Scrambled Eggs in Potato Nests

I love “breakfast food” for dinner. I think I just love breakfast food all the time! It’s my favorite meal! Toby had a soccer game last night, so I decided to make this light meal for dinner. The recipe serves 12, so I halved it (hey, we like to eat here). I DID use the whole bag of refrigerated potatoes, though, and I only made 8 “nests” instead of the 12. I used some Monterey Jack cheese on half and then on the other half I used some shredded mild Cheddar. These were really good. Toby said that they were something like his mother would make up, and that they were very hearty and homey. ? I think this means they were good. With these we had a green salad.

rating: 9

Scrambled Eggs in Potato Nests
(from www.bhg.com)

Ingredients

* 1  20-oz. pkg. refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes
* 2  eggs, beaten
* 1  Tbsp. snipped fresh chives (I used dried parsley instead)
* 1/2  tsp. salt
* 12  eggs (I used 6 eggs)
* 2/3  cup milk (I used half this amount, and used Silk soy milk)
* 1/4  tsp. salt
* 1/4  tsp. ground black pepper
* 2  Tbsp. butter or margarine
* 1-1/2  cups shredded American cheese (6 ounces) -I used shredded Monterey Jack on half and shredded mild cheddar on the other half)
*   Fresh chives (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together potatoes, the 2 beaten eggs, chives, and the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Shape mixture into 12 mounds (about 1/3 cup each) on prepared baking sheet. Press the back of a tablespoon into each mound, making a nest. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned and set.

2. Meanwhile, beat together the 12 eggs, milk, the 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper with a rotary beater. In a 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat; pour in egg mixture. Cook over medium heat without stirring until mixture begins to set on the bottom and around edge.

3. With a spatula, lift and fold the partially cooked egg mxiture so that the uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue cooking over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until egg mixture is cooked through but is still glossy and moist. Remove from heat.

4. Spoon about 1/3 cup of egg mixture into each potato nest. Sprinkle cheese over eggs. Return to oven; bake about 2 minutes or until cheese melts. If desired, garnish with chives. Makes: 12 servings

Banana Banana Bread

Last Friday I noticed that I had 4 sad-looking bananas on my counter. They were too far gone for me to eat them in cereal, so I thought, YES, I have an excuse to make banana bread! So I looked online for a recipe, and found one pretty quickly that even used stuff I already had in my pantry! Score! This recipe is pretty fool-proof. I did add a teaspoon of vanilla and some chopped-up walnuts and pecans. This bread is so moist and flavorful. I had 2 slices (what?) and then cut the loaf in half to give to two neighbors. I can’t have food like this in my house- too dangerous. This will be my go-to recipe for banana bread from now on.

rating: 9

Banana Banana Bread

(from www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

 

Potato, Zucchini, and Carrot Pancakes

I don’t know what it is about shredded veggies, but I love them! Toby is not a fan of zucchini (unless it is shredded- what’s up with that?) nor carrots, so I only used 2 tiny baby carrots in this. It took awhile to get everything mixed together, but after that everything came together quickly. It was a little tough making the little indentation in the finished pancake. I didn’t think the ones I was making were big enough for the eggs, but they turned out to be fine. The baked eggs were good. They are kind of like poached, maybe? I had to poke them several times to see if they were done, because they sure didn’t look like it. But they were. Weird. Toby really liked this, but he said it might be even better with fried eggs on top instead of the baked. He said it would be good to have a little runny yolk. I told him “now THAT’S the kind of feedback I am looking for, sir!” With this we had a nice little green salad.

rating: 9

Potato, Zucchini, and Carrot Pancakes
(from the April 2009 issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine)

nonstick cooking spray
1 medium zucchini, shredded (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and shredded (about 4 cups)
1 large carrot, shredded (about 1 cup)- I shredded 2 baby carrots
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed (I used dried)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly coat two small baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Drain zucchini in a colander; press to squeeze out excess liquid. In large bowl combine zucchini, potatoes, carrot, flour, 1 of the eggs, thyme, salt, and pepper.
3. In extra-large nonstick skillet, heat half of the oil over medium heat. To make a pancake, spoon about a 1-cup portion of potato mixture into skillet; evenly press and round edges with back of spatula to form a pancake. Cook two pancakes at a time, 4-5 minutes each side or until golden brown, turning once. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining oil and potato mixture.
4. With the back of a wooden spoon or a 1/2 cup measure gently press each pancake, slightly off-center, to make a 3″ diameter depression, deep enough to hold an egg. Pour one egg in each nest. Place pancakes with eggs in oven, being careful not to tilt baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, 10-12 minutes or until eggs are cooked through.

