Spinach-Cheddar Casserole

I hope everyone’s new year is off to a terrific start. After working both big holidays and ringing in the new year asleep in my bed, I’m in a bit of a funk. A large part is due to something that I haven’t even mentioned on the blog yet.

This guy, otherwise known as Joe, is leaving next Saturday to go to Kenya for a month because he’s doing an anesthesia rotation there. I’ll miss celebrating his 30th birthday. I’ll miss just hanging out, doing the things we like to do. Plus I’ll be running our household all by my lonesome. No avoiding cleaning up the cat barf now. Or having him clean up the mess I made cooking dinner. I know he’s going to have a great experience, but right now, I’m just majorly bummed out.

Also, Nashville Originals Restaurant Week is January 16-22nd, and I’m taking requests for dates (the non-romantic kind of course).

I really will miss his help in the kitchen. Shortly before Christmas, I whipped up chili and beer bread for us to eat and then remembered that I needed to make something savory and breakfast-like to take to my CPE group the next day. There were quite a few dishes involved that night, and he helped me with all of them, even though he never got to eat this spinach-cheddar casserole.

I found it by browsing the Epicurious app on my iPhone. Fortunately for me, it had decent ratings, and I only needed to pick up a few things at the store to make it. 1/3 of our group forgot to bring something, so it was a boon to have something hearty to eat. The original recipe recommends this as a side dish, and I guess you could go that way as well, but I served it more like a crustless quiche. Brunch, breakfast, lunch, or dinner – this would be good for any meal.

(iPhone picture of leftovers)

 Spinach-Cheddar Casserole
source: Bon Appetit March 1995

Ingredients

4 eggs

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1 16-ounce container cottage cheese

1 bunch green onions, chopped (I used low-fat)

1 cup packed grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dillweed

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Beat eggs, salt and pepper to blend in large bowl. Mix in spinach. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Transfer mixture to prepared dish.

Bake casserole until center is firm and top is golden, about 45 minutes.

Baked Eggs in Mushrooms with Squash Ragout

Cooking for myself again feels a bit like a revelation. Joe even offered to go to the grocery store for me if I gave him a list, and I almost took him up on it when I realized that I really missed picking out my own food. It didn’t hurt that I had these baked eggs on the weekly menu. A collaboration between two of my favorite bloggers, Cara and Bridget? Oh yes, count me in.

Sometimes I live in a kind of enchanted world because the bloggers I read make very conscious and conscientious choices about what they eat. In this world, everyone eats some variation of oatmeal or a green monster for breakfast, knows what chia seeds are, swears by almond butter, and considers refined grains to be anathema. And they obviously know how to put together a nutritious, filling meatless meal.

But that’s not the real world, particularly living in the middle of the country. At camp, no one I encountered had even heard of chia seeds, and only a few had ever tried a nut butter other than peanut. While no one seemed shocked that I didn’t eat meat, one response I got was, “I don’t really want to think about where my food comes from.” It really burst my bubble since I just assumed that everyone is concerned with these issues.

At the end of the day, the only person’s choices I can make are my own. So I chose to make this absolutely delicious, healthy, filling vegetarian meal. And even though I slightly overcooked the eggs and couldn’t get two of them to stay in their little mushroom homes, I still would’ve served it to company in a heartbeat. My mom even has a standing request for me to make this dish for her sometime.

Baked Eggs in Mushrooms with Squash Ragout
source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 medium yellow squash, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, sliced ¼-inch thick
salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
4 large portabella mushrooms, caps wiped clean, stems removed & gills scraped out
4 large eggs
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

Instructions
1. Heat the oil in a large oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just browned at the edges. Add the garlic and pepper flakes; stir constantly for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the zucchini and ½ teaspoon salt; cook until tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes; simmer uncovered until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position, place a baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 400 degrees. On the non-gill side of the mushrooms, score ¼-inch deep lines ½-inch apart in two directions that meet at right angles. (This will help the mushrooms lose liquid before you add the eggs.) Spray the mushrooms with nonstick spray and sprinkle them with salt. Place the mushrooms stem side up on the hot baking sheet; roast for 8 minutes. Turn the mushrooms stem-side down and roast for an additional 8 minutes, until softened and wrinkled.

3. Crack the eggs into separate small dishes. Arrange the roasted mushrooms stem-side up in the ragout. Pour an egg into each mushroom; season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes, until the egg whites are starting to become opaque. Top with the cheese; return to the oven and cook an additional 5 to 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the eggs are cooked to your liking. Top with the basil; serve.

