Breakfast Sandwiches - Bacon, Egg & Cheese

Tonight Logan proceeded to tell me his tummy was happy and dancing thanks to these little guys I made up on a whim.

Breakfast Sandwiches

6 Slices Turkey Bacon

6 Wheat English Muffins

6 American Singles

5 Egg Whites & 1 Whole Egg

3-4 Tablespoons Diced Onion

Salt & Pepper as Desired

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Place Bacon on cookie sheet and cook for 6 minutes.

While bacon is cooking whisk eggs together and pour mixture into 6 greased cups muffin tin cups. Add onion along with salt and pepper into each cup as desired.

After 6 minutes ADD the muffin tin with eggs to the oven (keep your bacon in the oven).

Cook for an addition 15 minutes or until the eggs and bacon are cooked.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Dab the bacon with paper towel to remove excess grease.

Heat a Panini or George Foreman.

Separate the English muffin halves and layer a piece of bacon (cut in half), egg cup, and cheese slice in between the halves.

Then place them on your indoor grill, give it a squish and let the little guys toast.

The cool thing about these is you can freeze them and when ready for a little breakfast sandwich just pop it into the microwave for a few minutes and voila! You can also add/use bell peppers or another vegetable in your egg cups. These are pretty versatile. Just be careful! They are goooooooood and if you have a Logan they may try to eat them all in one sitting.

Would I Make it Again: Yep

Noming Score: 4/5

Mushroom Risotto & Gordon Ramsey

Original Recipe & Photo from Closet Cooking

I have always heard about risottos and how yummy they can be. But thanks to Gordon Ramsey I’ve never attempted one. The man has scared me through the television! It seems that anytime I tuned in to watch Hell’s Kitchen someone was destroying a risotto. These are professionals I would think, and if they suck at risotto it must be the sultan of all food creations. But fear never gets anyone anywhere, so I managed the gumption to try a risotto.

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup chicken stock (boiling)
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion (diced)
8 ounces mushrooms (sliced, I used a mix of cremini, shiitake and oyster)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon thyme (chopped)
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable, warm)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon truffle oil (optional)
1 handful parsley (optional)

Directions:
1. Cover the dried porcini mushrooms in the stock and let sit for 20-30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the fresh mushrooms and saute until they turn tender and release their moisture, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. By this time the dried mushrooms should be nice and soft so remove them from the stock, squeezing to drain and reserve all of the liquid.
7. Chop the reconstituted mushrooms and add them to the sauce pan.
8. Add the rice and toast until it starts to turn translucent, about 1-3 minutes.
9. Add the white wine, deglaze the bottom of the pan and cook while stirring until the wine has disappeared.
10. Mix the stock that the mushrooms were soaked in with another cup of stock and add it to the sauce pan 1/2 cup at a time while stirring until it has disappeared.
11. Add the butter and parmigiano reggiano and stir until it has melted.
12. Season with salt and pepper and a touch of truffle oil.
13. Serve garnished with parsley.

First, I do not own truffle oil and cannot imagine that I will anytime soon unless someone donates it to the cause. Second, I did not chop the porcini mushrooms and place them in the risotto, why? Because they tasted like dirt to me. Logan on the other hand really enjoyed them. Third, I added significantly more wine than this recipe called for. Lastly, this recipe lies!

1^st lie – It takes 8 times longer to make than this recipe eludes to.

2^nd lie – It takes 8 times the amount of liquid to make this recipe. After some reading I found a lot of chef’s have a pot of stock going while making risotto and continue to add stock in until the risotto is done.

3^rd lie – Which is more of a lack of admission to the fact that you may come out of this process looking like Arnold Schwarzenneger because all you will do for an hour is stir!

Alright, so after all this misleading information you will find yourself staring at your bowl of risotto and praying that all this time spent was worth it and that Gordon Ramsey isn’t going to holler at you somehow.

But after the stress and fear subsides you will find yourself frolicking in the grass with the sun shining on your back. Okay not really, but this risotto will definitely make you equally as happy. You will also find yourself wondering why the heck no one can make a risotto on Hell’s Kitchen. 

Would I Make it Again: Yes, especially when I feel the need to work out!
Noming Score: 4.25/5

Roasted Potato, Onion, and Rosemary Crustless Quiche

Original Recipe & Photo from Naturally Ella

Roasted potatoes are one of my favorite things. Okay, I love any and all roasted vegetables. Sometimes I just roast a bunch of random veggies with a little spice action and throw them together into some buttered noodles and call life good. Now one thing I am not a huge fan of is eggs. We just have never had a good healthy relationship.  There kind of like that friend you know talks crap behind your back but yet you keep hanging out with them – yeah that’s how eggs and I are. But Logan loves eggs and I love my roasted spuds (he’s pretty fond of them too) so when I saw this recipe I said ohhh why not…

Roasted Potato, Onion, and Rosemary Crustless Quiche

Ingredients

• ¾ lb fingerling potatoes
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced or ½-1 tablespoon dried
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup feta or goat cheese
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375˚.
2. Slice fingerling potatoes and red onion into ¼” thickness. Toss with olive oil, rosemary, and salt. Place in a 9″ pie plate and roast until potatoes are tender, 30-40 minutes.
3. Once potatoes are done, loosen from the bottom of the pie pan. Sprinkle cheese over potatoes.
4. Whisk together eggs, milk, and black pepper. Pour over cheese and potatoes. Return to oven and back for 40-50 minutes or until egg is set (the egg should puff up and hardly jiggle.)
5. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Well apparently quiche’s don’t talk as much crap behind your back like a straight up egg does… Because this thing was delicious!!! It was my first quiche and it was easy and yum yum yum. I didn’t have fingerlings on hand so I used regular Yukon Gold’s which caused me to use a 9x9 pan instead of the pie pan. I also was out of goat cheese which would have added quite a bit more flavor, but did use mozzarella which honestly I would make it that way again!

Would I Make it Again: Yes
Noming Score: 4/5

Parmesan Qarlic QuiNOa

I love quinoa. It’s pretty simple really. It’s not the prettiest dish but it’s definitely one of the most versatile. Once again I found myself in a rush to feed Logan before he collapsed so I threw together…

Parmesan Garlic Quinoa

Original Recipe from Canopi

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

2 cups water

1 medium white onion 

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

2 teaspoons dried basil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Step 1: Rinse your quinoa in cold water. Rinse it thoroughly. Do to so you can place the quinoa in a mesh strainer.

Step 2: Heat up your olive oil in a large sauce pan and saute your onions for 4-5 minutes. Throw in your garlic for a minute, stirring so it doesn't burn.

Step 3: Add in your water and quinoa and cover the pot, bringing the water to a boil.

Step 4: Bring down to low and allow to simmer. Quinoa should take about 15 minutes to cook or so- but you'll know when there is a ring around the outside and the center is clear- plus about all of your water should be absorbed!

Step 5: Mix in your salt, basil, black & red pepper, and 1/3 cup of your cheese. If you want it a little more creamy, go ahead and add more!
Step 6: Dish it up while hot and sprinkle with pepper and cheese for garnish! 

You know how I said I love quinoa? Well, I didn’t lie – but sometimes I think people don’t love it quite like I do because this recipe was pretty much an insult to quinoa. It was originally advertised as a replacement for Mac n Cheese – lies! It pretty much tasted like I melted a crap ton of parmesan on top of some ricey noodles. Seriously?

That being said, ways I would save this recipe and try it next time would be to… Add more garlic! Lots more! I would not use as much parmesan because it’s so potent but instead do a blend of cheeses, even something as simple as mozzarella and parmesan. Then I would add a little somethin something to give it some more flavor. Such as roasted broccoli or sun dried tomatoes.

So I see potential, but the recipe as is was BLEH! Use it as a starting point and cut out back on the overbearing parmesan.

Would I Make it Again: Nope
Noming Score: 2/5