Roasted Vegetable Frittata

Hi there folks! Sorry for the delay, we’ve all been sick here with several colds! We are all feeling good again, so we are ready for some recipes! I used last night’s recipe as sort of a guide. The recipe calls for bell peppers and zucchini, which Toby doesn’t love. The recipe says that you can really substitute any hard vegetable, so instead I used red potatoes, mushrooms, and broccolini. I quartered the potatoes and roasted them with the mushrooms and broccolini. I wasn’t sure if they would be done enough, but they were. I only used 10 eggs instead of the 12 it calls for. I also omitted the scallions and used an Italian cheese blend instead of the Gruyere (just used what cheese I had on hand). This was really good! I really like making frittatas- I don’t know why they scared me before. They are so easy, and they really give you the freedom to use what veggies and cheeses you have on hand. With this we had a green salad. Oh, I am posting 2 pics, because the frittata really puffs up in the oven and looks so good!

rating: 9.5

Roasted Vegetable Frittata
(from House Beautiful magazine)

1 small zucchini, 1″ diced
1 red bell pepper, 1.5″ diced
1 yellow bell pepper, 1.5″ diced
1 red onion, peeled, and 1.5″ diced
1/3 cup good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp unsalted butter
12 extra-large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup good grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/2 cup good grated Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Place the zucchini, peppers, and onion on a sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with 1.5 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Toss well. Bake for 15 minutes, add the garlic, toss with a spatula, and bake for another 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with a whisk in a large bowl with the half-and-half, Parmesan, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.
4. When the vegetables are cooked, turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
5. In a 10″ ovenproof omelet pan, heat the butter and saute the scallions over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add the roasted vegetables to the omelet pan and toss with the scallions. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes over medium-low heat. Bake the frittata for 20-30 minutes, until puffed and set in the middle. Sprinkle with the Gruyere and bake for another 3 minutes, until the cheese is just melted. Cut into 8 wedges and serve hot.

Country Pumpkin Muffins

I am taking a little break this week, but I wanted to share one new recipe with you. I made IHOP’s pumpkin pancakes over the weekend (from a cookbook full of famous restaurant recipes that my mom gave me), and I had almost a whole can of pumpkin left over. That pancake recipes only calls for 3 TBSP of pumpkin! Anywho, so I found this recipe, and it was a good choice. First of all, I had exactly enough pumpkin for it. Second, it’s GOOD! I did omit the raisins because of Toby’s weird “no raisins” rule.  These were so easy- you just mix the wet ingredients together, then mix the dry ingredients together, then mix them ALL together, then add the nuts. This recipe gave me 24 muffins. In the comment section after the recipe, you can see what other people did to *tweak* this recipe, like subbing half brown sugar for white, etc. Try these! And see you next Monday!

rating: 8.5

http://tinyurl.com/ba96fh

Pesto Omelette

I LOVE pesto. And I didn’t used to. But ever since I made a recipe a while back for grilled cheeses with pesto mayo, I just can’t get enough of this stuff! I think you could put this pesto on a shoe and you would eat it! So I thought this recipe sounded good. I totally spaced on buying a tomato, so I left that out. The verdict? It’s good! Of course it’s good!! It’s a little hard to spread, so you just kind of drop in dollops of it, but that’s ok. Toby liked this too. I also made some roasted potatoes to go on the side. I love breakfast food at night! I always have some pesto in my fridge now.

rating: 9

Pesto Omelet
(from a Buitoni ad in a magazine)

4 large eggs, beaten
1 small tomato, seeded and drained (I omitted)
1/4 cup sliced roasted red pepper, drained
2 tbsp Buitoni Refrigerated Pesto with Basil
2 tbsp Buitoni Refrigerated Freshly Shredded Romano Cheese

