Jennifer Aniston’s Easy Egg Breakfast Is So Delicious, I Made It 4 Times This Week

This school year I’ve delegated breakfast prep to my newly minted middle schooler, Lucy. She quickly mastered her technique for soft scrambled eggs and told me that she was ready to tackle something new. So we flipped through Jennifer Aniston’s new kids’ cookbook, Cook with Clydeo, for inspiration. The cookbook is written from the perspective of her cartoon canine companion, Clydeo. The cartoons are cute (and not too cringe for my tween), and the pages are filled with recipes with short ingredient lists and deliciously kid-friendly flavors. Lucy’s of the mindset that everything tastes better in a tortilla and with a sprinkling of cheese (and I have to agree), so we went with the breakfast quesadillas.

Jennifer Aniston’s recipe for breakfast quesadillas piqued our interest because we love both scrambled eggs and quesadillas, and this recipe appeared to seamlessly combine the two. To make this recipe, start by heating an oiled nonstick skillet over medium heat. While the pan warms, beat an egg with a fork until well-blended. Pour the egg into the skillet and tilt the pan until the egg is in an even layer. Add freshly ground pepper and some shredded cheese. Place a tortilla on top. Use a thin spatula to loosen the edges of the egg then flip the quesadilla. Top with more shredded cheese and crumbled bacon, and fold the quesadilla in half. Cook until the tortilla is lightly browned, about 1 minute per side, then serve with pico de gallo, guacamole, or sour cream. 

The first time we made the recipe, it was a bit of a disappointment. The skillet and tortilla were too large so the filling was out of proportion. We worked quickly, apparently too quickly, and did not allow the egg time to set before a disastrous attempt at flipping. Lucy ate it anyway, and loved the flavors, so we figured out what adjustments to make for the next attempt.

The second (and third, and fourth) time we made the recipe we used the smallest nonstick skillet we had and a smaller flour tortilla. Lucy made sure the skillet was thoroughly preheated before adding the eggs, and tweaked her technique for turning the tortilla. The result is the delicious breakfast mash-up she was hoping for. The egg is tender and light. I suggested that it had the lightness of a perfectly cooked omelet, and Lucy agreed that it tasted delicious. The quesadilla had just the right amount of cheese oozing out of the lightly toasted tortilla. 

• Use an 8-inch nonstick skillet. The recipe calls for a 10-inch nonstick skillet, but the quesadilla is much more tasty when prepared in a smaller pan. A single egg will spread too thin in a 10-inch skillet, which makes it difficult to flip and easy to overcook. 
• Opt for 6-inch tortillas. A smaller tortilla provides a better ratio of eggs and cheese to tortilla. 
• Keep it simple. This recipe calls for crumbled bacon, but, unless we have leftovers from weekend breakfasts, cooking a single slice isn’t practical for school mornings. We’ve eaten and loved this breakfast quesadilla with just eggs and cheese, but you could add any meat or vegetable toppings you like.