $42 on the produce box.

After the shopping trips, it confirmed it for me. Adding a few creative ingredients to your grocery cart can help you regain your passion for cooking and help get back your mojo. I spent a tad more than I normally might, but it’s worth it to make sure we’re not getting take out — or worse, eating like bachelors.

Total spent this week: $201

Total spent this month to date: $738

I’ve put the produce box “on vacation” for next week since we’ll be going out of town. We’re pretty well stocked on milk, cheese, and meats. So, I think the $62 left in the budget should be good for us. I’ll have to do a lot of baking to make it happen, though. We’ll see…

How do you use grocery shopping to help you be a better cook?

Grocery Geek: Getting Back on My Game is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Having meal plan is a great way to stay on the ball throughout the week. It also helps you save money.

As I mentioned last week, I’m trying to do more baking. Not only does it save money and let us choose the ingredients, but it also tastes soooo much better. Especially these homemade hamburger buns.

Here’s what we’re eating this week:

13. Hamburgers on Homemade Buns, Rice and Bean Salad, Green Salad

14. Anniversary Dinner! We’re having the same meal we had on our wedding day.

15. Quesadillas, Veggie Dippers

16. Grilled Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Vegetables

17. Sandwich Bar with Baguette, Broccoli Slaw, Fruit

18. Pizza Night

19. Grilled Chicken, Cheesy Potatoes, Salad

What’s cooking at your house this week?

For more meal planning inspiration, visit Menu Plan Monday each week.

Meal Planning: May 13 – 19 is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

The month so far has just been a whirlwind. With a visit from the grandparents, freezer cooking, and an out-of town trip, not to mention everyday life of school and hockey, I’ve been moving, moving, moving.

And now, I’m tired.

This week I took a break from major shopping and cooking, trying to get us back on track after a few days of tornado-like life.

Hubby did go shopping while I was out of town. I meant to post it while I was gone, but there just wasn’t a lot of time.

Yes, they ate like bachelors the entire time I was gone. And the kids were refusing to eat out when I came home. Success! Hubs commented that my experiments have worked. The kids (and he) prefer healthier fare. Yeah!

Total spent on bachelor food: $30.

Here’s how we fared once I got back:

Trader Joe’s

TJ’s is our go to stop for convenient, healthier items. After dinner on date night, we loaded up on dairy, eggs, cereal, crackers, bread, yogurt, nuts, rice cakes, soy sauce, coconut milk, sunbutter, cocoa, jam, and ahem, bachelor chocolate pretzels.

Total Spent: $70

Abundant Harvest Organics

We had the box delivered to the house this week in an effort to have a calmer week. So nice to have that convenience! I paid a little more than usual, but with gas prices what they are, it might just work out to a regular thing.

Can you tell spring is here?! Look at all that. Lots of apriums, peaches, sugar snap peas, chamomile, mint, cabbage, oranges, onions, squash, strawberries, lettuce, turnips, potatoes, and fava beans. It’s going to be fun to experiment with this load!

Hubs commented how refreshing it was to eat an aprium. He’s not a huge “soft fruit” fan, but that’s because we’ve been relegated to grocery store produce for most of our lives. These taste different. And he was ready for that taste of spring.

Total Spent: $46

So far this month we’ve spent $537.

Grocery Geek: Tired Week is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Baking your own bread can save you a tremendous amount of money.

At the end of March, I set out to audit my grocery spending. I wanted to make sure that I was doing what I could do to stop up any leaks in our budget.

One of the conclusions I came to was that I spent a fair amount of money on bread. If I could make my own bread, perhaps I could shave a few bucks off the budget. So, I spent the month of April working on my home baking skills. The result was some more money in the bank and some tasty home baked breads.

It’s not as hard as you think.

Don’t feel like you need to slave away over a hot oven to make home baked bread a reality. Here are some tricks to make it happen.

1. Use a bread machine.

I have a love/hate relationship with my stand mixer. I love it for bulk batches of cookies and mashed potatoes, but I don’t feel super confident making bread dough. Truth is, I just don’t like the mess.

A bread machine makes it so much easier. Since the shape of the bread machine bread is a little funky, I often just use the machine to make the dough. Then I transfer it to traditional bread pans or, more often, form it into rolls or hamburger or hot dog buns. This works wonderfully for me.

