Eggy Oats

photo source: Blogilates

I saw this Microwave Minute Muffin on Pinterest, and thought that the boys would enjoy it. The first time they said it was too firm. I tweaked it until it was an "edible" consistency. Still delicious. Still filling, but now there is no way I would be able to get it to stand up on a plate. We have this most mornings. 

1/4 cup quick cook oats
3 Tbs milk (rice or almond milk, the vanilla almond is especially tasty)
1 egg
1/8 tsp kosher salt (or a pinch, 1/16 tsp of table salt)
1 tsp sugar/sweetener (to taste)
filling: cranberries, toasted pecans, toasted coconut, raisins, cinnamon, etc. . .
a mug

Put oats in a mug. Pour milk on top. Add the remaining ingredient and mix. Microwave for one minute, then stir. 

Variations:
- When my boys want maple syrup in their eggy oats, I decrease the milk to 2 Tbs or it's too runny. Then I'd have to nuke it for a little longer. Those 15 seconds just take up too much time in a morning of rushing about to get ready for school ;)

- Instant oatmeal: Add milk and egg, stir up and cook. 

Breakfast Empanadas

When we think about Empanadas, it's probably in the context of a sweet dessert, maybe served with ice cream. However there are savory kinds as well. In this recipe the saltiness of bacon goes really well with the creamy scrambled eggs and tangy salsa. With Cinco de Mayo a couple weeks away, this is definitely a recipe you should plan for!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon (about 10 slices)
• 1 package (15 oz) of refrigerated pie crust
• 9 eggs
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups Mexican style shredded cheese
• 4 tablespoons salsa
• all purpose flour (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cook bacon on a cooling rack in a sheet pan until crispy. Chop into small pieces. Set aside. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. cut pie crusts in half to make 4 semi circles; place on baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine 1 egg with water and beat until well blend; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining 8 eggs with salt and pepper and beat until well blended. Place large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add butter; when melted, tilt skillet to coat bottom lightly. Sprinkle bacon evenly into skillet. Pour eggs into skillet and cook without stirring for 2 minutes; gently stir until eggs are forming large curds and are still slightly moist. Transfer to plate to cool.

Spoon one fourth of the cooled scrambled egg mixture onto half of each semi circle of pie crust. Sprinkle all but 1/4 cup cheese evenly over eggs, Spoon 1 table spoon salsa in center od each mound of eggs and cheese

Using a pastry brush, brush inside of each semicircle with reserved egg-water mixture. Fold dough over top of egg mixture and seal edges with a fork, making four empanadas. (Flour fork tines to prevent sticking.)

Brush tops of empanadas with remiaing egg-white mixture and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake 15- 20 minutes or until golden.

Tip: These can be prepared early in the day and reheated in an oven set to 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Baked Green Eggs and Ham

One of my favorite breakfast dishes is Baked Eggs Benedict from the Pampered Chef. It sure is tasty with a delicious and simplified lemon butter sauce instead of the traditional Hollandaise.

Our typical St. Patrick's Day breakfast is green scramble eggs and ham with a side of toast. It's super quick and easy (I do it in the microwave). It was something my boys were guaranteed to eat when they were little.

Now as their enjoyment of food expands and their taste buds/palate becomes more refined, I sound snooty, I wanted to do something different to reflect that change. The wonderful thing is all I had to do is add a bit of food coloring to a dish they already loved.

Ingredients

• 4 whole English muffins
• 8 oz Canadian bacon, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 oz cream cheese, soft
• 1 ¾ c. half & half
• 10 eggs
• ½-¾ tsp cayenne pepper
• 10 drops green food coloring
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
• Lemon – Butter Sauce
• 2 lemons
• 1 stick butter, sliced by 8

Preheat oven to 400. Cut muffin halves into ¾ inch pieces. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy (like croutons). Place muffin pieces in a casserole (9x13 or 10x10). Sprinkle diced bacon over muffin pieces.

In a 4 qt. mixing bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth. While continuously whisking, gradually add half & half, whisk until smooth. Whisk in eggs, cayenne pepper, and green food coloring. Carefully pour egg mixture into casserole. Bake 28-32 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. The residual heat will firm up the nearly set middle. Sprinkle parsley on top

For lemon-butter sauce:

Grate 2 teaspoons of zest off a lemon. Juice lemon for ¼ cup juice. In a saucepan, combine lemon zest and juice; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until juice reduces by half.
Reduce heat to low. Whisk in butter slices, one at a time, whisking after each addition, until butter is melted and sauce is smooth.

Cut baked eggs and ham into wedges and serve. Drizzle each serving with butter sauce
Use remaining lemon to make lemon slices to decorate.

Loaded Scrambled Eggs

I've found that if you try to scramble eggs with anything else (sausage, veggies, etc.) the eggs tend to either overcook or be too watery. The good people at Cook's Illustrated figured out how to make the eggs fluffy while loaded down with good stuff. The secret is to cook the filling separately and then fold them into the nearly-cooked eggs off heat. This ensures that the egg structure is not destroyed by your fillings.

Ingredients

• 12 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (fine salt - not kosher or course sea salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (or more if you like it)
• 6 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil
• 8 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed and broken into small pieces
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
• 3 green onions or scallions, white and green parts separated, both sliced thin on the bias
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)

Directions

Beat eggs, salt, pepper, and half-and-half with a fork in a mixing bowl until well combined. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until it starts to shimmer. Cook sausage until browned but not cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and white scallion parts. Cook until sausage is cooked through and pepper starts to brown, about 3 minutes. Empty pan onto a clean plate and set aside.

Wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Add butter and heat over medium heat. When the butter foams, swirl to coat as much of the pan as possible (including the sides) and add the eggs. With a silicone spatula, constantly stir the eggs, being sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the pan. As you stir, lift and fold the eggs as they form curds (do not over-scramble, as this makes for a poor texture). Cook eggs until large curds have formed but the eggs are still very wet (too wet to eat). Off heat, gently fold in filling and cheese until evenly distributed. If eggs have not firmed up yet, return to heat for no more than 30 seconds (if eggs look done in the pan, they will be overdone on the plate - they will firm up as they cool). Divide eggs among 4-6 plates and sprinkle with the green parts of the scallion. Serve immediately (they don't keep well after cooking).

Quiche Florentine

So "Florentine" is funny chef-speak for "with spinach." Fancy restaurants probably use it because people are afraid of spinach - overcooked, gray, or slimy, it is easy to do wrong. However, it is not hard to do right either. My trick is to add at the end of cooking, so it can't get overcooked.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  
• 5 ounces frozen spinach (1/2 of a package), thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (a couple of pinches)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  
• 9-inch pie shell, homemade or frozen

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, until crispy. Remove bacon (leave the drippings in the pan) and cook the onions and mushrooms until the mushrooms are brown and onions are caramelized. Add the garlic and spinach and cook for one minute. Remove from heat. Mix the bacon back in.

Whisk half-and-half and eggs together in a large measuring cup. Mix in salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Put the bacon/mushroom mixture into the pie shell. Add just enough of the egg mixture to cover the filling (the eggs will expand as they cook - you don't want to overflow the pie). Bake for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are just barely set (do not overcook - it will continue to firm up as it cools). Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Home Fries with Sausage and Eggs

A breakfast favorite in my home, I can even get my boys to eat these with no complaining (and I have very picky boys)! You will want to use your largest frying surface to cook the potatoes, either a 12-inch skillet or a large griddle. Cast iron works best for this, but anodized aluminum or stainless steel would also be fine. You probably don't want to use a Teflon pan - they don't brown things very well.

Ingredients

• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and partially cooked in the microwave for 3 minutes.
• 8 ounces of Italian or country sausage (hot or mild, your choice), casings removed and cut/broken into ½ inch cubes/chunks
• 1 onion, frenched - i.e. ends removed, peeled, cut in half longitudinally, and then sliced radially (see illustration)
• 8 eggs
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• salt and black pepper

Illustration: How to "French" an onion

Instructions

Thinly slice the potatoes about ⅛ inch thick (you can use a mandolin slicer or food processor). Put the potato slices in plenty of cold water and soak for 5 minutes to remove extra starch. Remove potatoes from water and rinse in a collander under running water (do not just dump potatoes into the collander or all the starch in the water will collect on the potatoes as it runs over them). Dry potato slices in a spinner or with paper towels. Heat oil in your largest skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and salt and pepper to taste (about ½ teaspoon each). Fry the potatoes until deep golden brown, gently stirring them over every minute or so to ensure even cooking. Meanwhile, put sausage in a large skillet and turn on medium heat. When the sausage is just starting to brown, add the onions. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until the sausage is cooked through. When both the potatoes and sausage are done, gently fold the sausage into the potatoes and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Fry the eggs in the other pan. Serve with toast and juice.

Eggs Benedict (With Hollandaise Sauce)

My absolute favorite brunch item to make at home. It seems like a lot of work, but it's well worth it! One requirement is that you must make the Hollandaise sauce from scratch (the recipe is included here) - canned Hollandaise is not really worth eating.

Ingredients

• 3 English muffins, split and toasted (keep them warm in an oven set to low)
• 6 slices Canadian bacon or ham
  
• 6 fresh eggs
• water for poaching
• white vinegar
• Hollandaise Sauce
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon water
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks), chilled and cut into small pieces (about 1-2 teaspoons in size)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt - kosher tastes better though)
• the juice of 1 lemon (about ¼ cup)
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Eggs
Bring one inch of water to boil in a large, non-stick, straight-sided skillet with one teaspoon of vinegar per cup of water (don't overdo the vinegar, it makes the eggs rubbery). Crack one egg into a small custard cup or prep bowl (about 1 cup in size), then carefully pour the egg into the boiling water (as gently as possible). Repeat with remaining eggs then remove from heat and cover the pan. The eggs should be set in 8-10 minutes (you may want to include a "test egg" for sampling). Using a slotted spoon, carefully move the eggs to an ice-water bath and set aside.

Hollandaise Sauce
Bring an inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, in a medium metal bowl whisk together the eggs and 1 teaspoon water for about 90 seconds, until the eggs lighten in color. Add the sugar and whisk for another 30 seconds. Turn the pan of simmering water down to low and place the bowl with the egg mixture over it (the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk constantly for 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened enough for the whisk to leave a clear trail in the bowl (or the mixture will coat the back of a spoon). Remove the bowl from the pan and gradually whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, until fully incorporated. As the butter cools down the sauce, move the bowl back to the simmering water just long enough to keep the butter melting in as you whisk (be careful not to overheat it - completely melting the butter will break the sauce). Once all the butter is in, mix in the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Pour the sauce into a thermos, or place the bowl on a heating pad set to low to keep warm until ready to serve.

Serving
Bring the poaching water back to a boil and remove from heat. Meanwhile, put each English muffin half on a plate with a slice of bacon on top. Using a slotted spoon, take the eggs from the ice water and reheat in the poaching water (it should not be boiling now). Place an egg on each muffin and add sauce. Serve immediately.