Flour, Too's Oven Baked Potato and Red Pepper Tortilla

I loved this, even though it is eggs.  The flavors and smells were so enticing, I couldn't wait to dig into this.  We found this recipe for a Spanish tortilla in Flour, Too, and as always, the recipe turned out really well.  Each serving, for a total of eight servings, was 274 calories.  Noah gave this an 8, Owen and I gave this a 9, and Aaron gave it a 7 (no meat :)).  I like that this is Spanish, a tapas, and the fried potatoes really make this a delicious breakfast meal.  Here's what to do:

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes
6 eggs
3/4 c whole milk
1 c grated Romano cheese, plus more for garnish
4 scallions, minced
3 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
5 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t paprika

Boil the potatoes until fork tender, drain, and remove the peels after they have cooled a little.  Slice them into slices 1/2 inch thick.
Preheat the oven to 450.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, Parmesan, green onions, and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
Heat 1 T of the oil in a large oven-proof skillet, then add the onion, pepper, and garlic and cook until the vegetables soften.  Season with salt and pepper, then transfer the veggies to a bowl and set aside.
In the same skillet, heat 3 T of the oil over high heat.  Add the sliced potatoes and reduce the heat to medium.  Sprinkle with the paprika and more salt, then let cook for about 3 minutes.  Flip the potatoes over, drizzle with the remaining 1 T olive oil, and sprinkle with salt if desired.  Cook for an additional 3 minutes or so, making sure to get some crispy potatoes in there, even if not all of them are browned or crispy.  Remove the skillet from the heat.
Spread the veggie mixture over the potatoes, then pour the egg mixture over everything.  Bake for 16-20 minutes, until the middle is just set and the egg puffs and browns.  Let cool a few minutes, then serve.

This was great for breakfast the next day as well, so it holds up well in the fridge.

Michael Symon's Spaghetti Carbonara

I enjoy Spaghetti Carbonara, and our boys did too, but Aaron isn't a big fan of this.  He likes his pasta with hamburger or sausage much more than bacon.  Anyway, I love how tasty and simple this pasta is, and this rendition comes from Michael Symon's 5 in 5.  For each serving of this, the calories are 389 for 8 servings.  Noah gave this a perfect 10, Owen and I gave this a 9, and Aaron gave it a 6.  Anyway, here's what to do:

1 lb dried spaghetti
3 T olive oil
1/2 lb bacon, cut into small pieces
4 large eggs, separated
1 t pepper
salt
1/4 c parsley, chopped
1 c grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta in well salted water until al dente, reserving 1/4 c of the pasta water.
In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp.  Deglaze the pan with the reserved pasta water, then remove the pan from the heat.
Whisk the egg whites until they start to get foamy.  Add in the pepper, salt, parsley, olive oil, and Parmesan.  Mix this slowly with the bacon, whisking the entire time.
Add in the cooked pasta, pour the egg yolks over, then salt to taste.  Serve :).

Michael Symon's Parmesan, Tomato and Prosciutto Frittata

Today, nine years ago, my Owen was born, and it was one of the greatest moments of my life to hold my first boy for the very first time.  He's such a special guy, I love him.  Anyway, he picked this as his favorite meal we've had in the last little while, so this is what I am featuring today.  This was another great one from Michael Symon, from his 5 in 5 cookbook, and it was ridiculously easy and delicious.  We all gave this a 9, and I love the flavors in this.  We cut this into six, and each serving was only 241 calories.  Here's what to do:

2 T olive oil
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper
8 large eggs
1/4 c heavy gream
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 oz thinly sliced Prosciutto

Preheat the broiler on high.
Over medium-high heat, cook the olive oil and tomatoes with a pinch of salt.  Cook about one minute.
Whisk together the eggs and cream, season them with salt and pepper, and add the eggs to the tomatoes, about 2 minutes, stirring from time to time.  Top with the Parmesan, put it under the broiler, and cook for about 2 more minutes.  Top with the Prosciutto and serve.

The Border Cookbook's Riders In Chaps

So this wasn't a hit with anyone aside from Owen.  He loved this meal, he gave it a perfect 10, Noah gave it a 7, Aaron gave it a 4, and I didn't even have any of the eggs, so I don't get a vote.  I don't love eggs, especially not over medium ones :).  Anyway, the pork was really good, everyone agreed on that, but no one liked the eggs in addition, except for Owen.  Like I said, he loved it with the eggs.  The pork was an easy crockpot combination, and the eggs just needed to be cooked right before serving, so this was an easy meal.  Each tostada with two eggs on it was 535 calories.  Here's what to do:

1 lb pork loin
1 large onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 canned chipotle chile and 1 t adobo sauce
1/2 t salt, plus more to taste
1/4 t dried thyme
1/2 c water

6 tostadas
guacamole
12 eggs
cheese
beans if desired

Place the pork, onion, bay leaf, chipotle chile and sauce, salt, thyme and water in your slow cooker.  Cook on low for around 6 hours, or until the meat shreds easily.  Shred it and set aside.
When ready to serve, cook the eggs either sunny side up, or over medium, and salt them to taste.
To assemble, take one tostada, swipe with beans if using, layer on meat, 2 eggs, cheese, and guacamole, then serve.

The Border Cookbook's Joe's Breakfast Nachos

So this is just migas, really, and I have posted at least one great recipe for migas here, but if it's possible, this one was even easier, and still tasted delicious, so I wanted to feature it.  This received a 9 from all of us.  Each serving was 620 calories, but they were large, and very filling.  Here's what I did:

1/2 lb chorizo
1 onion, chopped
1 T butter
salt to tast
3 eggs
1 T water
2 oz salted tortilla chips
8 oz grated cheese
1 small tomato, chopped

Preheat oven to 350.
Saute the chorizo over medium heat.  Remove the chorizo, and add the onion.  Cook until softened.  Place the butter in an 8x8 baking dish, and melt it in the oven.  Mix the eggs and water together, then add the chorizo and eggs to the pan with the onions.  Cook for a minute or two, then spread the egg mixture in the warmed baking dish.  Top the eggs with the tortilla chips.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Cook for 5-8 minutes, then top with the tomato and serve immediately.

Mediterranean Egg Scramble

This easy recipe from Our Best Bites wasn't a hit at our house, only I really liked it.  Mediterranean Egg Scramble is really good!

 

Owen and Noah gave this a 7, Aaron gave it a 5, and I gave it an 8.  This is so easy, I loved it.

For 1/4 of the total, the calories are 204.  Here's what you do.

 

6 eggs

1/4 c sour cream

1/2 t basil

1/4 t oregano

1/4 t garlic salt

pinch of salt

2 green onions, chopped

3/4 c feta

1/2 red pepper, chopped

cooking spray

 

Spray a large fry pan.  Add in red pepper.  Mix together sour cream, eggs, and spices.  Then add in the feta and pour into the pan with the red pepper.  Last add the green onions and serve. 

 

The original recipe says to wrap them in crepes or tortillas, that was more work than I wanted to go to, so we just had scrambled eggs.

Southwest Egg and Tater Tot Casserole

This was a fun breakfast for dinner casserole!  I found the recipe here, and it was easy and good.  I like the flavors, and I like that we could have dinner ready so quickly.  Noah helped me make it, and we loved the tater tots with it.  Noah gave it a 9, and the rest of us gave it an 8.  This is fun for kids and adults :).  The calories for 1/6 of the total were 325, but we ate less than that.  I also cut the recipe in half, because it was too much for our family.  Follow the link to find the recipe at Lauren's Latest since I made the recipe just like it says, just cut in half ;).

Mexican Style Scrambled Eggs

These eggs are flipping fantastic!  I do not always love eggs, but these are so good.  I found the recipe in my Cook's Illustrated cookbook, I seriously love the Cook's Illustrated cookbooks, and this recipe is another fabulous one.  I changed the recipe a little to accommodate my family's taste buds, and they liked it!  Here's what I did

6 eggs
2 oz tortilla chips, crushed
1/4 t salt
2 oz pepperjack cheese
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 T butter

Melt 1 T butter, then add in the onion and jalapeno.  While these are cooking, mix together the chips, the salt and the eggs.  Add the eggs to the jalapeno and onion, then when the eggs are done, add in the pepperjack cheese.

