egg in hole

I love breakfast.

True story. I eat an egg every morning. I usually scramble it in a mug {one egg. one mug. pam spray. scramble with little whisk. 19 seconds zap. more scramble. 15 seconds zap.} but I love ordering eggs over easy with toast when I eat out for breakfast, loving soaking up that runny oak with some good bread, but resigning myself to my inability to make a fried egg well.

Well.
Enter Egg in A Hole.
INGREDIENTS
one egg
one good piece of toasted bread. like 9 grain.
olive oil cooking spray
biscuit cutter
DIRECTIONS
Heat skillet to medium high. Cut a hole in your toast with the biscuit cutter and ready the leftover circle on plate. Spray skillet with cooking spray. Add holed toast and crack egg into hole. Wait 2 minutes and swiftly flip entire unit. After 2-3 minutes, remove to plate. Sprinkle with coarse salt and cracked pepper and enjoy making perfect bites of cooked egg white, runny oak and nutty bread.

sliders

After a long and undoubtedly reader-mourned hiatus, I return to you with a versatile, well loved dish in our house.

The base of these sliders is Sister Shubert's rolls. Discovering that my husband loved these was further affirmation of my theory that I'd married the male version of my best friend, but that's beside the point. All that matters is T. loves the rolls and thus has loved whatever I'm able to fit in them. I've made steak sliders with leftover sliced steak meat, I've made turkey burger sliders with leftover turkey meat {and a really cute 2 inch biscuit cutter} and I've made fajita sliders. You could use black bean veggie burger patties, chicken breast sliders {cue that cute biscuit cutter} or even thickly sliced roast beef or turkey deli meat. The possibilities are endless, but the steak is is the one I make the most often. The pictures are of the turkey burger sliders.

{Steak sliders}

INGREDIENTS

Sister Shubert's Parker House Rolls

sliced steak or other meat of choice

spicy mustard

pesto

provolone cheese

baby spinach leaves

sliced Roma tomatoes

oven or toaster oven with a broiler

pepper

DIRECTIONS

Yield note: {I think there are about 16 rolls in each package. When I make these just for T, I break the frozen biscuit 'disk' in half and only use half at a time. One package should feed two for a main course comfortably and be great for appetizers for 4}

Cook frozen rolls according to package directions. Then turn broiler on. 

Time spend under the broiler will only melt the cheese not warm the meat sufficiently, so if you're using leftover or chilled meat, warm meat separately @ this point.

Half each roll and generously spread pesto on one side and spicy mustard {to your level of spiciness preference} on the other. I put pesto on the top and mustard on the bottom because I like the idea of the meat touching the spicy mustard...

Cover each bottom half with as much meat as you please and top with cheese. Place open faced halves on a cookie sheet under the broiler until the cheese melts. Remove. Sprinkle pepper on melted cheese. Top cheese with a few baby spinach leaves and a slice of Roma tomato {and whatever else you've got going on in the fridge that you think sounds good}

Smash top {pesto covered} half on. I served my turkey "burgers" with roasted new potato "fries."

Happy sliding!

briebruschetta

I bought brie for myself and needed to do something else with it after eating it on bread with chipotle raspberry sauce for two days straight. I also had some sad looking tomatoes, looking on the extra juicy side.

Do all my recipes seem to originate with stories of how I'm trying to get rid of leftovers or clean out the dregs of my pantry and freezer? Evidently.

Brie Bruschetta

{ingredients}

3 cloves garlic

good olive oil

good fresh bread such as ciabatta, 10-12 slices

two ripe tomatoes

4 oz of brie

cracked pepper

italian seasonings

{directions}

In a small ramekin covered with foil, bake 3 finely diced cloves of garlic in about an inch of olive oil for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Then put the oven on broil and move a rack close to the broiling coil. Under the broiler, toast one side of your bread slices on a baking sheet

Half the tomatoes and generously rub the cut side on the untoasted side of the bread slices. Basically, you want the tomato to soak into the bread. Brush the baked garlic oil on the slices, sprinkle with Italian spices and cracked pepper. Spread on the brie, or place on thin slices, if spreading is difficult.

Broil the slices until cheese is melted and edges of bread begin to look toasted. About 2-3 minutes.

Enjoy!

blackberry fage

Operation Clean Out Freezer and Pantry is in full force.

After the pasta frozen fruit is next on the hit list. I have frozen cranberries, peaches, blackberries and strawberries. Since this stuff isn't in season anyway, now is a great time to start using it!

{blackberry yogurt}
heaping 1/2 c. frozen blackberries
1 c. greek yogurt
2 T. granola (or Grape Nuts - if you're in OCOF&P)
2 t. honey

Heat blackberries in a coffee mug for 1-2 minutes in the microwave until thawed. To thawed berries (and resulting liquid that I kept for sweetness) mix yogurt, granola & honey.

cheesy tomato penne bake

This was a combination of a few recipes from my new The Complete Vegetarian cookbook I found for half off at B&N yesterday. It has TONS of great sauce recipes, pasta recipes, appetizer, stuffed vegetable recipes and a billion different ways of incorporating nuts and beans into recipes. Not that I'm a vegetarian per say, but I like eating nuts, vegetables and beans more than meat, typically, and the typical meat portions are hard to cook for just the two of us.

