Veggie Fried Ramen

Eleven Mondays in and we are still on track with our household's 2021 #MeatlessMonday resolution.  And we are unexpectedly enjoying it!  This is a recipe that I have made a few times now that could easily be modified with some different protein sources if you want to add meat (chicken and shrimp would work great).  My kids are totally into Ramen at the moment - a college staple for me back in the day - but I am insistent on adding some nutritional value.  The veggies and eggs in this do the trick, and I leave out the packed seasoning in favor of some sesame oil and soy sauce to provide additional flavor.  Everyone is happy when this meatless dish pops up in the rotation!

INGREDIENTS:

• 
  2 green onions (I have omitted this ingredient and it turned out fine!)
  
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 colorful peppers, diced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 6 eggs
• 3-4 packages Ramen
• canola oil
• sesame oil
• soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Scramble eggs and cook in hot canola oil.  Move to a serving bowl.
2. In the same pan, heat additional canola oil and cook green onions, carrots and peppers.  Add peas after a few minutes and cook until all veggies are tender and hot.  Move to the serving bowl with the eggs.
3. Meanwhile, cook Ramen for 2 minutes in boiling water.  Drain.
4. Move the Ramen to the same pan that was used to cook the veggies, add some sesame oil and stir fry for a minute.  Add soy sauce to taste.  Transfer to the serving bowl; stir all ingredients together.

Difficulty: easy

Time: 20 minutes, total

Source: Modifications of several stir fry recipes

Savory Deviled Eggs

'Tis the season for finding ways to use hard boiled eggs! I have made these Deviled Eggs for a few Easter Sundays in a row, and this year the tray was gone within 5 minutes of arriving at my parent's house. My mom happened to have some hard boiled eggs on hand and asked me to make another batch! Needless to say, this recipe is a hit and a great way to use up some of those colorful eggs you may not know what to do with!

INGREDIENTS: 

• 6 hard-cooked eggs, halved (instructions on hard boiling can be found here)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 12 sprigs fresh dill to garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut eggs in half length-wise. Remove yolks and add them to a bowl. Set the whites aside.
2. Smash the yolks and thoroughly mix in remaining ingredients. Spoon the mixture into the egg whites, top with additional dill and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Difficulty: Very easy (my 9 year old daughter made them with no problem!)

Time: 10 minutes, not including the time to boil the eggs

Source: modified from a recipe from allrecipes.com

Sausage, Egg, and Potato Breakfast Casserole

As I prepare to leave for a camping trip with my family to one of our many amazing National Parks, I find myself turning to this recipe for the third time.  We travel in our RV and though there are generally no hook ups (for electricity, water, etc.) at the National Park campgrounds, we do have a gas oven that we can use.  I have made this recipe for two other trips and it has been the perfect breakfast to fill us up for the adventures of the day.  There are three steps to the process: the prep, the baking with foil, and the baking without foil.  I do the first two of those steps at home before we leave.  This leaves just the baking without foil to do on the trip.  Unfortunately, I have never taken a picture of the finished product on one of our trips.  Maybe this time I will and post an update.  In the meantime, I didn't want any more time to go by without posting this!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound Italian sausage (sweet, hot, or mild)
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced (or 1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained and diced)
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 (20 ounce) bag frozen hash browns, thawed
• 2 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
• (optional topping: thinly sliced green onions)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Add the sausage to a medium saute pan. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, crumbling the sausage with a spoon as it cooks. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of sausage grease in the saute pan, discarding the rest. 
3. Add the onion and red pepper* to the saute pan, and saute for 5 minutes until cooked. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant. (*If using the jarred roasted red peppers, wait to stir them until after the garlic.) 
4. Pour the vegetable mixture into the mixing bowl with the sausage. Add the hash browns and 1 1/2 cups cheese to the mixing bowl with the sausage and veggies. Stir to combine.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and black pepper until combined. Then add them to the hashbrown mixture, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a 11x7-inch or a 9x9-inch baking dish (a 9x13-inch dish will also work), and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes and the top of the potatoes begin to slightly brown. Remove and let the casserole rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions and serve!