Some of our favorite doughs to mix up in the machine include:

• great tasting pizza dough
• focaccia
• homebaked pita bread
• hot dog and hamburger buns
• cinnamon rolls
• french baguettes
• pumpkin onion rolls
• whole wheat pretzels
• easy garlic bread sticks
• and The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook has an honored spot on my bookshelf

2. Make quick breads.

As much as I love my machine, you don’t have to have a machine to make great bread. In fact, quick breads don’t even need rising time. Just stir them up and bake. See? Quick.

Believe it or not, some thinly sliced quick breads can also work for sandwiches. I think a carrot or zucchini bread would be a great base for chicken salad. Biscuits work well for breakfast sandwiches.

Some fave quick breads:

• spiced carrot bread
• cheese and herb biscuits
• zucchini bread
• pumpkin coffeecake with pepitas

3. Try Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

My most recent successes have included the doughs described in Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. When I first reviewed the book awhile back, I was a little skeptical about the flavor. But, now that I’ve spent a solid month working with the different recipes, my faith is renewed.

Even moreso once I crunched the numbers! Based on the price of unbleached bread flour that I buy at Walmart and the minimal amount of salt, yeast, and oil that I might use in a recipe, I calculated that it costs me $0.25/loaf! This figure doesn’t include the cost of electricity.

But that doesn’t really matter! For a quarter a loaf, we can eat eight loaves for the price of one from the store!

To make this Artisan Bread in 5 method work for our family of eight, I mix up a double batch of dough (enough for eight loaves) every couple of days. I usually bake four loaves in a day and yes, they are consumed that day.

Keeping a box of this dough in the refrigerator at all times has helped me make pizza or focaccia or pretzels in the blink of an eye. No need to plan ahead.

And lack of planning is really what costs us money. Well, that and laziness. And no time. And well, motivation.

But, I’m totally sold on this method, and particularly the Olive Oil Dough. Yum! I made focaccia rolls with it for sandwiches that were out of this world.

Baking my own bread is helping us save money — and still enjoy great meals.

Do you bake your own bread?

Bake Your Own Bread to Save Money is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Smoothies for $2? Sign up to get your coupons from Jamba Juice.

Jamba Juice has always been a favorite for our family. I continue to order the Pina Colada smoothie from their old menu. They always make it for me. And we’ve found that it’s a pretty cheap treat for our crew. Two people split each smoothie and the folks at Jamba are always happy to put it into two cups so each kiddo can have his own.

So, smoothies for $2?! That’s a dollar per kid. Definitely, a good cheap eat. Well, drink.

Sign up to be a Jamba insider to get your coupons.

I Want My Two Dollars (Smoothie) is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Homemade granola is easy to make and a great way to save money on breakfast fare. Flavored with maple and vanilla, this recipe is a hit at my house.

My family loves cold cereal. That is clearly one of their comfort foods. It used to be that I could pick up boxed cereals for less than fifty cents a box after sales and coupons. Those days are long gone.

And while the price point, if it still existed, would certainly be tempting, I know that I can make more nutritious breakfasts with a little planning and elbow grease. Homemade granola is one that fits the bill around here.

This version is sweetened with real maple syrup that I buy at Costco or Trader Joe’s as well as a bit of brown sugar to offset the cost. Vanilla extract gives it a beautiful aroma and flavor while dry roasted almonds add some crunch. I add the nuts per serving to accommodate our nut allergies, but you could add one cup to the entire batch if you prefer.

I prefer clusters of goodness in my granola. What I’ve found is that pressing the granola into the pan helps these clusters to form. Limited stirring helps the clusters to stick around. Allow the granola to cool completely and it should crunch up.

This granola is great with milk, in a yogurt parfait, or on it’s own. Hubby has been known to eat it by the handfuls.

Store the granola in the pantry in an airtight container or freeze it for longer shelf life.

Recipe: Maple Vanilla Granola with Almonds

Ingredients

• 5 cups old fashioned rolled oats (do not use quick oats)
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup oat bran
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dry-roasted, unsalted almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 ° Line a rimmed, half sheet baking pan with a silpat mat or parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, and salt.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Heat just until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Pour the liquid over the dry mixture and stir to coat. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly, pressing the mixture firmly.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Break into clusters and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before packaging in an airtight container.
6. Store in an airtight container. Freeze for longer shelf life.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 45 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

Breakfast is in the bag!