Anyway, I added ground turkey I had frozen from another dish to this recipe, used a tomato sauce recipe from the book and made a really easy cheese sauce to hold it all together. The cookbook's author, Rose Elliot, used the cheese sauce in a couple of her lasagna dishes, but called for egg to hold her penne bake together. (However, I buy good, expensive eggs to eat for breakfast and quite honestly didn't want to use up my good eggs on a baked pasta dish) I had tons of cheddar cheese I was ready to use up and had been wanting to make my own tomato sauce for a while. Also, as I think about moving, I get frustrated with the crazy assortment of pastas I have stuffed in the back of the pantry. Two separate bags of, half used orzo, two versions of penne and enough spaghetti to feed a village. So this allowed me to get rid of the remainders of a penne bag as well!

cheesy penne pasta bake

{ingredients}

1 cup penne pasta, cooked according to package directions

1/2 c. reserved pasta water

1/4 to 1/2 lb ground turkey, cooked and finely crumbled

tomato sauce:

1 14oz can crushed tomatoes

2 T. olive oil

2 bay leaves

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

cheese sauce:

1 T. butter

1 T. flour

5 - 6 oz milk

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. pepper

3/4 c. cheddar cheese or other sharp cheese

1/4 c. bread crumbs

{directions}

Heat olive oil in large skillet or saucepan with lid. Cook onions covered with one bay leaf, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and stir briefly. Add tomatoes, seasonings and reserved pasta water. Allow to simmer about 25 minutes until visibly reduced. Add salt, pepper and italian seasonings to taste. Remove bay leaf.

Make the cheese sauce. I found a rubber whisk worked better than a metal one had. In pot that you made the pasta in, melt butter on medium heat with second bay leaf until bubbly. Add flour and whisk until smooth and slightly darkened in color. Remove bay leaf. Add about 1/3 of the milk and whisk until smooth. Slowly add the rest of the milk and whisk. Whisk until thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in all but 1/4 cup of the cheese, allowing each addition to melt. Add spices.

In a small baking dish (I used what I think was about a 9 X 5 pyrex) combine pasta, ground turkey, half of the bread crumbs, and all but about a 1/4 of the cheese sauce. Spread the rest of the cheese sauce on top, sprinkle with remaining cheese, remaining bread crumbs and some cracked black pepper. Bake on 350 for about 25 minutes.

{photo belongs to kraft as i'm too lazy to upload mine!}

corn & potato bisque

When we ate in Paris, many places served bisque-type smooth soups as the first course. Because Taylor raved about each one, I bought an immersion blender as soon as we got home. He will typically try any soup I attempt so I've enjoyed trying new things and basically throwing in whatever veggies I have in the fridge, frozen in the freezer or canned in the pantry. This is was my second time using the blender, and thought this soup turned out really well. It was yummy and satisfying on this cold, rainy day. Blending cooked potatoes allows you to make a creamy soup without actually having to add cream or even milk. Since I almost never have milk on hand and don't really like the idea of eating a soup made with cream as my meal, pureeing potatoes has been perfect.

corn and potato bisque
Serves 2 if that's dinner, or 4 as a first course

{ingredients}

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
5 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground pepper, kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

{directions}

In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions until soft, add garlic and sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Add potatoes, stir to coat with onions and garlic, add a pinch of salt and dried parsley as well. Add stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of corn and remaining spices, allow to simmer a few minutes longer. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, purée contents of pot, in batches if necessary, until smooth.

Add remaining 1/2 cup of corn. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve. I typically leave my soups on warm until we are ready to eat (or until Taylor is home!) I think they just get better as the flavors combine.

old people cookies

....also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies or maybe Sandies. But these remind me of visiting elderly family in West Texas and of old ladies and the Baptist potlucks.



I think I have memories of them from my childhood because their unique shape caught my eye and the powdered sugar stuck to my fingers. They remind me of holidays. So when I found a recipe originally published in the New York Times for "Viennese Almond Crescent" cookies, I thought they sounded good and set out to recreate my West Texas memories

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Makes about a dozen cookies 

1/2 cup ground almonds (I used my food processor)

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vanilla sugar (I used powdered sugar), for coating

Whisk together the ground almonds and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl.

In a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed for several minutes until smooth.

Add in the almond mixture and mix until combined. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined. Add in the flour and salt and mix on low just until combined and the dough starts clumping together.

Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap tightly, and chill for about 20 minutes.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll into a log and curve the ends to make a crescent shape. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through; the edges of the cookies should turn light brown but the tops should not get too dark. Cool on sheets for about 4 to 5 minutes. While they are still warm, sift sugar over the cookies. Let them finish cooling on wire racks. They are best enjoyed the day they are made, but you can store them in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper for 2 weeks.

{thoughts}

As they baked, they did not seem done after about 13 minutes but once they cooled, they seemed good. They may look really undercooked and there was a huge variety of baking times in the recipes I looked at, some up to 30 minutes! So I still don't know if I should have cooked them longer. They were really good but fell apart easily. I doubt cooking time would have effected that though and they may have just turned into biscotti or something, lacking egg.