Breakfast Egg Muffins

Egg Muffins

The basics:

12 eggs

Any add-ins that you want:

Peppers

Jalepenos

Cheese

Meats (sausage is the best, bacon gets gross and chewy)

Greens (spinach and arugula are my faves)

Corn

Black beans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray (you'll thank me later).

Break open the 12 eggs over a large bowl. Break the yolks and then stir them all up with a whisk. Using a 1 cup LIQUID measuring cup, scoop enough egg for it to fill about 1/2 of each muffin cup. I wasn't paying much attention and some ended up with more, some ended up with less. Each muffin cup still had egg in it though.

Add your add-ins to the muffin cups. 

Bake for 13-20 minutes. You'll need longer if you have added more to your muffin cups. 

I keep these in a Ziploc in the fridge and reheat for about 1 minute. 

My favorite adds are sausage, peppers, jalepenos, and cheese. YUM!!!

CSA Box - Week 2

This year I opted for a different CSA other than Driftless Organics (which btw... was a GREAT CSA and still is! I just wanted to try a different one).

I decided to go with Turnip Rock Farm because it has a closer pick-up site to our house. We can bike there!

For week 2 we got:

• bok choi
• salad mix
• green onions
• garlic scapes
• radishes
• arugula
• broccoli
• herb pot - basil & parsley

• Scarlet Queen Red Turnips
• Napa Cabbage
• Head Lettuce

So I've got a major list of recipes that I want to try - last night I already made turkey lettuce wraps with radishes, garlic scapes, green onions, two turnips, with the head lettuce being the "lettuce wrap" part. The sauce part is 1/4 cup hoisin sauce, 1/4 cup soy sauce, a pinch of dried ginger, and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Mix it all and dump it into the pan you've browned your meat and softened your veggies in. I really don't have much more of a recipe because I switch it up almost every time depending on the veggies in the fridge - I could use carrots instead of turnips, white or red onions instead of green onions, etc... 

BUT more recipes I want to try:

Napa cabbage - stuffed cabbage wraps

Turnips & radishes - roasted with some sort of lemon vinaigrette

Arugula - I have no clue yet, arugula isn't exactly my favorite but I WILL eat it on pizza so that might be what I'll end up putting in on - and my pieces only because I know Bimmer Man doesn't like it and the Monkey won't like it because it's too peppery - otherwise it will end up in the compost bin. 

Bok Choi - some type of stir fry - probably with chicken

Broccoli - I LOVE it steamed, so we'll do a stir fry with one head (along with the bok choi) and then I'll make an easy meal with the other head (sauteed or grilled chicken with rice and steamed broccoli)

Bimmer Man also complained that I didn't sign up for Turnip Rock's cheese share.

I'm quite regretting that decision as well and I'm pretty sure I've learned my lesson - next year I'll sign up for the full share (AGAIN) along with the cheese share and possibly the egg share.

Hello Dolly Bars

I think that bars are a Midwestern thing. Most people 'round these parts know how to make a good bar.

I sort of do. I am unable to replicate my grandmother's Hello Dolly bars and I have no idea how she made them taste so good. And she also passed away a few years ago and I regret never asking her how she made them. I'm hoping that my mom has some secret stash of recipes somewhere...

P.S. You don't need to coat the pan in cooking spray or anything like that. These bars come out great with the amount of butter already in the "crust" part... I found out the hard way.

Hello Dolly Bars

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9 cookie sheets)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup butterscotch morsels
• 2/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 (15-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper; cut off excess parchment paper around top edge of pan.
3. Place crumbs in a medium bowl. Drizzle with butter and 1 tablespoon water; toss with a fork until moist. Gently pat mixture into an even layer in pan (do not press firmly). Sprinkle chips and morsels over crumb mixture. Top evenly with coconut and pecans. Drizzle milk evenly over top. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly around edges. Cool completely on wire rack.

Note: They can create a sticky mess in the pan, so it's crucial to line it with parchment paper. Because the milk needs to seep into the graham cracker crumbs, don't pack the crumbs too tightly in the bottom of the pan.

Julianna Grimes, Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light
DECEMBER 2007

Roasted Squash With Brown Sugar

Squash... I can never get enough squash! If there is one vegetable that I can always eat no matter the season, it's squash.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut squash in half.

Scoop out the goop, seeds, etc...

Add in the center 1 spoonful of brown sugar (it can be a heaping spoonful).

Add 1 tbsp of butter.

Sprinkle with pepper and salt.

Sprinkle with a tiny bit of either nutmeg or clove.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

And yes, I LOVE my squash nice and soft - I don't like stringy squash, I don't like it one bit. So I'm sure I over cook it but man... this is my favorite way!

CSA Recipe - Pasta Sauce & Sauteed Veggies

 Flat onion. Yep, tastes like a regular onion.

 Green beans.

 Trim the stem end from the beans - you can trim both ends if you want to. I grew up with like a half acre for a garden though, so I'm pretty lazy when it comes to veggies. (Ok, so I used to go outside for a snack when I was little - fresh tomatoes, peas, peppers, delish!)

 Zucchini - slice zucchini and summer squash diagonally, not only will they NOT fall through grill grates, but you'll get a better sear and grill marks and you'll be able to season more of the vegetable.

 Delish!

Just use the pasta sauce recipe from a few weeks ago with the flat onion, fresh basil and a package of premade pasta. Whatever kind you like.

Saute all the veggies in a large pan, with a few tablespoons of either veggie oil or olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. You can season with spices if you want - anything is really good. I still like my veggies with a good crunch to them, so the beans maybe 4 - 6 minutes total, the zucchini saute until you see it seared on both sides and then pull off the heat immediately. I dislike smushed zucchini!

CSA Recipe - Pork Tenderloin With Grilled Veggies

Delish!

I purchased a pre-seasoned pork tenderloin at the grocery store and it was fantastic - so I decided to try another one, this time teriyaki, and grab some of the veggies from the CSA box to grill.

The tenderloin was easy - sear all sides of the tenderloin and move to indirect heat for 25 minutes.

Veggies:

Instead of veggie or olive oil, use sesame oil (YUM!!!), a dash of soy sauce, salt, pepper & I sprinkled with a little ground ginger. I tossed into the veggie basket and let grill away! I used snow peas (or snap peas, I don't know which, I'm not exactly the best pea-identifier), asparagus, broccoli and green beans.

CSA Recipe - Grilled Cauliflower

Since I've obtained a grill basket, I've become much more daring with the grill. Bimmer Man grills hot dogs, I grill meals, just to clarify our relationships with the grill. I LOVE trying new ideas, recipes, veggies all the time and if it were my choice to purchase certain veggies at the grocery, I probably would not. When cauliflower and broccoli ended up in the last CSA box, I was pleasantly surprised!

And to the grill they went! And into the grill basket so they wouldn't fall through the grates...

All that's on the cauliflower - Moroccan seasoning, salt, pepper and veggie oil.

Quick tip: Veggie oil has higher smoking rate than olive oil, so I try and use veggie oil on the grill instead of olive oil if I can remember!

Oh, Man. Rain & Fish.

I've totally been feeling off my rocker lately. Not only has Cora-Bumi-Steve been with us for almost two weeks, but this weather is driving me INSANE.

 Ok, so that's C-B-S in the background, she is super cute, right? ADORABLE is more like it. And here's Rusty. He sort of looks proud of himself... for something... I don't know what. It kind of looks like he killed C-B-S and brought her to me for a gift but no - he sees a camera and he sits for you. Strange dog.

In any case - the rain has been around, the clouds have been around and it seems as if Spring has taken over Summer. I'm done with Spring. Give me my Summer back, please. I'm tired of muddy footprints, frizzy hair and dreary clouds.

Today is the next CSA box, which I'm super excited for. I'll have more recipes soon. From my email earlier this week this is what's in the box:

French Breakfast Radishes

Garlic Scapes

Italian Parsley

Kohlrabi

Napa Cabbage

Rainbow Chard

Red Butterhead Lettuce

Red Leaf Lettuce

Scallions

Strawberries

Oh, and the whole entire point to this post which I probably NEVER would have gotten around to had I not put "fish" in the title:

Cora-Bumi-Steve's owners brought us FRESH FISH FROM THE FAMOUS PIKE PLACE FISH MARKET IN SEATTLE. IT'S LESS THAN 18 HOURS OLD. Ok, I mean this fish was pulled out of the ocean to its death for me to eat less than 18 hours ago. It was not caught, flash frozen and shipped to Cub Foods to be thawed and colored. How awesome is that for a thank you gift? Eep, I know what I'm making for dinner tonight!

Mushroom, Cheese & Spinach Omelette (CSA Box Recipe)

 Mushrooms were unfortunately NOT from the CSA box this week, but the spinach is. I love omelettes. I love how easy they are. I love that if you don't get it perfect, it still looks great on your plate. I also love that there's no leftovers and eggs are so easy to make for one person. (Hey, Bimmer, I know you don't like omelettes, but can you appease me for one weekend and JUST TRY ONE? And it doesn't have to be with mushrooms)

 Spinach is from the CSA box. I obviously sauted the mushrooms first, then added in the spinach to wilt it. When cooking mushrooms, add salt in at the very end. Salt draws out the natural juices and makes the mushrooms tough and chewy. Then add in your regular omelette mix (2 eggs + 1tbsp of milk or cream, salt & pepper). Wait until the eggs have set a bit.

And then when I have a lot of chunky veggies, I don't make a normal omelette. I'd rather consider it a "french" omelette where you shove the food around pan until it's barely cooked, flip it over on itself and then dump it on a plate.

So basically then your plate looks like a pile of eggs and veggies and not really a traditional omelette. But it's still delicious mixed with fresh cheese.

Enjoy!