Eggs

Embracing Eggs

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I have fallen in love with eggs. We’ve recently started adding in more protein to our diets, and because of this our egg intake has increased a great deal.

We go through a lot of eggs.  I buy 3 dozen at a time.

Thankfully I can get some local eggs at my Whole Foods.  Cage free and roaming chickies to provide the eggs.

I would love some pastured eggs though and am still trying to source some in Columbus.  If you have any leads I’ll take them!

My new found love for eggs goes hand-in-hand with my new love of using coconut oil for cooking.

Frying up an egg in some coconut oil tastes amazing.  I love it so much that currently I would rather have a fried egg (or two please) over scrambled.

Scrambled eggs with Cholula on top was my egg choice.  Now?  I really don’t even want to be bothered with scrambled eggs.  Fried all the way please!

How about you? Do you love eggs too?

Breakfast Casserole

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This is one of those dishes that Scott and I have on occasion, usually around a holiday.

I’m not sure why, I think it’s because we like it so much we want to keep it special.

Our most favorite time to have it is on Christmas morning.  This casserole gets prepped the night before and baked the next morning.

I put it in the oven as we sit down with our first mugs of coffee and dive into our stockings.  While we open gifts the aroma of the casserole floats in from the kitchen increasing the excitement in the air and causing our bellies to rumble in anticipation.

It’s easy to make, the hardest part is waiting the hour or so for it to bake!

Andrea’s Breakfast Casserole

  • 1lb Ground Breakfast Sausage, cooked and drained
  • 6 Eggs
  • 1 3/4C Unsweetened Coconut Milk (From the dairy aisle, not the can)
  • 6C Cubed Bread Pieces or About 1/2lb loaf of bread cubed up
  • 1tsp Dry Mustard
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2C Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, plus extra for a topping

In a large mixing bowl add in the bread cubes and the cooked sausage.  In a smaller mixing bowl, combine eggs, coconut milk, dry mustard, salt, and pepper.  Whisk until the eggs are well incorporated into the coconut milk.

Pour egg mixture over top of the bread and sausage, add in the two cups of cheese and combine until the bread is coated with the egg mixture.

In a greased baking dish, I used a 9×13 (or 2 1/2 QT) dish, pour in the bread and egg mixture.  Make sure it’s evened out, cover with foil and place in fridge over night.

Preheat oven to 375, poke a few holes in the foil, and place baking dish in the oven.  Bake covered for about 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake uncovered for about another 30 minutes or until the center is set and cooked through.  Sprinkle with a bit more cheese if desired, till it’s melted.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.  Serve and enjoy!

We love this casserole and it provides plenty of leftovers for the next few days.  It’s also a great dish to make if you’re having guests over.  It serves a lot and pleases just about everybody.

I like to use a whole grain bread in this dish which I think makes it a bit more heartier and filling.  You can use whatever kind of bread you enjoy.

You can also use milk or another nondairy milk of your choice (though I do recommend unsweetened) if you don’t like or don’t want to use coconut milk.

Have fun guys and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

The One About Omeletts

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Growing up I didn’t eat a bunch of eggs. I liked them scrambled with plenty of salt and pepper but that was on rare occasions. I would place a bite of the eggs on top of buttered toast and eat them that way.

I still do to this day.

I never heard of eating eggs with ketchup until I started dating Scott.  I found it revolting.

I still do to this day.

Scrambled or fried was how eggs were presented at my house and then Scott came along and started talking omelette nonsense.

This was new territory for me.  Sure I knew what an omelette was, I just didn’t have much experience with making them.  He liked them so I figured it was time to learn how to make an omelette.

And I failed miserably.

Thank goodness Scott could care less if the dish is pretty because those first omelettes? Looked like something exploded and I put it on a plate to serve up for breakfast.

Oh omelettes are tricksy beasts.

You have to use enough eggs that they can be folded and support toppings.  You can’t use too many or else the omelette won’t fold properly.  You can’t use too few or else the omelette will tear in the middle.

You have to figure out how to cook it so that the bottom doesn’t burn and the top part doesn’t stay raw and runny.

It took me a long time to get a technique down.  A long time and I’m still working on getting it perfected.

I would swear everytime I was making an omelette.

I still do to this day.

I’ve learned a few tricks.

3 eggs is the perfect amount for an omelette.

When using peppers, mushrooms, and onions as a topping, it’s best to precook them a bit before hand. Otherwise they will make your omelette watery.