Difficulty: Medium

Time: 20 minutes prep, 35 minutes baking

Source: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com

Grab & Go Egg Muffins

 Our family is usually a bit rushed.  To practice. To school. To the doctor. To a meeting.  To the store before the snow. It is important to me that my family have breakfast each day.  Some mornings we can enjoy eating together; other mornings, it is a grab and go type of day.

For those grab and go mornings, we can take 2 of these egg muffins. They really kept us full. John was surprised that he didn't need anything else.  I have taken one to work and heated it up for about 15 seconds; it was the perfect mid-morning snack.  We have also eaten them for lunch on Fridays when we try to avoid meat.

You can use any types of veggies you have lying around. I had a bag of mini-peppers and some collard greens, but I easily could have used spinach and mushrooms.






INGREDIENTS:

• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper (or regular pepper)
• 1 to 2 cups assorted veggies 
• 1/2 cup feta cheese or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line 12 cup muffin tin with liners; spray lightly with olive oil.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
3.   Beat eggs in large bowl; add veggies, seasonings, and cheese.
4. Pour into lined muffin tins to about half full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of egg comes out clean. 

DIFFICULTY: Easy

TIME: 15 minute prep (chopping veggies) 25 minutes baking time

SOURCE: a clean eating group I participated in

On Making the "Perfect" Hard Boiled Egg

My husband is very willing to help out where and when needed, but for the most part, I take care of the cooking.  There are a few exceptions, however.  Among them: grilling and breakfast.  When it comes to breakfast, John reigns in our kitchen...his pancakes and waffles are awesome.  Anything to do with eggs are his specialty.  Omelets, fried eggs, and egg sandwiches...I look forward to any of the above most Saturdays and Sundays.  But, perhaps his claim to fame these days is perfecting the hard boiled egg.

Have you ever experienced the somewhat gross green or grey coloring around the yolk of your hard boiled eggs?  Though unappetizing in appearance, the green yolk is actually harmless - and completely avoidable.  The reason that occurs is actually very simple:  the eggs are overcooked.  My husband, being a chemist, would take that explanation a bit further - in the white of the egg is hydrogen sulfide, which reacts with the iron in the yolk, resulting in the greenish iron sulfide when cooked for too long.  So, how to cook them perfectly?  John shares his advice and technique:

1. Begin with cool water and refrigerated large eggs.  Cover the eggs with the cool water in a pot or deep pan so that there is about a 1/2 inch of water above the eggs and place over high heat.
2. Keep an eye on the water.  As soon as it comes to a full, rolling boil, remove the pan from the heat and cover it with a lid.  Set a timer for 8 minutes.
3. While the eggs are sitting in the hot water, they are still cooking, which is important.  Equally important is forcing that cooking process to stop when you want it to.  For this reason, prepare an ice bath in a second pot using cold water and a few of cups of ice.
4. Once the timer goes off, remove one egg from the pot and roll it around gently in the ice bath until cool to touch (at least 30 seconds).  Crack this egg open to check the yolk - if it is still a bit under cooked, leave the other eggs in the hot water for another 30 seconds to a minute (or more if it seems as though the egg is far under cooked, but remember that they have already been sitting in the water during the time you were checking the test egg). If it is ready, place the remaining eggs in the ice bath to cool.

Perfect!

Cinnamon Breakfast Squares with Yogurt and Fruit

My family is big on breakfast.  We like variety and substance - we don't want to be hungry again an hour after we've finished.  When Honey Bunches of Oats e-mailed us with a new recipe to try, I was all about it.  In fact, as the last day of school approached, I decided that I would make this for my kids as a special "last day of school breakfast."  The cereal alone is great, but they absolutely loved this protein-packed, fiber and antioxidant-rich morning meal - and so did I!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy Cinnamon Crunch cereal
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter, cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• yogurt (original recipe calls for Greek, but I used regular, vanilla yogurt)
• fresh berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) or favorite fruit of choice
• Honey, for drizzling (optional)
• Nutmeg or Cinnamon, for sprinkling (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly butter and flour an 8-inch square pan, or coat lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the cereal, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon.While stirring, slightly crush the cereal using the back of the spoon or rubber scraper; set aside. 
3. In another bowl, beat eggs until well blended. Add milk, melted butter and vanilla, and mix well. Combine egg mixture with flour mixture. Pour batter (it will be thin) into prepared baking pan. 
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until it is set when lightly touched in the middle. Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. To serve, cut into 6 equal-sized bars and place on serving plates. Top each square with a dollop of yogurt, surround with fruit, and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 15 minutes prep, 45 minutes total
Source: Honey Bunches of Oats recipe

