Meatless Meatballs

I am not solely a plant-eater, but these meatless meatballs are the best I've ever had!  Not only are they packed with delicious flavor, but the texture rivals the real deal.  Perhaps the best part?  The recipe requires 5 ingredients: cheese, breadcrumbs, onion soup mix, eggs and nuts.  Voila!

However, as always, feel free to play around with this.  I like to do half cheddar, half Parmesan... and I'm sure mozzarella would also be yummy.  The original recipe calls for walnuts, but I like pine nuts, SO THERE.  Nut allergy?  I bet finely chopped mushrooms would offer a delicious "meaty" quality.  And while we're talking vegetables, chopped spinach, carrots or zucchini would be ideal to sneak in for some added nutrition.  The possibilities are endless!  

My friend sent me the recipe, and she swears the longer you let them simmer in the marinara, the "meatier" they become.  But you could also let them simmer in a broth for a soup, or a cream sauce or, or... I don't know.  You tell me.  Food is exciting!!  I hope you enjoy.     

Meatless Meatballs

Yields: 15 meatballs

Printable Recipe

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1 envelope Onion Soup Mix

1 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup grated Cheddar

3/4 cups pine nuts, toasted

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

After toasting the pine nuts, place in a food processor and grind until nuts become fine and powdery.  Remove to a large bowl, and mix in all the other ingredients.  Combine and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes, allowing mixture to set.  Preheat oven to 375, lightly grease a baking sheet, and roll into balls (roughly golf ball-sized).  Bake for 20 minutes.  If desired, you may then simmer meatballs into a sauce (the longer they simmer, the "meatier" the texture).  Enjoy!

  

Spaghetti with Fried Eggs

As I'm in the thick of writing my cookbook, and all day long dealing with descriptive words like "delectable, irresistible, delicious, YUMMY," I can barely think of a single thing to say about this dish.  The thesaurus has been sucked out of me.  So I'm simply going to say this...jaksdjfksdfj.  Oh, you don't understand lazy, keyboard gibberish?  Fine, I'll say this...omg please make this pasta.  It is so good, that I would eat it every night of my life if that were a normal thing to do.  What's not to love about pasta, crispy, runny eggs and crunchy seasoned breadcrumbs??  Nothing, there is nothing not to love.  This dish is simple, requires minimal ingredients, and can be made in very little time.  It's the perfect thing to make when you don't know what to make.    

Spaghetti with Fried Eggs

Yields: 6 servings

Printable Recipe

6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

4 cloves garlic, divided

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

8 oz. spaghetti

4 eggs

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat.  Mince two cloves of garlic, and add to the skillet.  Saute for a minute or so, until garlic starts to brown.  Add breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir.  Continue to cook for 6-8 minutes, until breadcrumbs turn golden and crispy.  Remove from heat and set aside.  In the meantime, boil water in a large pot.   Once boiling, add a generous pinch of salt and the pasta.  Cook until al dente and drain.  While pasta is cooking, in the same skillet you used before, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat.  Add the remaining two cloves of garlic and cook for a few minutes, stirring around, allowing garlic to season oil.  Remove.  Crack the eggs into the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the whites start to crisp at the edges and the yolks barely set.  As soon as you drain your pasta, turn the heat off on the skillet and add the pasta and the breadcrumbs to your eggs.  Stir, using tongs, and break up your eggs into the pasta.  The runny yolks will cook some more with your hot pasta.  Serve immediately and sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan.   

Tater Tot Breakfast Burrito

I recently had a breakfast burrito in Los Angeles at an INCREDIBLE coffee shop called Alfred Coffee + Kitchen, but the burrito itself came from The Rooster Food Truck.   I ordered something named the 'Rico Suave' which had eggs, bacon, tater tots, avocado and a cheddar & cotija cheese blend.  Yes, tater tots.  TATER TOTS IN A BURRITO.  If you've never experienced the splendor of tater tots in a burrito, you should really (bonus points if you can name what children's book that line comes from).  Now that I'm back in the land of bagels and deli egg sandwiches (which there is NOTHING wrong with), I know I need to make my own Rico Suaves at home.  And I do.

I really do.

Here's how I do it:

Fry up a few pieces of bacon in a pan until crispy.  Remove and wipe out most of the grease.  In the same pan, add some tater tots (you don't even have to thaw them out) and fry until golden.  I like to smash them once they're soft enough which will help them crisp up.  Remove from pan.  Add your scrambled eggs (I always add cream to my eggs) and softly scramble.  Remove.  Layer your burrito with shredded cheddar, crumbled cotija, eggs, bacon, tots, and avocado.  Fold and then lightly grill in the same pan until the tortilla becomes lightly golden.  Serve with your favorite hot sauce!