Low and slow is the name of the game when cooking an omelette.

Rotate the skillet letting the eggs coat the sides. Let them cook and then scooch them down a bit.  Rinse, repeat until there’s no more egg to coat the sides.

A tri-fold is the golden ticket but a bi-fold works just as well and can even be pretty.

How do you omelette?

Spaghetti and Eggs

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When one arrives back home from a trip away, I fully believe that a warm and comforting meal is a must. Whatever food is your favorite, whatever dinner makes you content, that’s what you should be eating.

When Scott got back home from being gone for a week, he said he was ready to eat some good food.  He said he missed my cooking and couldn’t wait to sit down to a lovely dinner.

Is he fab or what?

And because of my belief mentioned above, I knew he needed something comforting.  Scott has a lot of comfort foods and two of them happen to be pasta and fried eggs.  I was going back and forth about what to make him.

Breakfast?  Or a pasta dish?

Then it occured to me, why not combine them?

The measurements aren’t exact because this is a recipe that can easily be adjusted to serve one or 20.

Andrea’s Spaghetti and Eggs

  • Thin Whole Wheat Spaghetti, enough for two people
  • Eggs
  • 1/2 A Medium Onion, chopped
  • 1 Large Tomato, chopped (do not seed, keep the insides)
  • About 1 Large Bunch of Finely Chopped Greens of Your Choice (I used Kale and Collards)
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic, grated (or finely chopped)
  • 1/2 Dry White Wine
  • Olive Oil for sauteeing

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta till just shy of being done.  Drain, reserving some pasta water, about 1/2C and set pasta aside.

In a sautee pan, heat oil over medium high heat and add in the onions.  Sautee for just about two minutes and then add in the greens.  Cook until the greens have cooked down, now add in the tomato and garlic. Sautee for about a minute.  Add in the white wine and simmer for about 2 minutes.  Add in just a touch of the pasta water, maybe 2 TBSP.  Simmer for another 2 minutes.  Add in the pasta, stir and reduce heat to low.

In a small frying pan, add in some olive oil, maybe 2 tsp, just a touch.  Heat over medium heat and fry up the eggs to your preferred done-ness.  Don’t forget to crack each egg in a small bowl first just to be on the safe side.

Plate up pasta, top with a fried egg or two, sprinkle with parm, drizzle on a little bit more of the pasta sauce and serve!

Would you have thought that such simple ingredients would make such a gorgeous dish?

What I love about this meal is that it really doesn’t take long to make at all.  Waiting for the water to boil for the pasta is what takes the most time, everything else is really quick.

I didn’t seed the tomato because I want that juice to help create a “sauce” for the pasta.  It’s a very light pasta dish without a heavy sauce.  I did this on purpose because I wanted the egg to shine. And if you’re like Scott, who enjoys runny eggs, that will help coat and “sauce” up the pasta.

I listed eggs with no amount because that’s up to you.  I ate mine with one egg while Scott had his with two eggs.  Do what you like and it’ll work out.

This dish, uses few ingredients and all of them are budget friendly.  You certainly don’t have to use wine but can use stock of your choice or a small can of diced tomatoes would work just as well.

Most grocery stores now carry chopped frozen greens, if you can’t find any fresh.  I love frozen chopped greens! While I do use fresh when I can, having the frozen on hand is a must for me now.

Scott loved this dish, which was good because I created it specifically with him in mind!  It was part of the “Welcome Home” week I planned out for him.

Now I have a dish in my recipe box that is quick to put together and very filling!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Try New Combinations

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There’s a little diner here that serves the best black beans I have ever had. I dream about these black beans.

Scott and I went one day for breakfast and I got a side order of beans.  Yeah, beans for breakfast, don’t knock it!  I had eggs with my breakfast and decided to just plop the beans right on top.  With a little hot sauce on top, I was a very happy lady.

Had I not ordered beans with my breakfast, it probably never would have occurred to me to try mixing them with eggs.

Once I did, I couldn’t figure out why this hadn’t done this before!  Now black beans over eggs is one of my very favorite combinations.

I scramble up eggs and season them with garlic and chili powder.  Then I top with:

  • Black Beans
  • Cheese
  • Salsa
  • Hot Sauce

You can even add in some sour cream as well!

It’s an easy dish to put together and is also very budget friendly.  Eggs and beans are inexpensive and pantry staples.

With summer in full swing, tomatoes are in season so they are inexpensive, allowing you to make your own salsa.

