After a long and crazy day at the Rock, I totally crave a bite of comfort for dinner. For my family, huevos rancheros fits the bill—it’s our chicken soup. I usually have all of the ingredients in my fridge too, so not only is it friendly on my wallet and totally delicious, but it’s easy to throw together. Sometimes, when I’m too beat to bother with frying the tortillas, I’ll throw in the towel and use store-bought chips instead. In fact, huevos rancheros is a great use for the last few chips in the bag—and I get more chill time (and sometimes that’s worth a heck of a lot more than money!).

Ingredients
3–4 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
4 corn tortillas (4″–6″)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large red or green bell pepper, seeded, ribbed, and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with juices
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons chili powder
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 large eggs
1 cup grated Mexican Blend cheese
Hot sauce or salsa for serving

Fry the tortillas. Heat the oven to 250°F. Warm 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tortilla and fry until crispy and brown on each side. Transfer it to a paper towel–lined plate (an opened-up brown paper bag works too) to drain, and then put it on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven to stay warm. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, reducing the heat and adding more oil if necessary.

Cook the vegetables. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt, and black pepper to the same skillet you used for the tortillas, cooking them until the onion and pepper soften and the garlic is fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, cilantro, chili powder, and cumin, bring to a strong simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the tomatoes begin to break up, about 5 minutes.

Fry the eggs and assemble. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Crack 4 eggs into the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover the pan, and fry until the white is opaque, about 3 minutes. Place the tortillas on 4 plates. Slide 2 eggs onto 2 of the tortillas and top each of the 2 plates with a quarter of the tomato mixture and some cheese. Serve the first 2 portions immediately while you fry up the second batch of eggs.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons half-and-half, whole milk, or reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
5 Ritz crackers, crushed into coarse crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Sauté the onions. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, thyme, half of the salt, and the pepper and cook until the onions just start browning, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and set aside while you prepare the eggs.

Whisk the eggs. Position an oven rack 6 inches from the heating element and heat the broiler to high. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs with the half-and-half and remaining salt. Stir in the cooled onion-spinach mixture. Wipe the skillet out with a paper towel and set it back on the cooktop.

Make the frittata. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the egg mixture and stir the eggs around in the pan just until the edges start to set, then stop stirring. Cover the pan and let the omelet cook until its surface is semi-dry looking, 1 to 2 minutes. Evenly sprinkle the feta over the frittata and the sprinkle the cracker crumbs over the feta. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the crackers and broil until the cheese is melted and the crackers are toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve on a large platter cut into wedges.