Knock-off Spinach Power Salad

Despite the fact that I don't go there often, I am a huge fan of the soups and salads at Panera.  During the Christmas shopping season, we stopped in to get some gift cards and decided to grab a bite while we were there.  My husband commented that he had tried their Spinach Power Salad at lunch some time back and he got it again.  It looked delicious, so I investigated.  I don't know how well this matches the original, but what resulted from my experiments was an awesome, delicious salad that even my kids loved.  This salad can be as healthy as you want it to be by modifying the amounts of ingredients; just a touch of dressing, french fried onions, and bacon will do!  Load up on the spinach - did you know there are only 14 calories in 2 cups of spinach?

INGREDIENTS:

• Baby spinach
• Hard Boiled Egg
• Bacon (cooked)
• Mushrooms
• Butter
• French Fried Onions
• Sweet Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute the mushrooms in a small amount of butter to desired tenderness.
2. Top a bed of baby spinach with chopped egg, mushrooms, a sprinkle of bacon, and a small amount of french fried onions.  Drizzle the dressing on top.

Difficulty: easy
Time: if the hard boiled eggs are made ahead of time, prep is about 10 minutes
Source: inspired by Panera's Spinach Power Salad, made in my own kitchen

Breakfast Pizza

We are early risers in my family and love starting the day with a big meal-especially if we have a day of outdoor adventures planned. While I often throw bags of dry cereal to my kids through the minivan, I try to prep one or two breakfast meals a week.

This breakfast pizza was a hit with everyone.  The crescent roll crust makes a big difference; the flaky, buttery bottom was perfect with the savory toppings.  It would be easily adapted to use fresh produce like mushrooms, onions, and peppers as toppings.  I prepped mine the night before and baked it when I got up.  It was a great addition to a co-worker's baby shower; for easy serving, I cut with pizza cutter and stacked in a Pyrex dish layered with wax paper.  No need for forks and knives for this (I remembered to make it, cut in, and put it in the car on the last Friday of the year...utensils would be way too much for me to handle).



INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
  
• 1 lb. ground pork sausage, browned and drained
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Unroll dough onto a 15 x 10 cookie sheet.  Press seams together (I used a rolling pin)
2. Evenly sprinkle sausage, hashbrowns, and cheese over dough.
3. In a bowl, beat together milk and eggs.
4. Pour egg mixture over top over toppings on crust.
5. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes, until crust is browned and center of pizza is done.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 15 minute prep; 30 minute baking

Source: a coworker 

Breakfast-in-a-Muffin

We have had a lot of adjustments to make in our family this year, with this being the first year that our kids are attending two different schools with two entirely different routines.  At my daughter's school, breakfast is provided at around 9 am.  She arrives prior to 7 am, so we send her with a piece of fruit that she eats when she gets there and she is good until breakfast time.  My son, on the other hand, arrives at school at 6:35 am and his lunch is at 10:50.  He has the option of purchasing breakfast in the cafeteria, but we prefer to send him with a breakfast to hold him over until lunch.  So far, this has been a favorite.  I make a batch on Sundays, put them in the refrigerator, and heat them in the microwave in the mornings.

INGREDIENTS:

•  1/3 lb bulk Italian sausage
• 3 eggs + eggs necessary for corn bread mix
• 1/8 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 pkg (8 1/2 oz) corn bread/muffin mix
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook sausage over medium heat in a skillet 4-5 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles.  Remove to paper towels to drain.  (I usually make extra sausage in the morning when cooking breakfast to be time-efficient with this step.)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, seasoned salt, and pepper.  Pour into the same pan and scramble until no liquid egg remains.
3. In a large bowl, prepare muffin mix according to package directions.  Fold in sausage, scrambled eggs and 1/2 cup cheese.  Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
4. Bake 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Difficulty: easy

Time: approximately 25-30 minutes total

Source: Taste of Home magazine, September 2013

Cheesy O'Brien Egg Scramble

My coworkers strike again!  We love to eat-birthdays, meetings, holidays, retirements, going away parties.  I cut into this dish while it was still hot; it was amazing (more amazing was how my friend served it hot despite her two small children needing lots of her attention during the pre-work marathon).  I took a bite and immediately asked for the recipe; within seconds the cook produced it and made me a copy.  I often make dishes like this the night before a holiday...just throw it in the oven and it's ready.


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package frozen O'Brien hash brown potatoes (28 oz)
• 1/2 t garlic salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1 can condensed cheddar soup (10 3/4 oz), undiluted
• 1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 12 eggs, lighly beaten
• 2 T butter or margarine
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large skillet, prepare hash browns according to package directions. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.
2. Transfer to a greased 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
3. Top with soup.
4. Set aside 1/2 cup of bacon; sprinkle remaining bacon over soup.
5. In skillet, scramble eggs in butter until nearly set.  Spoon over bacon.  Sprinkle with cheese and reserved bacon.
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes.

Difficulty: Easy...no chopping :)

Time: 20 minute prep; 25 minute baking time

Source: my coworker copied it from somewhere...I'm thinking O'Brien potatoes

Spinach and Mozzarella Egg Bake

I love eggs, but hate cleaning the skillet after preparing them... so I do a lot with my covered 9 x 13 cake pan with carrying handles. As an aside, that pan is the best Christmas present I ever got; no more messing around with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to cover leftovers. A few weeks ago, we had a good 4 dozen eggs in the house nearing expiration; I put out a call to some friends for some egg bake recipes.  My family loved this one!  It gave me about 15 good size breakfast portions.  After a good morning run, my husband would get a hot (well, reheated) breakfast before work.



INGREDIENTS:

• 8 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 bag spinach (8 oz)
• 1 T olive oil
• green onions
• salt and pepper
• optional assorted vegetables (I add whatever is sitting around-mushrooms, peppers, zucchini) 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  
3. Heat oil in large skillet.  Saute spinach for about 2 minutes.
4. Transfer spinach to pan. Top with green onions (I just cut mine with shears over the pan) and cheese.  Pour beaten eggs on top.  Use a fork to combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bake 35 minutes.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 5 minute prep; 35 minute baking time

Source: a friend

French Toast Casserole

I love going out with my family for breakfast after church, but sometimes there is just not enough time or money (or energy for dealing with the kids waiting for food). Breakfast is a great time to enjoy sitting together as a family and this recipe gets prepped the night before so no one is stuck over the stove. French toast casserole is also a great addition to a shower or breakfast meeting.


  INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 loaf bread
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 T vanilla
• powdered sugar
• ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt butter and add brown sugar. Stir.
2. Pour butter mixture into a 9 x 13 pan and spread.
3. Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla.
4. Place one layer of bread. (if this is for company or a party, you can cut off the crusts)
5. Spoon 1/2 of egg mixture on top of bread.
6. Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon.
7. Add second layer of bread.
8. Spoon egg mixture.
9. Cover and chill overnight.
10. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes.

Cutting off the crust before just makes it easier when dealing with the kids

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 15 minute prep; MUST soak overnight; baking time 45 minutes

Source: a coworker

Breakfast Casserole

At work, we have monthly breakfasts; bagels get boring and expensive so I tried this recipe. It was super easy, tasty, and inexpensive. Also, it's a great, easy meal when you have overnight guests; you can prep it the night before and throw it in the oven in the morning. As the holidays approach, it can be hard to entertain in the evening with little children; brunch is a great time for the kids to play while adults talk and enjoy coffee.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box of stuffing for chicken
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups sausage (I use links that I cook and cut but ground sausage or patties would work too) or cubed ham
• 6 eggs (beaten)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 t salt
• Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray (or grease) a 9 x 11 casserole dish
3. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Pour into dish.
5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes.

Difficulty: Super easy

Time: 15 minute prep (if you use sausage; less with ham); 45 minutes baking

Source: a friend