So don’t be afraid to try different combinations with your food.  Play around with textures and tastes.  You just might surprise yourself and find something that you really enjoy.

Kale Hash

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Friends, what I’m about to share with you is one of my favorite meals. It came into my life not all that long ago and will be with me forever and ever, amen.

We all know that I love potatoes, right? So this dish is full of my favorite things.

  • Potatoes
  • Kale
  • Eggs

And it’s eaten out of a bowl

It’s heaven. And so easy! I was flipping through a Ray Ray magazine a few months back and saw the title, Kale Hash. I didn’t even read the recipe because I created my own right on the spot. I think I even made it that same night.

Kale hash is pure genius. It’s also purely delicious and completely perfect.

Life will never be the same again.

Andrea’s Kale Hash

  • 2 Idaho Potatoes, scrubbed, and cut into bite sized cubes
  • 1 Large bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped
  • 1/2 Onion, chopped
  • 1/2 Green pepper, chopped
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • Salt, pepper
  • Garlic Powder
  • Chili Powder
  • Olive oil, for sauteeing and roasting
  • Stock for braising, 1/4-1/2C (veggie or chicken)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray with nonstick spray or oil.  In a storage bag, add in cubed potatoes and toss with olive oil (about 1/2 TBSP). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder.  All to taste.  Place potatoes on the lined baking sheet, in a single layer and place in oven.  Bake until browned and crispy, about 20 minutes.

In a sautee pan, heat a small amount of olive oil, about 2 tsp, over medium heat.  Add in eggs and scramble, cook until just about done.  Remove eggs from pan and set aside.  Now add in more oil, 1/2-1TBSP, and add in the onions and peppers.  Sprinkle with a bit of salt and sautee for about 2 minutes.  Add in kale and sautee for about 5-7 minutes.  If the kale still needs to cook down but the pan is getting dry, add in some of the stock a little at a time.

Season kale mixture with garlic powder and chili powder.  When the potatoes are cooked through, remove them from the oven.  Add eggs and potatoes in with the kale mixture and combine.

Spoon into large bowls and serve!

 You can have this for breakfast or dinner.  You can even have this for a snack.  Or whenever your little heart desires.

Really, this dish just screams, “Hi, I’m Andrea’s Most Favorite.” Total comfort food for me. It doesn’t hurt that it’s yummy and good for you.

I prefer potatoes that have been roasted crispy in the oven but you can certainly shred the potatoes and cook them in a skillet if you like.  That would be more in line with a traditional hash and I have done that with this dish.  My taste buds prefer toasty roasted though and I stick with that.

Sometimes I’ll even roast the onions and peppers in with the potatoes. They get a little crispier and have a hint of a smokey flavor to them.

This is a dish that is quick to make, you only dirty one pan, and it’s very hearty and filling.

If you’re like me and want to take this dish up another level, add in some shredded cheese and top with hot sauce.

Yeah, Kale Hash will be your new best friend.

If you want to make this vegan, sub in beans or scrambled tofu for the eggs.  Perhaps a nutritional yeast “cheese” sauce on top?

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Pantry Staple: Eggs

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Eggs, in this house we love them. We eat them a lot and in fact, Scott sometimes has a hardboiled egg as his nighttime snack.  I always have eggs on hand and consider them an official Food Embrace Pantry Staple.

Yes, I realize they don’t reside in the pantry but because they are a “must have”, I consider them one of the most important staples to have on hand.

Eggs possess qualities that all pantry staples should have, being budget friendly and being quick to make.

Let’s face it, we all have a budget when we go grocery shopping and we all like having the ability to make a quick meal when short on time or super hungry.

I had a HUGE craving for eggs most recently and much to my dismay I was out of them.

Ack!

I try to plan my shopping trips so that I have replenished the supply before it totally runs dry.  With the past several weeks being really busy around here, grocery shopping was put on the back burner.  I had food on hand for meals but my egg supply had gone to empty.

I figured I could get by and be fine but everywhere I turned someone was talking about eggs or showing eggs. Yesterday I very much wanted eggs for a large Sunday Breakfast but had to settle for some pancakes instead.  Don’t get me wrong, they were very yummy but a poor substitute for eggs.

After watching Food Network for a bit and seeing Bobby Flay make a grilled egg dish, I stomped my foot and said I needed eggs.  We had to make a grocery store trip anyway and decided to head out.

Normally my grocery store days fall on Fridays because those tend to be our least busiest days (for a reason, we plan it that way) but desperate times call for desperate measures and we braved the store on Sunday.