This made four servings, and each serving was 276 calories.  Aaron gave this a 9, Owen gave it a 7 because he thought it was too spicy ;), and Noah and I gave this a perfect 10.  Noah helped me make this, it is so simple and easy.  We'll be having these a lot!

Anne Burrell's Parmigiano Flan

This was another flop for us.  Anne Burrell's Parmigiano Flan from Cook Like A Rock Star was uninspiring, but at least it was easy :)  The recipe made 6 little flans, and they were each 395 calories.  These took much longer to cook than the recipe said, and I found them very unpleasant.  They were too, I don't know, eggy, or something, but the consistency was very off-putting.  Owen gave them a 7, he thought this was good, but Aaron and Noah gave it a 4 and I gave it a 3.  Here's the super simple recipe

2 c heavy cream
4 large eggs
1 c parmesan freshly grated
salt
cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325.
Spray 6 ramekins and set aside.  Combine cream, eggs, cheese, salt and cayenne and whisk well.  Divide the mixture between the ramekins. 
Place the ramekins in a dish, and fill up the baking dish with hot water until the water reaches halfway up the ramekins.  Cover with foil, and bake for 30-35 minutes (I cooked ours for at least 45, and they could've cooked quite a bit longer).  Remove from the oven and cool.  Serve with salad.

Vicki's Breakfast Burritos

This is hardly a recipe, but it is our favorite way to  have breakfast burritos.  Our family loves these, we all give them a perfect 10.  I'm not going to do calories on this, because the amounts are all up to whoever is making it.  Here's what I do:

1-2 c cooked potatoes (we like them cooked in some kind of fat, these were cooked in duck fat)
eggs (enough for family)
chorizo
cheese
tortillas
garnishes

Cook the chorizo until browned, then add in the potatoes, then the eggs.  Taste, and if necessary salt, but I don't usually find this necessary.  Top with cheese and wrap in tortilla.  We like it with avocado, tomatoes, and fresh salsa.

Shrimp Fried Rice and Fried Zucchini

First today we had shrimp fried rice, and this is a recipe we all enjoy. I put a little more rice than usual and a little less soy sauce, so Aaron said it lacked flavor (it did), so he gave it a 6, I gave it an 8, and the boys gave it a perfect 10. They love that dish. Here is the recipe from Jaden Hair, we love it.

Perfect Shrimp Fried Rice 8 servings, 287 calories/serving

 

4cups leftover, previously chilled cooked rice

1/2 lb small raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 t salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 t cornstarch

2 T high-heat cooking oil, divided

3 eggs, beaten

2 scallions, minced

1 T soy sauce or 2 t fish sauce

3/4 c frozen peas and carrots, defrosted

1 t sesame oil

 

1. Gently separate the rice grains with a fork, taking care not to smush the delicate grains.  In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch.  Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

2 Set a wok on high heat.  Add 1 T of the cooking oil and swirl to coat the wok.  Add the shrimp, quickly spreading it out around the cooking surface area so they are not overlapping.  Let fry, untouched for 30 seconds, or until almost cooked through.  Remove the shrimp from the wok to a plate, leaving as much oil in the wok as possible.

3. Turn the heat to medium and let the wok heat up again.  Add the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to scramble the eggs.  When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the wok in to the same plate as the shrimp.

4. Use paper towels to wipe the same pan clean and return it to high heat.  Add the remaining 1 T cooking oil and swirl to coat.  When the oil is hot, add the green onions and cook, about 15-30 seconds.  Add the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout.  Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1 minute.  Use a spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok and let cook for 1 minute.

5 Drizzle the fish sauce or soy sauce all around the rice and toss.  Add the peas, carrots, eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all the ingredients.  Repeat the tossing, spreading and 1 minute frying until each and every grain of rice is heated through.  Taste and adjust with additional soy sauce if needed.

 

For veggie we had some fried zucchini from Giada de Laurentiis's cookbook Everyday Pasta.  We gave this an 8, who doesn't like fried stuff?  Here's the recipe

 

Fried Zucchini 32 slices, 126/slice

1 ½  c freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 ½ c panko

¾ t salt

2 large eggs

3 medium zucchini, cut into ½-inch strips

Olive oil, for deep-frying

Stir 1 ½ c of the Parmesan cheese, the panko, and salt together in a medium bowl to blend.  Whisk the eggs in another medium bowl to break them up.  Working in batches, dip the zucchini sticks in the eggs to coat them completely, allowing the excess egg to drip back into the bowl.  Coat the zucchini in the panko mixture, patting to adhere and coat completely.  Place the coated zucchini strips on a baking sheet. 

Heat 2 inches of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350.  Working in batches, fry the zucchini sticks until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried zucchini to paper towels and drain.

Arrange the fried zucchini on a platter.  Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ c of Parmesan cheese and serve.

 

Aaron helped me out with this, thanks honey!

 

Tomorrow we're having a chicken dish and a cornbread panzanella.

Great Grain Muffins, and Make Ahead Muffin Melts

So I was cleaning out a bunch of jalapenos in order to make jalapeno poppers, and I used this butter knife, which hasn't been used in the 10 years Aaron and I have been married. This knife works great for cleaning out jalapenos, and will be my new jalapeno knife :) Just thought I would share! Anyway, we tried some breakfast food today, and the recipes were only mildly successful.

First, the muffins we had were healthy, relatively low in calories, easy to make, and pretty good. They come out of the Dorie Greenspan, Baking from my home to yours cookbook. They are called great grain muffins, and they are definitely worth making, a not too sweet breakfast muffin. We gave them an 8, and we made 15 muffins from the recipe, and each muffin was 189 calories. Here's the recipe:

Great Grains Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk ( I used milk and vinegar)

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 large eggs

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup quartered moist, plump prunes or other dried fruits (cut up as necessary) and/or chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda andsalt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, eggs and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough–if the batter is a bit lumpy, that’s fine. Stir in the fruit or nuts, if you’re using them. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto the rack to cool.

We also had some muffin melts from the Pioneer Woman. I thought that Aaron would really enjoy them, so I tried them, although they are not my favorite.

The recipe is from the Pioneer Woman's second cookbook, and it was a pretty good recipe, especially if you like eggs, which I just really don't, and here is another recipe to prove to me why I really don't like eggs.
Aaron seemed to enjoy it, he gave it a 7, as did the rest of us.  The calories with a slice of bread, which is how we had planned on having it, were 459 for 1/12 of the recipe.  I used a mayo/mustard blend as well as regular mayo to cut down on the calories.
As you can see from the picture, we used crackers instead of bread, because my bread was moldy.  Stinker!  I have to make more bread now, and all that delicious bread had to get thrown away.  I'm pretty disappointed about that, but oh well.  I bet this would taste really good on bread. :)

Tomorrow we're having a fruit tart with pastry cream, and I can't wait, because I could eat pastry cream for the rest of my life and be happy.  Yum :)

Father's Day Breakfast

Happy Father's Day! Today we made breakfast in bed for Aaron, and here is where you get the recipes:
Double Chocolate Waffles
Baked Breakfast Taquitos

We didn't make the berry sauce, because Aaron said he preferred regular syrup, and we didn't make the sourcream dip because of calories.  The taquitos were 211 calories/taquito, and the waffles were 164 calories/waffle.  We gave the taquitos between an 8 and a 9, and the same with the waffles.  They were both delicious, and Aaron was very happy with his father's day breakfast.  Tomorrow we are having some muffins from PW and also her jalapeno poppers.  The salsa in the red bowl is actually PW's restaurant salsa which is our favorite, easy and delicious, and so low in calories, especially since I don't add the sugar.