Wednesday, April 29

Bacon & Scrambled Egg "Nests"

Mothers Day is May 10th this year. Yeah its coming up fast. Don't worry this recipe has you covered. You'll have to do the flower thing on your own but a nice breakfast in bed can go a very long way. I'll show you. 


Breakfast is a very busy time in my house so I usually don't take a lot of time to cook anything unless I am up before 6am. A snapshot of my kitchen on any given morning includes like two bowls lined up for the mircowave...the baby's frozen puree gets reheated for 45 seconds, my son gets frozen berries defrosted and warmed for his plain yogurt. A container of homemade granola is on the kitchen table, and my son can take as much as he wants of the maple flavored nutty mix. I eat some eggs of some kind with sliced avocado on top after the chaos has died down. My husband breezes in from work and has already eaten. He is headed to bed. Dishes are piled up for washing in the sink, teeth are speedily brushed, and the rest of us are headed to soccer, doctors appointments, the grocery store, school, ect... 

So when I saw this adorable egg "nest" recipe - my first question was how long does it take to make. Even a super cute breakfast has to be easy enough to execute with a hungry baby and a 5 yr old. Thankfully it doesn't take long AND most of the cooking time is in the oven = hands off cooking. 


So you should make this easy breakfast cutesy brunch thing because if I can do while trying to feed a baby after not sleeping all night with no cofee onboard, you definately can! Plus there's bacon. I love bacon. Don't you like bacon too? If you say no, I might not be able to be friends with you. Just saying... 


This is the perfect recipe for leftovers. One of my survival methods for cooking with a baby in the house is: If you have to do something once, double it, to stretch it for another meal. For example, if you have to shred cheese for mac and cheese, do some extra for eggs the next morning, or to top a salad for the next afternoon, or for a quick quesadilla lunch for the kids. Recently, I had just been to a little party celebrating season 2 of a new favorite show, When Calls the Heart, and brought a bunch of baked potatoes and toppings. The leftovers were perfect to transform into a breakfast of champions or these adorably cute nests. 


Bacon & Scrambled Egg Nests
Makes 6 nests  -  serves 3 
Recipe from: the cooking jar

Ingredients:
1 cooked baked potato, cooled, peeled
1 cup of medium or sharp cheddar cheese
salt 
pepper
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp dried parsley or 1 Tbs fresh if you have it
5 eggs
2 pieces of cooked bacon, small diced

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and use cooking spray/nonstick spray on a muffin tin to prevent sticking. 
2. On a large cutting board grate your potato or use packaged preshredded hashbrowns
3. On the same cutting board shred your cheese or use preshredded cheese. In a small bowl set aside a small handful of cheese for later.
4. Top the large pile of cheese and potatoes with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix together it with your hands.
5. While your hands are still messy use them to fill each tin with the hashbrown mix as even amounts as much as possible. 



6. Press the mix firmly along the sides of the muffin tin's holes to create space for the eggs to go into. 
7. When the oven is hot bake the hasbrown mix for 15-16 minutes. The edges of the hasbrowns should be golden and the cheese should be melted. 
8. Crack all the eggs into a bowl and scramble with a fork
9. After pulling the hashbrowns out of the oven, turn down the oven to 350 degrees. Then slowly pour some egg into each muffin tin carefully.


10. Sprinkle each with the cooked diced bacon, a sprinkle of of pepper, parsley, and the remaining cheese. 


11. Bake for 13-15 minutes (mine was done at 13 minutes). 
12. Let the nests set for a few minutes, this will also help you to not burn your fingers on hot food. Use a table knife and run it around the edge of each nest. For easy removal gently use a fork to lift the nest out hopefully in one piece. 

Serve with toast, biscuits, english muffins and/or fresh fruit.

Thats it. Happy eating from my Az Kitchen to yours
Stephanie


Thursday, April 16

Balsamic Shredded Beef



Hey. Hope tax day wasn't so taxing yesterday. Okay bad jokes should be off limits. I haven't blogged in a few weeks just been busy with doctors appointments, my son starting indoor soccer, and life. We have been just keeping it simple and eating some freezer staples. 

Some recipes and freezer staples that we have been eating are: spaghetti with this easy tomato eggplant "pasta" sauce, then using the same sauce for homemade pizza with tons of melted shredded mozzarella, shredded monterrey jack, and spicy pepperoni, and eating chicken garlic toasted subs with some homemade french fries. Last night I defrosted and reheated some black bean sweet potato beefy chili and leftover corn muffins. Dinner was done in 15 minutes! More time to play on the floor with my little hungry one. I usually have some sort of chili in the freezer. I have 6 chili recipes on my blog.... addicted to chili much? Yeah its a fall thing. I can't go throughout fall without making at least a few batches. It seems to go well with football.  

I love having stuff in the freezer I can just pull out and either heat and serve, or add to to save time and energy off the evening. I usually will give up family time to make sure I am cooking healthy from scratch, as much as possible, but when the food is ready in the freezer (due some good planning ahead) I am a very happy momma. 

So in the midst of busy schedules I was very thankful for this delicious crockpot roast recipe. I usually don't cook with brown sugar, but this recipe is so good. Like lick your fingers and plate off at the end of the evening good. The balsamic vinegar and the brown sugar work magic simmering away on low. I am not a vinegar fan and usually shy away from things that call for apple cider vinegar and such but balsamic is different. It gets a wonderful earthy sweetness when paired with the right things like salmon in this recipe  or  Bruschetta Chicken Sub Sandwiches. If you like balsamic vinegar you should definately check out these recipes and try this new one below. 




So best crockpot recipe of 2015 - Shredded Balsamic Beef
recipe is adapted from Shugary Sweets
Feeds 4-5 adults 



Recipe Ingredients:

2 1/2 - 3lb beef chuck roast
1 cup of beef broth
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed open
2 Tbs flour 


Directions

1. Mix everything together except the beef and flour in the bottom of a crockpot with a whisk. 
2. Set the beef into the sauce
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hrs. 
4. Pull the meat out onto a cutting board and shred with two forks (try to not eat it as you go)
5. In a small bowl or mug mix together the flour with 1/4 cup of water with a fork to make a slurry. Pour this paste mixture into the remaining sauce to thicken. Put the lid back on the crockpot and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Then put the meat back in to absorb a bit more wonderful sauce. 
7. Serve over mashed potatoes or rice. 
8. Eat! 



My son's way of telling me its time to stop taking pictures and EAT :)
He's a good kid.