It was crazy and very packed up but I had a list, coupons (that I forgot to use! Doh!), and a mission.  Thankfully I’m able to purchase local eggs at this store otherwise I would have been even more cranky I think. Bonus was that they were on sale and I walked away with 4 dozen eggs on hand.

Yes 4 dozen!

Another beautiful pantry staple quality that eggs have is that they last a long time.  Getting fresh local eggs, the “best buy” date is usually a month to a good six weeks out from the date of purchase.

Filled up with groceries and eggs to last us through the next several weeks, I was happy and content.  Plus I finally got to eat my egg meal that I had been dreaming about for days.

  • 2 Local Eggs, fried and with the yolks cooked through (runny yolks squick me out).
  • Home fries with a mix of greens (kale, mustard, collard), onions, and peppers.
  • Whole grain toast with butter.

Hash and eggs topped with Cholula.

YUM!

That “hash” is one of my super favorite creations and I’ve made it several ways.  All of them have been equally delicious!

I ended the day yesterday with a full pantry, a full belly and a craving satisfied.

Do you like eggs? Do you try to always have some on hand?

Unfried Green Tomatoes

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The first time I ever heard about fried green tomatoes was because of the movie by the same name.  Before that they had not crossed my radar.  Like most things from the south, I was not exposed to them until much later in my adult life. Thank goodness for college, traveling, and cooking shows!

The idea of a fried green tomato intrigued me. The closest thing to it I did have was fried zucchini.  There was good fried zucchini and then there was horrible fried zucchini. If you’ve ever had fried zucchini, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I looked into making fried green tomatoes and realized the technique between the two was very similar.

Plus what a great way to use up unripe tomatoes! They are always in abundance come the end of summer, right?  Breaded warm tomatoes are amazing, maybe with a little cheese on top and you’ve got a really great side dish.

However I wanted to lighten them up a bit because I don’t like a lot of fried things.  I can handle a little but not too much.  Since I didn’t want to fry up the tomatoes, how could I make fried green tomatoes unfried?

The solution is simple; a metal cooling rack and a really hot oven.

Andrea’s Unfried Green Tomatoes

  • 2 Large Green Tomatoes, sliced thick
  • 1/4C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, plus another 1/4C
  • 1/4C-1/2C Breadcrumbs (or cornmeal)
  • 1 Large egg, beaten plus some water
  • Hot sauce
  • Garlic Powder
  • Chili Powder
  • Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place a metal cooling rack on top of that.  Spray the cooling rack with oil or nonstick spray.

Get out 3 large bowls and set up a breading station.  In one bowl goes 1/4C AP Flour.  In another bowl goes the beaten egg with water.  To the egg add your hot sauce, and mix a little more.  As much hot sauce as you like, just not so much that it makes the egg too liquidy.  In the last bowl add in the 1/4C AP flour along with breadcrumbs.  Add in seasonings to this bowl, to taste.  I like a lot of garlic powder and a touch of chili powder.  Mix.

Dip the tomato in the AP flour, then the egg mixture, then the AP flour and breadcrumb mixture.  Place on cooling rack.  Repeat until all the tomato slices have been breaded. If you need more of any of the ingredients, add along as you go.

Once all the slices are breaded, spray or lightly brush the tops with olive oil.  Place in oven and allow to bake for about 10 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are nice and crispy.  Remove baking sheet from oven, plate the tomatoes and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

They come out crispy every time! They are slightly tangy from the green tomato but have a very savory note because of the seasoned egg mixture and seasoned breadcrumbs.  You can use this same method with zucchini as well.

The next time you find yourself with an abundance of green tomatoes give the unfried version a try, I think you’ll be pleased!

Farm House Tossed Salad

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I had on Food TV in the background, not really paying attention to it when I heard Claire Robinson talk about a salad that had a warm bacon dressing and was topped with a fried egg.

Oh really?

Now that did have my attention!  Sadly not enough to stop what I was doing and see how she did it though.  Admittedly I have always been intrigued by the “warm bacon dressing” trend and was never really sure how to achieve. I did notice that the bacon grease was used a lot and as much as I love bacon, I really don’t want to eat the drippings.

I know it sounds weird but well there it is.  I couldn’t escape this idea though of a tossed salad with an egg on top and bacon dressing so I decided to make my own version for lunch.

I’m guessing on the measurements for you as this is more of a concept type of dish and can be adjusted how you see fit.