Ricotta and Spinach Frittata

Oh April. You have arrived in all of your schizophrenic glory – beautiful sunny days followed by epic thunderstorms. April showers not only bring May flowers but also tornado sirens, downed power lines, and lengthy commutes while everyone figures out how do navigate four-way stops when the traffic lights are out.

Monday afternoon, as a dark, threatening cloud approached, everyone in the student recreation center was told to report to the women’s locker room, where we camped out for 30 minutes. I had little patience for the complaints of the undergraduates whose workouts had been interrupted since Twitter was reporting sightings of several funnel clouds. Fortunately, we were safe, and my house didn’t lose power. Joe said they had to move all of the patients on the OB floor out into the hallway, which must’ve been quite an experience.

Arriving home to find that I did indeed have power, a spring dinner in honor of the crazy spring weather seemed to be appropriate. Fresh greens, fluffy ricotta cheese, and citrusy mint affirm that spring is here to stay, though I could do without the tornado sirens. For the first time, I was successful at picking up the edges of the frittata to let the uncooked egg flow underneath. The key was a good amount of oil and letting the pan heat up. The fresh mint really flavors the dish, but any other flavorful fresh herb would fit as well.

Ricotta and Spinach Frittata
source: New York Times
Yields 4 dinner-sized servings

Ingredients
6 ounces fresh spinach, stemmed and washed, or 1/2 6-ounce bag baby spinach
6 eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

1. Steam the spinach above 1 inch of boiling water just until it wilts, about two minutes. Rinse with cold water, squeeze out excess moisture and chop fine.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, salt, pepper, ricotta, garlic, spinach and mint.
3. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet. Drop a bit of egg into the pan; if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with the spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking.
4. Turn the heat down to low, cover and cook 10 minutes, shaking the pan gently every once in a while. From time to time, remove the lid, tilt the pan and loosen the bottom of the frittata with a wooden spatula so that the bottom doesn’t burn. It should turn a golden color. The eggs should be just about set; cook a few minutes longer if they’re not.
5. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Uncover the pan and place under the broiler, not too close to the heat, for one to three minutes, watching very carefully to make sure the top doesn’t burn (at most, it should brown very slightly and puff under the broiler). Remove from the heat, shake the pan to make sure the frittata isn’t sticking, and allow it to cool for at least five minutes and for as long as 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a wooden or plastic spatula. Carefully slide from the pan onto a large round platter. Cut into wedges or into smaller bite-size diamonds. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.

English Muffin Egg Casserole

Y’all, I have got a mean case of the January blues. First of all, I started a new semester and managed to catch senioritis. Struggling through the political philosophy parts of my Ethics class and patristic theologians has sapped my motivation, and I find myself wishing for last semester when I didn’t feel so intellectually incompetent. With graduation and my ordination date in the near future, I’ll admit to checking out a bit.

And the weather. I know others have it way worse than we do here in Nashville, but I am from Texas. 9.3 inches of snow in a winter is just absurd. Not to mention that driving in that with a bunch of other snow-inept Southerners is life-threatening.

On the bright side, my running is going well, and I got a haircut last week. Joe and I went out for Restaurant Week and for his birthday (29!), and my schedule in February is filling up. That’s what I’ve got right now.

I made this breakfast casserole on the morning of one of those crazy days where I went to work then yoga then a haircut and didn’t get home until 8:15. It was totally worth it to take a little bit of time in the morning and come in the door and have had Joe bake the casserole so everything was ready to go. It was a little overdone, but Joe really likes the brown crispy cheese on top. The English muffins add a great texture to the casserole, and you can always throw in whatever vegetables you have languishing in the fridge. To round out the meal, I had a blood orange and kiwi fruit salad. The other nice advantage to eating a breakfast casserole for dinner is that you can also eat the leftovers for breakfast the next morning!

English Muffin Egg Casserole
source: Bakin' and Eggs
Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

3 whole wheat English muffins, halved
3 meatless sausage patties
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
5 eggs
1/3 cup skim milk
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Lots of salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Prepare an 11 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Line with English muffin halves and set aside.

Defrost sausages in microwave and crumble. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add mushrooms. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then add sausage and garlic. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and then stir in chopped spinach and dried basil. Season generously with salt and pepper and then spoon over English muffins.

While mixture is cooling on English muffins, whisk together eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over English muffins and top with cheese. Let rest at least one hour or up to overnight in the fridge.

Remove casserole from fridge while you are preheating oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 40-50 minutes, or until set and cheese is slightly browned.

Shakshuka (and Hauerwas)

Remember when I threatened to share with you more of my life, like what I’ve been reading (for fun, not just in school), drinking, and thinking about in addition to what I’ve been eating? Well, the time has come to talk about this book, even though I haven’t finished it yet.

Hannah’s Child: A Theologian’s Memoir by Dr. Stanley Hauerwas. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know who Stanley Hauerwas is, though Time magazine named him America’s Best Theologian in 2001. I don’t know how you become the best theologian, but I am certainly not in the running for that category. Dr. Hauerwas teaches at Duke Divinity School and is close friends with the Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral here, which is why Dr. Hauerwas was in Nashville this past weekend, where he preached and spoke at the adult forum.

Sometimes a book comes into your life at just the right time, and that’s how reading this book has been for me. Being in seminary myself, I appreciated his thoughts on theological education, and we also share the home state of Texas. He’s very charming, both in person and in the book. As he explained in the forum this weekend, he wrote this book in response to people asking him how he came to think the way he does. To that end, he does a lot of theologian name-dropping, which might turn off people who haven’t read or studied much theology or ethics. For example, one of the parishioners at the Cathedral I was talking to about the book admitted that she finally had to Wikipedia who Karl Barth was, since Hauerwas sure seemed to bring him up a lot. But I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in moral theology and ethics or who wants to be more familiar with an important living, American theologian.

What do Stanley Hauerwas and shakshuka have in common? Um, I don’t know, a funny name? And I like both of them. Other than that eggs poached in a spicy tomato broth and America’s best theologian are pretty strange topics to share a blog post.

This dish should be in every quasi-vegetarian’s back pocket, ready to be thrown together at a moment’s notice and provide a warm, satisfying meal. Jen over at Bakin’ and Eggs says this is traditionally served as a breakfast item. So to try it out, I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning, and it makes a pretty satisfying breakfast as well. I served it with some warm pita bread and got the thumbs-up of approval from Joe. I’m so glad that I finally made this because it always slips my mind as something I want to try, and now it will go on my regular rotation when I don’t know what to make.

Shakshuka
adapted from Smitten Kitchen via Bakin’ and Eggs

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon paprika
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
Kosher salt, to taste
4 eggs
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Warm pitas, for serving

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add jalapenos and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, turmeric, cumin and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands or place in food processor and pulse a few times. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

Crack eggs over sauce, cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5-7 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pitas, for dipping.

Southwestern Egg & Black Bean Skillet

Last week we were under a strict mandate to conserve water since the flood took out one of our water treatment plants. This meant cutting way back on all tasks that require water: flushing, washing hands, showering, doing laundry, and doing dishes. So meals, like this one, that didn't dirty up a ton of dishes were a necessity if I wanted to continue to eat at home. Not counting the paper bowl and plasticware I used to eat this meal, I dirtied 1) a skillet and 2) a knife. And it was delicious. Black beans, eggs, avocado, and Ro-tel are my favorite food groups.

Southwestern Egg and Black Bean Skillet
source: Cara's Cravings
Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup frozen corn
1 cup drained, rinsed black beans
salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of coriander
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies (like Ro-tel)
2 large eggs
2 oz queso fresco, crumbled (I used feta.)
chopped cilantro and sliced avocado, for garnish

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400F.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic, corn, and beans and cook for about 2 more minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and coriander.

Add the diced tomatoes with green chilies and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes to blend flavors.

Carefully break the eggs over the black bean mixture. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until eggs are soft-set. Sprinkle with queso fresco and garnish with cilantro and diced avocado. Serve hot.

Nutritional Info (not including avocado)
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 338.3
Total Fat: 14.0 g
Cholesterol: 227.5 mg
Sodium: 1,525.8 mg
Total Carbs: 35.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 9.0 g
Protein: 20.7 g

Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg

When I was at boarding school in Michigan, I survived on sandwiches. I loved my sandwiches, particularly when dinner was less than palatable, and I got ideas from my peers. One of them introduced me to pita with mushrooms and a slice of provolone on the top. Melted in the microwave, it was as close to gourmet as I was going to get. But it was nothing like this. Whole wheat bread toasted, spread with ricotta and topped with arugula and a fried egg. When that yolk runs and mixes with the arugula, ricotta, and bread, it is heavenly.

Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg
source: May 2010 Cooking Light
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients
4 slices whole-wheat country bread
Cooking spray
2 cups arugula
1 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 large eggs
3/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Preparation
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Coat both sides of the bread with cooking spray. Broil 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly toasted.
3. Combine arugula, 2 tsp oil, lemon juice, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Toss gently.
4. Heat remaining 1 tsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Crack eggs into pan, and cook two minutes. Cover pan with lid and cook a remaining 2 minutes or until whites are set. Remove from the heat.
5. Combine 1/4 tsp salt, ricotta, parmesan, and thyme. Spread over bread slices. Divide arugula mixture and eggs over bread slices. Sprinkle with remaining 1/8 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and serve.

Asparagus and Smoked Trout Frittata

For some reason, the May issues of Cooking Light always knock my socks off. I don't know what it is about them, but they practically hit me over the head with delicious spring food. Radishes! Asparagus! Watercress! Strawberries! Light dinners that you eat on the patio while drinking a glass of white wine and feeling quite French! So that's where this dinner came from. I found the smoked trout near the smoked salmon, and Cooking Light suggests substituting mushrooms if you're the vegetarian type, or if you're just not in the mood for smoked trout.

Asparagus and Smoked Trout Frittata

source: Cooking Light May 2010

Ingredients

• 8 ounces thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites (I used the yolks for ice cream.)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
• 4 ounces smoked trout, skinned and flaked into large pieces
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup minced green onions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Cook asparagus in a large saucepan of boiling water 2 minutes. Drain and plunge asparagus into ice water; drain and pat dry.

3. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through egg whites) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in asparagus, 2 tablespoons cheese, dill, and trout.

4. Heat a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add oil and onions to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Pour egg mixture into pan; stir once. Cook without stirring for 2 minutes or until edges begin to set. Place pan in oven. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until eggs are just set. Remove from oven; sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese.

5. Preheat broiler.

6. Broil frittata 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges.

Nutritional Information

Yields 4 servings, Calories: 186, Fat: 10.2 g, Protein: 19.9 g, Carbohydrate: 4.3 g

Spinach, Mushroom, Ham, Feta Quiche

My favorite thing about quiche is that it's hard to mess up. Even though my turkey bacon was moldy and I forgot to get half-and-half at the store, this turned out really well. Feta has such a strong flavor that you don't have to use a ton of it, so this quiche is on the healthier spectrum of quiches but is also hearty enough to satisfy. Don't believe the hype that real men don't eat quiche!

Spinach, Mushroom, Ham, Feta Quiche
adapted from Erin's Food Files

Ingredients
1 frozen pie crust
1 thick slice of ham, diced
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 eggs
3 egg whites
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat oil over medium to medium high heat. Add onion, saute 2-3 minutes until tender. Add mushrooms & spinach. Saute 4-5 minutes until spinach is soft. Add ham to the pan and stir to combine well.

In a bowl beat eggs, egg whites, and half & half. Season with salt & pepper. Add in veggie/ham mixture and stir to combine. Add feta, stir to combine, and pour into pie shell.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until completely set, and slightly golden & crispy on top.

Lemon Frittata with Leeks and Goat Cheese

As I thought about it, I realized that I couldn't remember ever having leeks, let alone preparing them, but a string of posts on The Kitchn had me craving something that I'd never even had! I also have neglected my favorite source of meatless protein: eggs. It was definitely time for a quiche or savory omelette or something. I jokingly called this my French bistro dinner: a salad of mixed greens with black cherry vinaigrette, a slice of the frittata, and a glass of wine. All that was missing was a hunk of bread with some butter. (Side note: why is the butter in France so much better? I thought I had died and gone to heaven the first time I tasted real butter in France.) It also makes a very quick meal, which is always advantageous.

I've been on a bit of a lemon + dairy kick lately (see: lemon gnocchi). It seems like an odd combination, but it adds so much lightness and flavor. The leeks were delicious, and the goat cheese contributed creaminess and tang. I was originally going to only eat a quarter of the frittata but ended up going back for another quarter. It was also good for breakfast this morning.

Lemon Frittata with Leeks and Goat Cheese
source: The Kitchn

makes 1 10-inch frittata, about 4 main servings

Ingredients

7 eggs
1 Meyer lemon, zested (I used a normal lemon.)
3 ounces goat cheese
Olive oil
2 large leeks, cut lengthwise and rinsed
1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Pre-heat the broiler. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until slightly bubbly and well-mixed, then stir in the lemon zest. Crumble in the goat cheese.

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. It can be cast iron or another metal; just make sure it can go in the oven. Trim the leeks of any dry or browned edges on the green tops, then slice the remaining stalk into half moons. Toss everything into the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about ten minutes or until the leeks are softened.

Stir in the parsley and cook just until wilted. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool for just a minute or two, then pour the cooked leeks into the bowl with the eggs and stir.

Put the skillet back on the heat and film lightly with just a bit more olive oil. Pour the egg and leek mixture in and cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until the frittata has mostly set. Use a spatula to lift up the edges and make sure it's cooking evenly, letting the uncooked eggs run down into the bottom of the pan.

When the frittata has set, put under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and slightly puffy. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Flip out onto a platter and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
4 servings, each serving contains:
266.5 calories, 18.7 g fat, 8.2 g carbohydrates, 16.3 g protein

Dinner Divas: Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelette

The second recipe I picked for Dinner Divas was this Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelette from Giada de Laurentiis. I liked that it didn't require a bunch of ingredients that I wouldn't normally have at home, and I like that you could have this for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or a light dinner. It was definitely more like a crustless quiche than an omelette. I couldn't taste the gruyere very strongly and would use a less expensive cheese like swiss to make this next time. My changes are in italics below.

Baked Gruyere and Sausage Omelette
source: Food Network

Ingredients
Butter, for greasing dish (I used cooking spray.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 pound mild turkey sausage, casings removed (I used a half pound of pre-cooked sweet Italian chicken sausage sliced thinly.)
8 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk (I used 1% milk.)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups (4 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper, to taste, until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add the red bell pepper, 1 cup of Gruyere cheese and 1/4 cup of parsley. Stir in the onion mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine took slightly longer to bake.)

Cut the baked omelet into wedges and sprinkle with remaining parsley before serving.

Cook's Note: To make individual servings, divide the batter between 4 buttered 8-ounce ramekins. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Crustless Quiche

After Thanksgiving, my parents gifted us with some leftover ham. Because life has been so crazy, I had almost completely forgotten about it until I realized I need to use it up quickly before it went bad. Since I don't normally eat a lot of ham, it's always difficult for me to come up with ways to use it that also fit into my schedule. A quiche is perfect, and since we're all (or at least I am) stuffed on cookies, cut out the crust and save some calories.

Had I had time or the energy to run to the grocery store or cook another dish, I would have served this with a green salad and/or some tomato basil soup. Whenever I would eat at La Madeleine, I would always get quiche and tomato basil soup, so they go together perfectly in my mind. This would also make a nice addition to a brunch. It's kind of like a big frittata, except baked the whole time. You could also probably do this in a cast iron pan. In fact, that's probably a brilliant idea.

Crustless Quiche

source: Cooking Up Memories

Ingredients

4 eggs

1/2 cup AP flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 1/2 cups grated cheese (This was great for cleaning out the cheese drawer. I used a mix of mozzarella, cheddar, and Mexican cheese.)

3 cups ham, corn, asparagus, mushrooms or whatever you have on hand (I used leftover ham, frozen peas, and frozen corn)

1. Whisk together eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, milk, cream and butter.
2. Stir in filling and cheese.
3. Pour into greased pie plate.

4. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes

Fancy Egg McMuffin

This past Saturday, I had big plans to bribe my husband with breakfast to get him to help me clean the house. After seeing Mark Bittman's Baked Eggs on Cheap Healthy Good, I knew that they would be perfect: slightly different, very appealing, and easy enough for a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I also forgot that my oven was broken. Back to the drawing board.

I remembered some prosciutto I had in the refrigerator that I had bought on sale. I knew I wanted to use eggs, English muffins, and prosciutto, and I remembered how my dad would make us homemade Egg McMuffins on holiday mornings. So I fried some eggs, toasted the English muffins, and placed a slice of prosciutto on top of the muffin halves, under the eggs. I meant to use a little basil as well but forgot. All of that was topped with some mozzarella cheese.

Is there anything better than soaking up a little runny yolk with toasted bread?

Birds in a Nest + Eggs in a Basket = Birds in a Hole

Joe had this weekend off from work, so I was trying to think of something special to make for Saturday morning breakfast without having to go to the grocery store. I asked him if he would want Birds in a Hole, and I was ruthlessly mocked. Whatever you call it, this is a nice easy breakfast that requires minimal ingredients. It was recently featured on Pioneer Woman Cooks, but the first time I was exposed to it was when Joe's mom made it for us on my first trip to Wisconsin. My family didn't eat real butter growing up.

First, take a slice of bread and cut a hole in it with a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass. I used homemade wheat bread for this, so it was a little tricky to get the slices the appropriate width, and the rim of my glass was a little large.

Next, melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium-low. I busted out the cast iron skillet for the first time, and I have to say that there is something amazingly satisfying about watching butter melt in a cast iron skillet.

Place the hole-y (haha, even funnier because I go to Divinity School) piece of bread in the skillet and let it get a little toasty. Then crack an egg in the hole, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and let it cook for about a minute. Very carefully flip the bread and egg to cook the other side. Sop up the remaining butter with the cut-out circle and serve on the side to help sop up the runny yolk.

Joe went back for a second one that he made himself. He promptly declared that mine were prettier and his were more like Birds in a Warzone. I think this dish now has a new name.