Combine eggs and tomato in a small bowl; set aside.
Heat greased, large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in egg mixture. Mixture should set immediately at edges. Carefully push cooked mixture at edges toward center so uncooked portions can reach hot pan surface, tilting pan and stirring as necessary. While top is still moist and creamy-looking, fill with roasted pepper, pesto, and cheese. Reduce heat to low; fold omelet in half. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Monkey Bread

This is what I make for breakfast every Christmas morning (I say every- for the last two!). It’s so easy, and it’s nice to serve with other stuff, or just have it on a plate and people can pinch off a piece every time they walk by. There’s no set amount of sugar or cinnamon to use- you just use whatever tastes good to you. It takes about 30 minutes to cook, so this can be cooking while you are opening gifts and then voila! Also, I add a sprinkling of chopped nuts to mine (walnuts I think). I think this theoretically makes it Gorilla Bread.

rating: 9

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,174,130183-253199,00.html

Greek Frittata

I found this recipe in the catalog that comes from some skincare stuff I use! How strange! They also sell a few food items, like olive oil. But anyway- this was good! I only used about 1/3 of the spinach that it calls for, since Toby is not a big spinach fan. This had a really good taste, and we both went back for seconds. I think next time I might add some more potatoes, and maybe a smidge more spinach. This was super easy. We enjoyed this with a salad.

rating: 8

Greek Frittata
(from the latest DHC catalog)

10 eggs
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese (about 1 cup)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, lightly packed
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 cups red onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper, as needed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together eggs, lemon juice, parsley, and a pinch of salt. Stir in cheese and spinach, reserve. In a 12-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions; sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook over medium-low heat until potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes. Turn with a spatula occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent potatoes from sticking (do not allow to brown).
3. Pour egg mixture over potatoes and onions, stirring gently (without scraping the bottom of the pan). Cook 2 minutes to set egg on bottom and sides. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove cover; bake until done. Center should be firm and almost dry, about 5 minutes. Let frittata cool 10 minutes.

Asparagus, New Potato and Chive Frittata

I have to say, after last night’s dinner, I wasn’t too hopeful for tonight’s, since they came from the same source. I kind of had a feeling that this one would be sort of bland as well, so I changed a few things. Instead of steaming the potatoes and asparagus, I put them in a pan and roasted them with some salt and pepper and a little olive oil Pam. I did not have any egg substitute, so I used 6 eggs instead of 2. At the end (after I had taken the pic!) I topped it with a little shredded cheese. This was good. Not great, but good. I will make it again and continue to tweak it. We had this with a green salad with (faux) bacon bits and croutons.

rating: 7

Asparagus, New Potato and Chive Frittata
(from the website www.weightwatchers.com)

1/2 lb. uncooked new potatoes, washed and very thinly sliced (about 4 potatoes)
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2″ lengths
2 large eggs
1 cup fat-free egg substitute
1/2 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp chives, fresh, chopped
1 serving cooking spray (5 1-second sprays per serving)

1. Place potatoes in a steamer; steam until almost tender, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus and steam for 1 minute more; remove vegetables from steamer and set aside.
2. Preheat broiler.
3. Whisk together eggs, egg substitute, salt, pepper and chives.
4. Coat a 10″ nonstick, oven-proof skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add potatoes and asparagus and saute for 2 minutes; reduce heat to low and stir in eggs. Cover and let cook until eggs are set around edges, about 5 minutes.
5. Uncover and broil frittata until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Cut into 4 wedges and serve.

Banana Bread

I had some bananas that I knew wouldn’t make it until tomorrow, so I googled on what to do with them. The obvious solution? Bake banana bread! I found a simple recipe on allrecipes.com, but I tweaked it a little. I took one reviewers suggestion and made muffins instead of a loaf of bread, and I also added a handful of chopped walnuts and a handful of chocolate chips. This recipe made about 14 muffins, I believe. They were good! I would like them to be a little more moist, but I would make these again.

rating: 7

http://tinyurl.com/yhwjjg