Include this granola in a breakfast kit to take on vacation or to gift to a friend. Include:

• a bag of granola tied with a bow
• a pint of fresh berries or a bunch of bananas
• a quart of yogurt or milk
• a bag of favorite coffee or a packet of tea

Maple Vanilla Almond Granola is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching. Plan an easy yet festive meal for the mothers in your life.

Can it really be that Mother’s Day is upon us?! As you may remember, Mother’s Day is one of the FishMama Trifecta. Mother’s Day, our anniversary, and my birthday all fall into one 15-day period. Whoohoo. Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to my head.

Mother’s Day is a great time to celebrate the moms in your life — as well as the women who have served to nurture and grow you over the years. I’ve been blessed with a number of women like that. Someday when money’s no object, it would be fun to gather Mom, Aunt Cass, Gramma Marilyn, Cathy, Madame Stephenson (my high school French teacher), Michele, Jamie,  Janel, and Jessika all in one room for a very fun Mother’s Day meal.

These great women have contributed to who I am today. I am forever grateful that God put them in my life.

Here’s are some of the things that I would serve for our major chick fest:

Orange-Ginger Marinated Chicken

Caesar Salad

Potatoes Alfredo

Garlic-Parmesan Swirl Biscuits

Raspberry Cream Cups with Pretzels

Mother’s Day Meal Ideas is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I’m still amazed at how well a little scrimping helped our grocery budget last month. Of course, finding a math error in your favor doesn’t hurt either. Sheesh. Apparently, I need to brush up on my math skills a little bit.

Anyway, I’m glad to know we’re ahead of the game a little. My sister suggested that I stick it in our France fund. I’m wondering if my kids and husband might appreciate a few boxes of cereal and little yogurt cups more! Ha! Perhaps we’ll split the difference. Nah, I’m going to let it offset the next time I go over.

Since it’s the beginning of the month, it was time to restock the freezer!

Every few weeks I like to do an extended cooking session of make ahead and freeze meals. This has become such a wonderful help to our family life that I even wrote a cookbook about the method. It will be available in your local book stores this fall, but you can preorder it on Amazon if you’re so inclined.

My grocery shopping this week reflects this mission to feed the freezer — and my family. I made a cooking plan and then set out to divide the grocery list among the stores with the best deals on those products. That took me to several different stops. I put the produce box on vacation so we could catch up with what we already had and clear some real estate in the refrigerator.

Here’s how it broke down:

Walmart

Walmart is my place for random purchases. But, it’s also typically the place for a low price if I don’t know of a sale or good deal elsewhere. They also sell bags of this unbleached and non-bromated flour, so I bought ten pounds of it, along with beans, soap, travel size toiletries, paper plates, and cooking oil.

Total spent $28.

Vons

Vons is giving my old favorite, Ralphs, a run for its money. Since I signed up for the Just for U program, I’ve been really amazed at the good deals. I can log into my account and load discounts onto my card. This week butter and Tillamook cheese, both hormone-free, were calling my name. While I was there I grabbed whole chickens, tri-tip, and pork ribs on sale as well as a myriad of fresh produce.

Total spent $99.

Costco

Costco is a dangerous place. You have to be as gentle as a dove and wily as a fox. I went with a list and tried to stick to it. Among my purchases: yeast, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, lots of tortillas, turkey breast, mozzarella, milk, frozen potstickers, chips, crusted and diced tomatoes, oil, and carrots.

Total spent $187.

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s holds a dear place in my heart, especially for convenience foods. Since I knew I was going out of town for a few days without the fam, I knew I needed to leave enough convenient, fun food to please the masses. I bought cereal, crackers, rice cakes, kefir, yogurt, and a few odds and ends.

Total spent $77.

Obviously, this is a lot of shopping. But, with freezer cooking and four days with Mom out of pocket, it was necessary for sanity and convenience. But, the freezer is full and my purchases for the rest of the month will be for produce and dairy and maybe a co-op order of flour.

So, I think we’re good.

Total Month to Date spending: $391.

Grocery Geek: A New Month & a Full Freezer is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher