{heart-shaped} egg-in-hole

It's snow day season in the Northeast! 

Whether the call from school comes in at 5am, or you go to bed knowing you'll have a 'leisurely' morning ahead, we might as well embrace the extra time we have to make breakfast, right?

"Egg in Hole" has become my go-to these past two weeks of {seemingly} endless snow days and delays. Any shape cookie cutter will do, but since it's February, I'm mortifying my boys with lovey dovey hearts.

All you do is cut the center out of piece(s) of bread, and

pop that center piece into the toaster. {You'll be treating the cut-out piece like toast.}

Then the outside crust goes into a buttered fry pan, and you crack an egg into the center.

Use a butter knife to scramble the egg a bit {if your kids are like mine and will avoid the yolk if it's whole…}.

Flip it when the egg starts to set.

My kids love this meal a) because it takes a few extra minutes for me to make, which means a few extra minutes for them to play with their LEGOS and b)

b/c they can pick it up with their hands.

Voila! Egg in Hole. So easy, but seems special. Especially on a snowy morning.

simple spring asparagus with olive oil fried eggs

Spring is finally here in the Northeast, and organic asparagus is popping up in the produce section. 

Pair that with me wrapping up Mark Hyman MD's 10-Day-Detox, making a real effort to eat super healthfully and fill my plate with nourishing whole foods, and you've got my recent favorite: olive oil fried eggs over broiled asparagus. 

The recipe is quick and easy… but not one my children have warmed up to yet. So, on nights when I want this for dinner, I pull one of my homemade freezer meals out for them, like baked taquitos, chili, or power green pesto.

When my husband first saw me making this he announced that "there's no way I am eating all of that asparagus" and "is that all we are having?".

Note that he later proclaimed the meal, "really good" and "more filling than I thought it would be". 

The trick is to get really good eggs. If you have chickens or a farm near you, lucky you. I don't, but I did find Happy Eggs at our local market… and they happened to have a deal where you got 1/2 dozen eggs if you bought some amount of groceries, making dinner almost free! {Except for the exorbitant bag of speciality foods I purchased in order to get the free eggs… this is the sort of logic that drives my husband nuts.}

Anyway, back to our simple springtime recipe. You can absolutely roast/broil the asparagus ahead of time. I did this earlier in the afternoon when I was waiting on the school bus, then I just left it out on the counter {at room temp} so it was good to go when I came home from baseball, tennis and tae kwon do chauffeuring. 

When we got home, I warmed about 1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and fried the eggs until the whites were fully set, and the yolks would still be runny. {You can fry your eggs longer if you don't like the yolks runny. Of course, be mindful if salmonella is of concern to you.}

I served our eggs and asparagus with a side of the pickled red onion that I had leftover from Day 1's dinner from the 10 Day Detox (which was Roasted Salmon with the Onion Relish; that's my amazon affiliate link). If you're not doing the detox and/or don't have any of the relish leftover, you could also serve it with some jarred artichoke tapenade, a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan, some lemon zest, or crumbled cooked bacon. Or you could just serve them as is. If you leave your yolks a little runny they become a decadent sauce over the asparagus. 

Olive Oil Fried Eggs over Asparagus
(serves 2 as an entree)

• 1 1/2 lbs asparagus (usually 1 large bunch)
• olive oil
• 4 eggs
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• optional accompaniment(s): pickled onions, artichoke tapenade, lemon zest, Parmesan, bacon

Snap the tough bottom end of asparagus spears. Line them up, single layer, on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle asparagus with sea salt and pepper. Broil until asparagus is tender and lightly charred, about 6-8 minutes, shaking tray and/or flipping asparagus at halfway point. Asparagus can be made ahead, and served room temp, or chilled. Divide asparagus between two plates.

In a fry pan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Crack eggs into pan, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and cover for about 2 minutes. Remove lid, and continue to cook eggs until whites are completely set and yolk is set to desired firmness. (For runny yolks, this will be another 2-3 minutes… longer if you want your yolks set too.) Transfer two eggs per plate, placed on top of your asparagus. Drizzle with cooking oil, if you'd like. Serve with pickled onions, or any other choice of accompaniment for extra flavor, or simply enjoy as is.  Enjoy for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. 

Baked Eggs and Sausage in Hash Brown Cups

This winter, I mastered the art of the make-ahead breakfast. Each and every week, I did a few minutes of  cooking on Friday, and reaped the rewards of leisurely mornings on Saturday and Sunday. OK, truth be told, we were hustling everyone onto the ski mountain by 8am, so the mornings weren't really relaxing per se, but knowing breakfast was taken care of {not to mention, delicious and nourishing}, made these family ski weekend mornings much more fun.

This was one of the family favs. Made with just 3 ingredients, these are a keeper. Click here for the recipe. 

First, you spray 12 muffin cups with your choice of cooking oil spray, then press thawed hash browns {that you have squeezed as much water out of as possible} into the base and up the sides of each cup. Sprinkle each has brown cup with salt & pepper. Pop the tin into a 375 oven for about 30 minutes, or until the potato cups are crisp.

You'll see that the potatoes "shrunk" a bit. That's totally fine.

Simply top each potato cup with a few slices of sausages. We like Applegate's Chicken-Apple or Chicken Maple ones.

Next, crack a medium egg in each cup. I say medium because if you try to fit a large or jumbo sized egg it'll probably overflow the muffin cup… not a big deal, but it's kind of messy. I mean, if you can avoid trying to catch slimy egg whites as they roll off the muffin tin all over your counter, you might as well…

Then the muffin tin goes back into the oven for about 10-15 minutes for soft-set eggs and 16-18 minutes for hard-set eggs. Gently run a butter knife around each egg cup to remove it from the tin, and serve them warm.

I typically made them hard-set because then they became a breakfast you could pick up with your hands. And when you're 7, that is wildly exciting.

Fiesta Frittata

This past weekend, I was invited to Chicago by the "Beef. It's What's For Dinner" folks. Yep, you read that right. This little blog, which started out as a way of sharing recipes with friends, has just kept growing in popularity as it helps busy parents feed their families well {even on the busiest of days}... enough so, that it caught the eye of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Now, I'd like to think that my invitation came because they too agree that I missed my calling as a cowgirl, but I think it was more based on my simple, healthful, family-friendly recipes. Hey, a girl can dream...  

So, they flew me out to Chicago for a weekend of tasting, learning, and networking with some of their Colorado contingent and 18 other rockstar bloggers. Pinch me, right? One of the weekend's activities was a culinary challenge. They split us into small groups and we had to come up with healthful takes on classically less-than-healthy recipes, like nachos, jalapeno poppers, things like that. My group was given the challenge of coming up with a breakfast casserole-type dish, that incorporated lean ground beef. Not one to usually add beef to my breakfasts, I will admit to being momentarily stumped. 

The breakfast casserole also had to incorporate:

• at least 2 servings of fruits or vegetables
• 1 serving of whole grains
• use as few pans as possible
• and have only 6 additional ingredients*, beyond the lean ground beef, our choice of cooking oil, spices, salt & pepper.

* You'll note that in the recipe below we went a little crazy (a.k.a broke the rules) and added an extra veggie to our recipe. We're kind of reckless like that.

My teammates and I perused the ingredients we could choose from...

and then we got to work!

We decided to make a protein packed Southwestern-inspired frittata. So, we sautéed the lean ground beef in a bit of grape seed oil, along with onions, colorful bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of cumin, smoked paprika, ancho chili powder and a little high quality sea salt. We added one can of black beans. And because we had fresh corn at our disposal, my teammate, Amy, decided to grill it. (But if corn weren't in season, you could always use frozen corn as a substitute.)

Then we thinly sliced some whole wheat tortillas, and added those to the pan. 

That's one of the weekend's presenters, Dayle Hayes, from School Meals that Rock, oohing and ahhing over the smells in our side of the kitchen. 

After quickly sauteing all of the ingredients and whisking in our eggs, we popped the skillet into a 350 oven, and our team just relaxed while the frittata baked. {Gotta love those recipes that are so darn easy!}

And, voila! Here's my whole team (left to right: yours truly, Amy from Momma Hen's Coop, Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen, and Heather from Then Heather Said) with our Fiesta Frittata. Gorgeous, right?

Then, we tried our hands on styling the dish,

and it got the royal photographic treatment by Food Photographer, Jennifer Marx.

I know what you're thinking.... now you want the recipe, right?

Fiesta Frittata

Serves 12

This recipe may be halved, but it's a wonderful make-ahead dish that can be served at breakfast, lunch or dinner, so I recommend making a big batch like this on a weekend and enjoying the rest during the busy school/work week ahead!

• 1 Tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• southwestern seasonings of choice, to taste (we used: cumin, smoked paprika, ancho chile powder and some high quality sea salt)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
• 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 whole wheat tortillas, thinly sliced
• 18 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet or fry pan, saute the onions and ground beef, over medium heat, with your choice of seasonings. Drain excess fat from the pan, if necessary. Add chopped veggies (bell peppers, tomatoes, and corn), the rinsed and drained black beans, and the tortilla strips to the pan. Continue sauteing for a few minutes, until veggies are just tender. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add whisked eggs to the pan, and stir to combine. Transfer skillet to oven and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until center of frittata is set. Serve frittata slices warm or room temp. 

Optional garnishes: fresh avocado, salsa, Greek yogurt, and/or baked tortilla chips. 

I hope that your family enjoys this new recipe! I am excited to make a batch for my family next weekend! 

mmm, summer in a dish: apricot-blueberry clafoutis

Have I got a treat for you!!

I recently shared one of my all-time favorite summer desserts, Apricot-Blueberry Clafoutis, with our local market. Click here for the recipe!

This is one of those recipes that looks fancy, but is so, so easy. With just a few ingredients, you make a batter in your blender, pour it over some fresh fruit, pop it in the oven.... and voila! It makes a perfect summer dessert, brunch or potluck recipe. I hope that your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine does!

mother's day Eggs Benny... made by me (by choice)

I know, I know... on Mother's Day I am supposed to luxuriate in bed, waiting for the pitter patter of little feet bringing me breakfast in bed. But on Saturday, our children's tball/soccer/baseball games were rained out and I found myself with a few minutes to peruse the newspaper, where I spotted a recipe for "Great Eggs Benny". (Shocking, I know, that I go straight to the recipe section of any paper...) In the article, the author extols the virtues of homemade English muffins. I skipped that part.

I'm sure hers are better.... but I was most excited about the perfectly poached eggs (which I taught myself-- and you-- to make last week), and homemade hollandaise (which I'd never made. Who knew it's so easy to whip up?... As long as you're not afraid of butter!). I woke up early on Mother's Day excited to whip up a decadent brunch for my family-- and my own mom, who is in town visiting. 

I will fully admit to assuming Eggs Benedict was some complicated dish, only ordered when out to brunch. But the recipe was surprisingly easy-- and quick. Here's the recipe I was working off of. But my copy is now covered in melted butter, so I am copying her hollandaise sauce here so I have it for ever and ever...

Hollandaise Sauce

Adapted from "James Beard's Menus for Entertaining"

Total Time: 10 minutes Makes: About 1 cup

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of hot sauce

1 stick butter

1. Place yolks, lemon juice, salt and hot sauce in a blender or food processor. Pulse to combine.

2. In a small saucepan, melt butter, then remove pan from heat.

3. Turn on blender or food processor and drizzle melted butter into yolk mixture. Continue blending until mixture emulsifies and thickens slightly. Serve immediately or keep warm in a double boiler.

Oh, and I made a sautéed kale version for my mom who doesn't care for Canadian bacon. Also amazing. (The veg version, not the fact that my super health-conscious mom eschews processed meat, ha.)

After thoroughly enjoying our homemade brunch, we all headed out for a gorgeous hike, and worked off all that buttery goodness. 

It was a perfect Mother's Day.

Then we came home, got tarted up, and I let someone else make dinner! I went to sleep tuckered out and feeling thankful for my two sweet children, and my day "off".