Parmesan Cloud Eggs

Lately, "Cloud Eggs" have been all the rage.  I guess they've been around for a long time, but Instagram has taken their popularity to a whole new level, as only Instagram can do.  I mean, they are super purrrrrrty, aren't they?  A bright, runny yolk delicately placed atop fluffy, baked egg whites.  Best part?  It takes less than 10 minutes to accomplish.  All you need to do is separate your eggs, whip your whites, bake them for 3 minutes solo and 3 minutes with the yolks.  Done!  I added Parmesan to my egg whites after the stiff peaks were formed, but I want to experiment with more ingredients like chopped chives, crumbled bacon and other types of cheeses.  And you might be wondering how it tasted?  SO delicious.  It's a delightful texture and a very healthy breakfast.     

You can view tutorials on how to make these here and here.

Green Breakfast Sandwich

Most mornings, I run around the house with a yogurt in my hand, occasionally taking bites as I nag on my children to put their clothes on, eat a bite, put their clothes on, eat a bite, go pee, brush their teeth, PUT THEIR CLOTHES ON, etc.  However, their are those magical mornings when I actually wake up before them, and they actually sleep past 7am, and I have the school lunches made and their clothes, snacks, vitamins and backpacks ready to go.  On those mornings, which I will refer to as unicorn mornings, I make myself something fun for breakfast!  

This particular sandwich is loosely based on one at this restaurant (I order NOTHING else), and it took me no time to throw it together.  I toasted an English Muffin, spread on a layer of cream cheese, added some arugula and then avocado, fried up an egg and topped the whole thing with store-bought pesto.  Salt, pepper, lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil... it was ridiculous.  I love my unicorn mornings!  

Coffee cup was made by a friend based on THIS Instagram page :)

Veggie Hash and Eggs

Has anyone been to Prime Meats in Brooklyn, New York?  Go!  Go, go, go, go, go.  I've actually only been once, but they have the best brunch and NO, I'm not just saying that because I was sans children which meant I could actually hear myself think and eat my food while it was hot (and YES, there was also booze).  First of all, they put warm, buttery biscuits on the table with jam and salted butter and they were the best I've ever had.  For my meal, I ordered a veggie hash with eggs (it was also available with meat) that was essentially roasted root vegetables and kale underneath two over sunny-side-up eggs.  I had to recreate it at home, and here's what I did...

I diced up one butternut squash, one rutabaga and one fennel bulb into little bite-sized squares.  I drizzled it with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted it in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes (I didn't have kale, otherwise I would have added that, too).  Then, I made crispy eggs, placed them on top of the veggies, served it alongside an arugula salad, and it was dinner!  But it would also be a perfect breakfast or brunch, even with your kids :)   

Fresh Corn & Egg Scramble

One of my go-to "I have no idea what to cook tonight" meals is breakfast for dinner.  It's different for the kids, it's easy, and you can get rid of all your leftovers.  Just scramble eggs, and throw everything in it!  I had never really thought about putting corn in my eggs until I had breakfast at Martha's 22nd Street Grill in Hermosa Beach, California.  They make a white corn scramble that's to die for.  During the summer, I almost always have leftover corn in the fridge, and I love slicing off the kernels into salads, pastas and now... scrambles!  This was delicious, probably due to the cream and Boursin cheese I added (no judging) but also because of the delicious, fresh, summer corn.

Fresh Corn & Egg Scramble

(Serves 4)

Printable Recipe

2 T unsalted butter

6 large eggs

1/4 cup milk or cream

4 ears of cooked corn, kernels sliced off

1/4 cup Garlic & Herb Boursin cheese (or garden veggie flavored cream cheese), crumbled

1 T chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Salt and pepper 

In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat.  While heating, whisk the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Add to skillet, and cook until fluffy using a rubber spatula to stir eggs.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Perfect Egg Salad

Over the weekend, I was treated to the best homemade egg salad I've ever had.  It was made by a great cook who didn't want to reveal her specific recipe... however, she did tell me it's basically mayo, dijon mustard, dill, parsley and of course salt and pepper.  But the big revelation was her technique for making it the PERFECT fluffy consistency... she smashes the hard-boiled eggs with a fork.  Brilliant!  I've never tried that before, but you can better your bottom dollar that I will now (I like to talk like Orphan Annie).  Soooooo good.

We will be traveling a bit this week, but I will try and post as much as I can.  And heading to the Today Show next week, more on that to come!  

