Spanish Eggs

Good morning! It is a beautiful morning here in Georgia! I usually wake up around 8-9 in the summer, depending on when the girls wake up. I am pretty lazy in the mornings. I sip a cup of coffee while I watch some TV or surf the Internet. This morning started the same as normal, but about halfway in to my coffee I really started getting hungry and knew I needed some subsistence. I plan on going to a yoga class later, so I needed to eat something that would give me energy but not weigh me down. I was thinking of making an egg dish, so I searched my fridge and pantry to see what I had. I spied some green olives, and can of diced tomatoes, and some sweet peppers and decided on Spanish theme. This was perfect. At the end, I decided to add 1/2 a sliced avocado. Perfection! I only added 2 eggs, but if you are serving this at a brunch or for more than one, you can add up to 4 for this medium cast iron pan. If you wanted to make more, just go up a size in your pan. Now I have some extra sauce that I can use later. Hmmm, I can think of a lot of possibilities!!!

Spanish Eggs

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/4 of a yellow and orange sweet peppers
handful of sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
handful of green olives cut in half
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 eggs

Directions

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium-low heat. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes just to soften them. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar, then bubble for 8-10 mins until thick.

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Using the back of a large spoon, make 2-4 dips in the sauce, then crack an egg into each one. Put a lid on the pan, then cook over a low heat for 6-8 mins, until the eggs are done to your liking. Top with sliced avocado and serve with crusty bread.

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Light and Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

The girls wanted pancakes for breakfast this morning. I knew I had a pint of blueberries in the fridge I needed to use up, so I decided to make some blueberry compote and put some blueberries in half the pancakes for Becca and me. Lizzie and Katie wanted plain pancakes.

I wanted to try a new pancake recipe, so I found this recipe from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. He has a bunch of pancake and waffle recipes and a long list of variations and mix-ins. Next time I am going to try the chocolate chip pancakes.

Light and Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes- “Here the egg whites are whipped into a foam and folded into the batter, creating a cross between pancake and souffle.” In other words, HEAVEN!

Ingredients

1 cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Butter or neutral oil like grapeseed or corn, as needed

Directions

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat while you make the batter- I used my large cast iron skillet.

Beat together the milk and egg yolks. Mix the dry ingredients. Beat the egg whites with a whisk or electric mixer until fairly stiff but not dry. I used my mixer- much easier than doing it by hand.

Combine the dry ingredients and the milk-yolk mixture, stirring to blend. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites; they should remain somewhat distinct in the batter.

Pour about 1 teaspoon of the butter or oil on the griddle or in the skillet, when the butter melts or the oil is hot, add the batter by the heaping teaspoon, making sure to include some of the egg whites in each spoonful. After it had a few bubbles, I added in a few blueberries in each pancake. Cook until lightly browned on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes, then turn and cook the other side a couple more minutes. Serve or hold on an oven proof plate in a 200 degree oven for up to 15 minutes.

Blueberry Compote

Ingredients
1 pint of blueberries (I saved a couple of handfuls of blueberries for the pancakes)
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of one lemon (lime or orange would work here also)

Directions
Combine 1/2 of the blueberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the blueberries and cook for 8 minutes more, stirring frequently. Serve warm over your pancakes. It keeps well in the fridge for a week or so, maybe longer, but Becca loves it so much that it does not last too long.

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Friday Fives 5/23/14

I had this post all ready yesterday, but never got a chance to post it. So here are a few of my favorite things from this past week…

Chilaquiles- I love to try different versions of this yummy mexican brunch dish. This was made with green chilies, jalapenos, grilled chunks of chicken, tortilla chips, jack cheese, topped with sunny side up eggs, and avocado. Would have been even better with a spicy bloody mary!
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Talenti- My new favorite frozen treats! I have had a few kinds in the past and LOVED them!This past week I got the roman raspberry sorbetto. This week, I am trying the mango sorbetto and the black cherry gelato.
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I like the red ones the best.
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Hot dog night!
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Date Night- Sushi!
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Malbec- This one caught my eye, because my girls are obsessed with Elsa from Frozen. It was yummy!005

Farmer’s Markets… I went this morning and got a bunch of treats! I have thinking about radishes for a while, so when I saw some this morning, I knew I had to snatch them up! One of my favorite combos is salted butter and radishes. I love making butter and radish sandwiches
during the summer! 008

Spinach and Cheese Omelet

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Spinach and Cheese Omelet
Ingredients

A whole container of spinach- you could use frozen that you thaw, but you have to make sure you get out all that excess water
2 whole eggs- if you are watching cholesterol or fat, you could use 3 egg whites
a handful of shredded cheese- whatever you like
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Saute your spinach in some oil or bacon fat =)
Whisk your eggs and pour them in a small pan that you have sprayed with Pam or melted butter or bacon fat =)
Shake the pan around a little to make sure most all of the egg gets cooked. Then put in your spinach and cheese. Fold it up and top with cheese. Cover to melt the cheese. I added a dash of hot sauce for some spice.

Avocado and Sunny Side Up Eggs on English Muffin

This is a simple and delicious breakfast that took no time to make. I toasted a whole wheat english muffin, spread some avocado (actually, it was a 100 calorie package of Wholly Guacamole, but same idea), and topped it with perfectly cooked sunny side up eggs! You are not going to get this at any drive-thru!

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