Salsa-Egg White Frittata with Vegetables for One

Maybe there are moments when you don't want a large, bountiful breakfast.  And those days, you grab a spoonful of yogurt or a handful of granola and go on about your business.  Maybe you try to get through the morning on coffee. (Ugh...)  But if you're truly hungry, looking for something filling and healthy, this frittata is for you.  If you've got a friend, make one, put in in the oven to keep warm, and make the second.  Frittatas also lend themselves to leftovers, so if you have some cooked vegetables, meat, pasta, rice, or nearly whatever, throw it in.

Strawberry-Almond Muffins + Father's Day Brunch Game Plan

Weekend breakfasts should be...what?  Laid back?  Slow?  Simple?  I'm not sure, but I do know they need to be delicious.  If you have someone to cook for, that's fine.  This would be lovely for Father's Day for family or friends.   If not, cook for yourself.  I often hear people say, "Oh, it's too much trouble to cook for just me."  (Or "us" if there are two.)  Au contraire.  It's simpler than cooking for a crowd and often more fun.  Hey, you get to cook things exactly as you'd like them.  And that's what breakfast is all about, right?  Everyone likes their eggs just so.  Yes!

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Kalamata Egg Salad with Charred Red Peppers and Corn Muffins

A refrigerator with a few items that need to be used.
A hungry cook.
A small skillet.
Little time.
Makes a meal.  Unless you'd like bread? (Scroll down, please.)
Hence....

kalamata egg salad with charred red peppers
2 servings

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 sweet red or yellow bell pepper, large dice
• crushed red pepper
• 4 eggs
• kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• a big handful of greens -- any
• a small handful of pitted kalamata  or other olives
• sherry or balsamic vinegar
• olive oil for drizzling, optional

Heat an 8 or 9-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with oil and the chopped bell pepper.  Let cook 5-8 minutes, watching closely, or until peppers are just charred; add crushed red pepper. Stir.  Cook another minute or two.  Crack four eggs into the pan, one into each quadrant.  Season egg yolks with a small sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to low.  Add greens on top of the eggs and sprinkle again with a bit of salt and pepper.  Cover and let cook 3 minutes or until eggs are cooked to your liking.

With a plastic spatula, loosen the egg salad and tip onto a plate.  Add the olives and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, as well as some olive oil, if desired.  Using a sharp knife, cut the egg salad in half and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.   Serve with corn muffins if you like. (recipe below)

"Fried" Egg Skillet with Zucchini and Salsa

There are moments when there is definitely loveliness to sell. Sara Teasdale, right?*
As when you're moving and a neighbor shows up with great flowers and eggs from the nearby farmer-chef.

And you've just blogged eggs on spinach (again, but not the same).  And still, you go on and make yourself a breakfast/lunch/dinner incomparable that you'd like to share.  In fact, you do it two days running.

Veggie Tacos with Salsa Ranch Dressing or Just Add Egg Whites for Breakfast

I freely admit I'm addicted to these little tacos.  You will not believe how good they are and how quickly they go down.  Picture this:  a gorgeous mound of sautéed or grilled vegetables with just a little, tiny bit of cheese --  all on an über-fiber, whole wheat tortilla.  Top all that goodness off with your favorite salsa mixed with ranch dressing, some fresh spinach leaves, a sprinkle of chopped green onion or cucumber, a quick squeeze of lime, and Bob's your uncle, you're eating. Very happily, I'll add.

Fried Egg on Potato Cake with Blue Cheese Wedge, Tomatoes, and Scallions

 Tonight I was hungry, but had had a fattening lunch.  A little egg supper was in order, along with a bit of salad.  I threw in a potato cake because I had some cold mashed potatoes in the frig. (Potato cakes are just leftover mashed potatoes patted out like a pancake and fried in butter until very crisp.) Hey, they needed to be used.  If you've never made anything on top  of a potato cake, now's the time.  Try this:

Oven-Baked Vegetable Soup with Poached Egg

Warm, comforting, simple winter fare.   How does that happen without creating a heavy meal?  Like this:

Spirea at SW corner of house

•  A big pot of vegan vegetable soup (see below for recipe--it's WW 0 Points) stored in the garage frig.  A small bowl stored indoors in the kitchen frig.  3 degrees Fahrenheit with winds creating below zero wind chill.  Hm...probably skipping the trip to the garage.   Next:

• Oven heating to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Alyce tripping to the basement store room to fetch onion soup ramekins. Quick, thorough wash and warm up of the bowls (with hot water) while soup heats on stove.
• Pouring about a cup of hot soup into the bowl.  Making a hole in the middle and pouring in an egg  cracked into a measuring cup.  Sprinkling with salt, pepper, and a little grated Parmesan since I had it.   (continued...)