Spring Veggie Breakfast Pizza

In honor of Earth Day, I present to you this Breakfast Pizza, full of green foods that come from the Earth!  Only mine came from the grocery store because gardening and I are not a thing.  In fact, my son keeps asking me if we can build a glorious garden with carrots and an apple tree and I keep smiling and nodding while crying inside because he's going to discover my black thumb and hate me.  

But anyway, this green egg dish screams spring with vegetables like asparagus, zucchini, broccoli rabe and leeks.  I made it with half full eggs and half egg whites, a dash of 1% milk and a small sprinkling of Parmesan cheese to keep it nice and light.  Who even am I??  Don't worry, later on today I plan on RECYCLING* my old bananas into a peanut butter, coconut, chocolate, oatmeal, crispy cereal bite.  THAT's who I am.  *I love the Earth!         

Spring Veggie Breakfast Pizza

(Serves 4)

Printable Recipe

8 eggs (you can do some egg whites, all egg whites, whatever you prefer)

1/4 cup low-fat milk

2 T parmesan cheese

2 T olive oil

1 zucchini, chopped

1 leek, chopped (just white and pale green parts)

1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped

1 bunch asparagus, chopped

1 T chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and cheese.  Set aside.  In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add cleaned, chopped veggies and basil, and sauté for 6-8 minutes, tossing a few times with tongs and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Add egg mixture and let sit over heat until edges begin to brown.  Place skillet in oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cooked and top begins to golden.  

p.s. This dish is great for any meal of the day!

The Crispy Egg

There are many different ways to cook an egg, and I thought I'd tried all of them.  Scrambled, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, baked, poached, souffléd, deviled or simply fried.  But that is not all of the ways, oh nooo.  Have you heard of The Crispy Egg?  I sure will capitalize every beginning letter because The Crispy Egg demands respect like that.  Essentially, The Crispy Egg is simply a fried egg... but it is also so much more.  IT'S SO CRISPY!  (Said like the little girl in Despicable Me says, "IT'S SO FLUFFY!")  You can almost pick up the entire thing and eat it like a piece of pizza.  Or, you could probably put it on a pizza!  That would be delicious.  Or a salad, or simply a piece of toast.

Read this tutorial for more information, it's as simple as can be.  

Avocado Egg Salad

I don't know why this idea hasn't occurred to me before.  I love the combination of eggs and avocado!  If I'm going to have a fried egg sandwich or an omelet I almost always slather the green stuff on top.  So to add diced avocado to egg salad seems totally obvious and I'm smacking my own head for figuring it out just now.  (Ok, I'm not really abusing myself, but there was that drunken period of time in college when I thought it was hilarious to slap my own face.  Not sure why I admitted that.)

This is an easy and fun twist on regular old egg salad.  Call it "green eggs" and serve it with ham!  Or serve it on lightly buttered toast with lox and a squeeze of lemon, like I did.  However you eat it, don't hit yourself, because that's weird.  

Avocado Egg Salad

(Serves 2)

Printable Recipe

4 eggs

1 avocado

2-3 T mayo

1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover completely with water.  Bring to a boil on the stove, then cover, turn off heat and set timer for 15 minutes.  Once time is up, remove from stove and rinse eggs with cool water.  Peel.  Dice eggs and avocado and place in bowl.  Add mayo and mustard, and stir.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Baked Egg & Kale Bites

We're on our way back home today and I couldn't be more excited to start baking holiday cookies and treats.  I am going to call myself "Intha" for the entire month of December, which is a name I just made up by combining Martha and Ina.  It's a beautiful name, isn't it?  I will most likely name my 4th or 5th or 6th baby Intha.  What's more important, however, is the spirit that Intha represents, which is "holiday food and decor created in an obsessive and perfect way."  Yeah, Intha be crazy.  So look forward to that!

But first, please enjoy this easy (my phone just autocorrected "easy" to "rash" and that made me chuckle) breakfast snack.  It's very simple to throw together and extremely versatile, meaning everything and anything can go into it.  Here's what I did:

To make 6 bites, whisk 6 eggs together in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of milk.  Add one cup of chopped kale, and stir.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spray a muffin tin with baking spray.  Add one slice of pancetta to each cup (optional), and then evenly distribute the eggs.  Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I put the broiler on for the last few minutes to make them golden brown.

Lentils + Kale + Egg + Avocado Bowl

Let's face it, it's almost time to stuff ourselves to the brim with holiday feasts.  I am not opposed to that, don't get me wrong.  But before we fatten up for wintertime, how about a nice, light, healthy dinner?  This is exactly that - a meal rich in nutrients but hearty enough to fill our tummies.  Sorry I said tummies, but I have three children under six years old.  

I loved, loved, LOVED this dish.  And versatility is the best part about it.  Quinoa instead of lentils?  Sure.  Poached egg instead of fried?  Yup.  Swiss chard instead of kale?  Uh huh.  Add sausage?  Yes please!  This is getting annoying.  Everything worked so well together... and the crunch of toasted coconut on top sealed the deal.  Even if you think you don't like coconut, toast some up and try it on this dish.  I will pay you, except no I won't.       

Lentils + Kale + Egg + Avocado Bowl

(Makes 2 bowls)

Printable Recipe

2 large eggs

2 cups dried lentils

4 cups water

1 bunch kale, chopped (rough stems removed)

1 T parmesan 

1 avocado, cut into long slices

1/4 cup coconut, lightly toasted in a dry pan

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

In a medium pot, combine lentils and water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat until only a few bubbles are left, and let simmer for 30 minutes or until lentils have absorbed water and are no longer crunchy.  Generously season with salt and pepper.  While lentils are cooking, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add chopped kale and parmesan, and sauté until kale begins to wilt (I still like a bite to my kale, so I only cook it for a few minutes).  Place kale in a bowl.  In same pan, add a splash of olive oil and turn up heat to medium-high.  Crack two eggs into pan, and cook until edges start to brown.  With a spatula, gently flip eggs and turn off heat.  Assemble lentils, kale and sliced avocado into two bowls.  Add one egg per bowl, sprinkle with toasted coconut and season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Moo Shu Shrimp

Carson was away for a few days, and it seems like whenever he's out of town I make the foods he's not particularly fond of: pasta and Asian dishes (you know, carb-heavy meals).  The same reader who tipped me off to the Lo Mein I made earlier in the week also sent me this recipe for Moo Shu Shrimp, and it's been sitting in my inbox staring at me ever since.  

I love shrimp, especially when it's a part of Asian cuisine, so I knew I would love this meal and I wasn't wrong.  Way to know yourself, Siri!  And now I'm talking to myself about knowing myself and this is all getting weird and stupid.

So this was yummy.  Perfectly cooked shrimp paired with lightly scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms and cabbage (which came from a prepackaged cole slaw mix), fresh ginger, garlic, cilantro and sweet hoisin sauce (which I balanced out with spicy Sriracha), all wrapped up in a warm, flour tortilla.  I made some brown rice as well, and for my second helping I ditched the tortilla and ate everything on top of the rice.  Just did that again for lunch.  Might do it again tomorrow.  

I know myself.         

Buffalo Deviled Eggs

Buffalo sauce.  Will you marry me?  I promise to love you forever and I'll always be true, unless brown sugar bacon tempts me and in that case, LATER.  

My friends and I share a love of buffalo anything.  So when I came across a recipe for deviled eggs, I decided to make them for an afternoon pool party.  We were ALL pleased.  They took no time to assemble, and I even got all fancy and piped the yolk mixture into the egg whites using a plain old freezer bag with the end snipped.  You've got to get a little fancy when you're proposing to a sauce, after all.  Recipe here. 

Egg & Sausage Casserole

Another Easter Sunday dish I made was this egg casserole.  I love things you can prepare the night before and toss in the oven when you wake up.  It makes life so easy, and I love easy life.  When things are simple, I have time to blog, and read a book, and shower.  I should make this casserole every day of my life.  But I don't, and so I blog when I can, and I'm very behind for this month's book club, and I shower twice a week. 

I used this recipe but changed it up a little.  Omitting the bacon, I only used pork sausage, and so that kids would eat it, I skipped all green veggies.  No kids ended up eating it (did I mention there were donuts that morning?), so I wish I would have added green onions but, next time.  With sausage, cheese, hashbrowns and Bisquick as ingredients... there will definitely be a next time!    

Egg & Cheese on a Roll

When we moved to NY, we chose to live outside of the city.  However, one of my favorite parts about NYC is breakfast.  Bagels, of course, but also the Egg & Cheese on a Roll you can get at just about EVERY deli you walk into.  There's nothing uniquely special about it - it's a fried egg (or two), melty American cheese and a soft roll.  But the combination is to die for, and I swear I could probably eat two sandwiches in one setting I KNOW, I HAVE A PROBLEM.  

This morning I decided to make them at home, substituting an English muffin for the roll.  I quickly fried up an egg (in one of those tiny pans you can buy at the drug store), melted some American cheese on top, and placed on a toasted, buttery English muffin.  Perfection in the suburbs of the city.