Andrea’s Farm House Tossed Salad

  • Mixed Greens
  • Chopped Tomato
  • Chopped Cucumber
  • Shredded Carrot
  • 1/4 Red Onion, chopped
  • 4 Slices of bacon, chopped
  • 2 Farm Fresh Eggs
  • 2 TBSP, Heaping of Dijon Mustard
  • 1/4C Balsamic Vinegar
  • Light Olive Oil

On two plates, pile up the mixed greens and add on the other veggies, except the onions.  Set aside.

In a skillet, drizzle in a little olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Fry up the eggs and season with salt and pepper on both sides.  Cook to your preferred doneness.  Remove and set aside.  In the same skillet drizzle in more olive oil, about 1 TBSP and add in the onions and bacon.  Sautee just until the onion starts to soften, then add in the mustard and balsamic vinegar and whisk together.  You may need to add in some more olive oil, it depends on how thick you want the dressing.

Turn off heat and drizzle the dressing over each salad.  Place egg on top of the salad and eat!

The salad won’t be super coated with dressing but it will be enough that it will give you great flavor and coat the salad.  This salad blew me away with the flavor combinations.  This was actually the first salad I had with a fried egg on top.  Normally if I have egg in a salad, it’s chopped hard boiled egg.  A fried egg was a whole new experience for me and it was a lovely one!

I’m not sure if I would want hard boiled egg now on a salad if I have the choice of fried!

I served this up for Scott and I one day for lunch and both of us didn’t speak to each other because we were too busy eating.  That’s always a good sign.

I’ve also done this minus the bacon with just sauteed onions and balsamic and mustard. Still excellent!

If you’ve never had a fried egg on top of a salad before, I suggest you try it soon!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

Salmon Patties

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all mixed up

all mixed up

My mom used to make salmon patties all the time and admittedly I didn’t really care for them (sorry Mom!).  They were a little too on the fishy tasting side for me.  A little potent.  Once I left and was on my own for meals I forgot about them.

And then I picked them back up again.  I’m not sure how it happened.  If I was watching a cooking show maybe and saw someone make something simliar or what, but my interest was renewed.  I realized I didn’t have to make them the way my mom had, I could make them however I wanted and jazz them up a bit.

Sometimes it is really interesting to see the differences in the types of foods Scott and I each grew up with.  He did not have salmon patties as a staple growing up or even had them before I started making them.  This was something totally new for him.  He loves fish, so I was sure he was going to like it.  Over the years I have come up with a standard salmon patty recipe that isn’t overly fishy tasting and results in a light flavor not leaving you weighted down.

Andrea’s Salmon Patties

  • 1-6oz pouch skinless, boneless salmon
  • 1 egg
  • 1 TBSP of dijon mustard or a grainy mustard of your choice
  • 1/4 of a medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 TBSP of prepared horseradish
  • 2 C of fresh chopped spinach
  • 1/4 C of a combo of grated parm and asiago (shredded is also fine)
  • 1/4C of cornmeal
  • 1/4C of breadcrumbs
  • 2 TBSP of butter + 1/2 TBSP of olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

  • Salmon
  • Spinach
  • Egg
  • Mustard
  • Onion
  • Horseradish
  • Cheese

Mix until everything is in corporated.  Then add in the cornmeal and breadcrumbs and mix again (all by hand).  In a medium sized skillet (if you have cast iron, that would be preferable), heat the butter and 1/2 TBSP of olive oil over medium heat.  While that is heating, form the salmon mixture into four equal size patties.  These are going to be medium sized.  Place each patty in the skillet and cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side, till crispy.  Mostly wanting the outside to be crispy and the egg on the inside to firm up a bit.

Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties

I’ve fallen back in love with salmon patties.  And in this current economic phase that the US is in, these make for a great cheap meal.  Salmon typically isn’t too expensive and you can always used canned instead, just remember to drain it first.  And frozen spinach (again, be sure to drain it well) can be used in place of fresh.

What I also like about these salmon patties is that they are really a blank slate waiting for anything to be added to them.  Shredded carrots maybe?  Some buffalo sauce instead of the mustard.  Some black beans or mashed chickpeas?  It’s all up to you what you want to do with them.  Just remember, if you add something to the mix that has more liquid, then you’ll need to probably add more breadcrumbs.

And feel free to reduce the butter amount if you want or omit it entirely and use olive oil.  It’s up to you!

Ready to eat

Ready to eat

Have fun guys!  And remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!