• Placing bowl on rimmed sheet and baking about 18- 20 minutes for runny eggs and about 23 for soft-set.  25-30 for hard set--a guess, as I only let mine go to 23!
• Happily dining.

Enjoy!

30-Minute Vegan and Gluten-Free Vegetable Soup a la Provence

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself as you stay warm,
Alyce

Christmas Omelet with Cranberry-Blueberry Muffins

Dinner Place will be on vacation for a short while.
When I've cooked a bunch more, I'll be back.  Make merry! 

While it isn't the best time of year for tomatoes in North America, there are some.  In other places, there are beautiful tomatoes available because it's summer!  Wherever you live, this is a very simple and luscious Christmas morning breakfast just for you!  If you're sharing Christmas with a few other people, enlist help and make two at a time or turn the oven on and keep each omelet warm as you make the others.  However you do it, you'll be happy you did.  And you'll be good until dinnertime.

Add a little fresh fruit and maybe a cranberry-blueberry muffin (link below) for a larger meal.


Tender is the word.  Gentle is the method.  Don't over-mix or over bake.  Butter?
Here's the Dinner Place Link for my Cranberry-Blueberry Muffins.

christmas omelet for one

• 1 teaspoon olive oil or butter
• 2 eggs or 1 egg and 2 egg whites, beaten together
• Pinch each kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
• 4 large basil leaves, optional
• 3-4 slices fresh tomato
• Optional garnishes:  1 tablespoon salsa or grated cheddar  

Heat the butter or oil in a small, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling (for butter) or nearly smoking for oil.  Meantime, beat together the eggs with the salt and pepper.

Pour eggs into the pan, let set about ten seconds, and lifting edge of omelet with a spatula, let the uncooked portion of egg slide under the cooked portion.  Repeat until eggs are set.  Add spinach, basil (if using), and tomato.

Fold omelet over using spatula and tip onto warm plate.  Serve warm or at room temperature with salsa or cheese, if desired.

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Election Day Egg and Bacon Supper

You don't want to cook much tonight, but you want something to get you through until the wee hours of the morning.  TODAY SHOW'S  Savannah Guthrie says NBC news will be on until at least 3a.m.  So get your strength on with this quick breakfast for dinner.  Yes, there are some fried components (potatoes and bacon), but the eggs are poached and sit on gorgeous cheddar-smothered tomato slices with whole wheat English muffins.  Go ahead, tank up.

Egg in 30 Seconds and No Pan to Wash

This probably is one of those things that everyone in the world knows about, but I'm not sure.  So if I'm Mrs. Obvious this morning, skip the post.  Just in case, I thought I'd share my own quickest hot breakfast and also the method I used when I quickly need a boiled egg for tuna (or other salad).

In the microwave.  30 seconds for a runny yolk.  1 minute for a "hard-boiled" egg.  1 minute and 20 seconds at 50% power for two eggs with runny yolks.

Look, Ma:  No pan.  No butter either. 

Would You Make Breakfast? Fried Bread with Egg Skillet

 For years when I had to cook just for myself (before and after the house full of kids), I just made scrambled eggs and toast.  It wasn't that I didn't know how to cook, but rather that eggs were fast, cheap, filling, and used one pan and one plate.  Ok, you could even eat them out of the pan.   I had spent so much time cooking for other people that when there was just me, I wanted to spend my time in other ways, i.e. breathing. 

This is one of the first sorts of things I cooked just for myself.  A fish salad.  Walleye Salad if you're in Minnesota.  Make a nice salad while a piece of fish cooks in a pan.  Gee.  Real rough?  But it was a watershed moment.  You know how often you hear someone say, "Too hard to cook for just me."  I changed that for myself.  I set the table, lit the candles, turned on the music, and lived.

Would You Make Breakfast? Egg & Egg White Omelet Filled with Cottage Cheese on Whole Wheat Toast

 Tired of the same old, same old breakfast?  This little omelet (I cut it so you could see the filling...) sitting on a piece of whole wheat toast is so fast and so luscious.  Not only is it quick and nutritious (made with one egg and one egg white), it'll hold you until early afternoon.  No elevenses (tea and cookies in the UK) needed.   Serve it up with a few slices of great August tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!   Try this:

Fried Potato and Egg Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

No matter how hard you try to be healthy, sometimes you have  a yen for fried potatoes.  Maybe fried eggs.  Ok.  Let's do that.  But we'll add a few veggies to the mix for this wilted salad.  And it won't seem so bad.  So unhealthy.  Oh, geez.  At least there's no bacon in it.  Though you could add it. This is kind of a picture recipe....

An Egg with a Few Greens for Supper

Egg Salad

This is a light lunch/supper or could be a first course for dinner-- done in 5-10 minutes.  Sweet and filling.  Crunchy and soft.  Make extra dressing and keep in the frig.

Note:  Dressing keeps longer without the shallots or onions.  And you can skip the dressing totally if you make the egg quite soft (runny) and use that as dressing.  Yes.

"Egg Salad #2"  serves 2

4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
2 small tomatoes, sliced (Try the Mexican "brown" tomatoes--tasty and cheaper.)
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 c minced parsley
1/2 English cucumber, cut into thin half-moons
1t fresh lemon juice
2 poached eggs (slide raw eggs, each in a cup, into barely simmering water for 3-4 minutes til white is firm)

Dressing:  1 T balsamic vinegar, healthy pinch each kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, 1t minced shallot or garlic, optional, 1/2 t honey, 1/4 t dijon-style mustard, 2T extra-virgin olive oil--Whisk salt into vinegar.  Whisk in all else, though drizzle in 1T olive oil at a time, being sure it's incorporated well before adding the second,)

1. Divide greens and vegetables between two large shallow bowls.  Drizzle equally with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Top with well-drained egg and drizzle with dressing.
3. Serve with a piece of hot, buttered whole wheat toast. 

 Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself, 
Alyce

first posted on more time at the table

Meatball Frittata

Except for soup, pasta, or salad, there's nearly nothing you can cook that is as versatile as the not-so-humble frittata, which is nothing more than an open-faced omelet.   Just about whatever you've got leftover in your frig, including spaghetti you brought home from the Italian restaurant (and definitely the toppings from that box of cold pizza), can be worked into a frittata and turned into a meal that might feed you a couple times or more.  Will you be happy?  I think so.

Boiled Eggs on English Muffins with Asparagus and Cheese Sauce

One of my favorite spring breakfasts is so terribly simple, that it appears I've never blogged it.  I see the photos on my Pinterest board and on fb, but when I checked the blogs--no eggs on muffins!  So here it is:  a meal perfect for Easter when you have lots of boiled eggs to use up, but also perfect any other time or for any meal, come to think of it.   If you have a plethora of eggs, as does my friend Cathy (we're trading my granola for her backyard eggs this week), this is a fine use for them.  My own kids had this every Easter for years.  Well, I served it anyway.  Whether or not they ate it is beside the point!

Won't make cheese sauce?  Grated cheese will work admirably and is even better if you slip the eggs under the broiler tooty sweetie to melt the cheese.   No asparagus?  It's quite delicious without it. (I provide a link to a tasty cheese sauce recipe, but also include my easy one down below.)

I feel a tish odd writing this out as a recipe, but I'm doing it anyway.  Here's how:


boiled eggs on english muffins with asparagus and cheese sauce
  serves 2

• 4 eggs boiled, cooled, peeled, and sliced
• 2 whole-wheat English muffins, split, toasted, and buttered
• 4 stalks asparagus, trimmed, chopped, and cooked briefly in the microwave (1 min on full power)-- optional
• 1/2 cup cheese sauce  (or grated cheese)*
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

To assemble:  place warm, buttered muffins on plates and top with eggs.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Gently lay asparagus pieces on top of the eggs and drizzle cheese sauce (or sprinkle with grated cheese) and again dust with salt and pepper.  (If you've used grated cheese, you might want to put the egg "sandwiches" together on a broiler-safe baking sheet and place them under the broiler for a minute or so, plating afterward.)

*Easy Cheese Sauce:  In a small, heavy saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter.  Whisk in 1 tablespoon flour until smooth.  Add a pinch each:  kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne, and dry mustard or nutmeg.  Let cook two minutes, stirring, and then whisk in 1 cup barely warm milk.  Bring to a simmer, stirring, and cook until sauce begins to thicken.  Stir in 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  (If you like thicker sauce, you can whisk together a little more flour in a 1/4 cup of flour and stir it in before adding the cheese... or  just begin with double butter and flour to start with.   The traditional flavorings here are onion and nutmeg.  If you'd like to use onion, mince a teaspoon and cook it in the butter before adding the flour and making the roux.)

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Breakfast Reuben in a Cup for St. Patrick's Day

Here is it out of the cup.

Here it is in the cup.  You can eat it either way.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread 2 thin, trimmed slices of pumpernickel or rye with Dijon Mustard and place in buttered, oven-safe large cup or small bowl.  (For crispy toast, bake the mustard bread in oven for 5 min. before continuing.)  No oven-safe cup?  Use a Pyrex measuring cup.

 

Add 2 thin pieces of corned beef.

Top with 1/4 cup rinsed/drained/squeezed-dry sauerkraut, a piece of Swiss cheese, an egg, and a pat of butter.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes until egg is set to your liking.  (30 min was a runny  yolk for mine.)

While egg bakes, make a Horseradish-Yogurt Sauce, set the table, and make the coffee.

Sauce: Whisk together 2T plain yogurt or sour cream, 1/2 t Dijon mustard, 1/4 t horseradish sauce, 1 T milk, pinch  each salt/pepper.  (Optional:  a drop of hot sauce.)

Drizzle with sauce and eat in or out (like this!) of the cup. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Love, Alyce

Porridged Eggs after a Long Winter's Night

 I've never heard of porridged eggs, though my experience is that very little is truly new.  We've just lived too long.  For a few weeks, off and on, they kept coming to me.  I love the idea of oatmeal because I know my body, my heart, needs whole grains and oatmeal's tops.  But I also find that I operate better (and eat less) during the day with a protein for breakfast.  Especially in cold Minnesota. Hence oats and eggs.  But how?

I grew up with the occasional bowl of take-no-prisoners buttered, salt and peppered grits with my eggs fried to a crispy lace in bacon grease.  Along with biscuits slathered with sour cream and honey.  And the very best fried fish in the world.   Lest you think things were always that wonderful, there was the occasional pot of squirrel gumbo, as well.  And often there was dove that required careful chewing lest you bite into buckshot.  While I seldom indulge these days, my displaced southerner living-in-Chicago parents provided me with a culinary heritage upon which I still draw.  (Phew.  That grammar's a killer.)

Poached Eggs on Grilled Cheese Tomatoes

While the world waxes poetic about turkey and pumpkin pie (and I'm about to go that route, too), this week must also be about the balance.  While we'll eat like it's Thanksgiving Thursday, Friday (Saturday? Sunday?), perhaps a bit of lightness the rest of the week is in order.

Everyone who cooks for one has their favorites...a bit of poached salmon and microwaved green beans or two baby lamb chops and a spinach salad that's done in five minutes.  Maybe yours is grilled cheese and tomato soup or even sliced fresh apples with peanut butter and Triscuits. If by chance you like the grilled cheese option best, this might be your new supper.  If you adore Eggs Benedict, but don't want the muffins and Hollandaise on your thighs right now (or would like lighter fare), read and cook.  A spoonful of your favorite salsa is the perfect optional garnish.

Herb-Spinach Egg White Omelet

 

Egg white omelets are not for everyone.  Some people just don't get the yolk.  (Very bad; I know.)  They need yellow.  Even orange.  Others make the trip over to white easily, "This isn't bad!"  "Hey this is good!"  depending on what's in the omelet.  If you're in a spot where you seriously have to watch either calories or cholesterol, egg whites are your fine, fine friend.  But they're also a luscious, filling meal for just anyone who's going to dinner that night or who wants an extra piece of pizza the next day.

On Weight Watchers, 3 egg whites are 1 point.  (And yes, they do have some protein.)  No complaint at all.  PAM the pan and skip the oil point, too.  A few chopped herbs...a little spinach...a dose of salsa.  Et voila!  Excellent use of leftover fresh herbs, which are (if you buy them) so expensive you feel like a wastrel if you don't use them all to make something.

About buying egg whites:  you can break and separate eggs yourself, using the whites and cooking up the yolks for the dog or  you can buy egg whites in the dairy case near the eggs.  They come in small pint or quart cartons.

A little giftie from my next-door neighbor:  basil, dill, flowering thyme.

Herb-Spinach Egg white Omelet with Salsa and Fresh Tomatoes

3 egg whites beaten with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper (white pepper, if you have it)
PAM or 1T olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, your choice (parsley, basil, thyme, tarragon--even sage), plus
    a bit extra for garnish*
1 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup salsa (I like Frontera Grill's if you don't make your own.) or 1T grated Parmesan cheese
1 small-medium tomato, sliced

1. Slice tomatoes; place on serving plate.  Add a few fresh herbs for garnish if you have extra.
2. Heat pan over medium-high heat for a minute or so.  Add PAM or oil.
3. Add spinach and herbs to hot, oiled pan, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, and let cook 1 minute until a bit wilted.
4. Add beaten egg whites to pan and let the white set  20 seconds or so.  Lift omelet at one edge with rubber spatula and tip pan to allow uncooked white into pan.  Repeat quickly until omelet is cooked, making a few small holes in the whites and vegetables (the omelet will reseal) if necessary to make sure eggs in the middle are cooked as well.  
5. Turn off heat.  To plate, tip pan toward the plate, using the rubber spatula to slide the omelet out.  You may fold the omelet as you go or after it's on the plate.  It will eat however you do it and you'll become a better omelet maker as time goes on.
6. Garnish with salsa or Parmesan and a quick dust of black pepper. (Or more white pepper is fine.)
7. Enjoy hot, cold, or at room temperature.
8. *If you have no fresh herbs, add a 1/4 tsp of your favorite dried herb to the spinach.  You could even try a bit of garlic, shallot, or green onion if you'd rather.

 

If you like, you can watch a British chef do it a bit differently, but basically the same. Skip the commercial first!

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce