Breakfast!

I am a breakfast person; I can’t start my day without a hearty meal.  I am not the type that can just have coffee and a piece of (GF) toast or a piece of fruit, just not my thing.  I don’t generally like sweet breakfasts; pancakes, waffles and French toast are good, but not first thing in the morning.  So, my morning meal is usually hearty and filling.  Breakfast is my biggest meal of the day, going to bed full is not something I like to do and since I have an awful commute and I like to cook fresh I end up eating only 2-3 hours before bed.  That means I can have a little bit of it but not a whole serving, I just reserve most of mine for lunch the next day. 

I just want to make sure you understand that I love breakfast!  Some people like me will eat lunch/dinner type food at breakfast, I just can’t do that.  I still need breakfast food items.  Eggs are a big one for me; I eat them in some form pretty much every day.  Before you start with the whole cholesterol speech let me first say my total cholesterol is 102, yes that’s the total, and my HDL and LDL are exactly where they should be.  I have been eating eggs nearly every day for a couple of years and my cholesterol has never changed.  No lectures please J

Today I thought I would share some breakfast ideas that I have tried and loved.  Yay, its breakfast!

Breakfast Ideas (aka, an egg-a-palooza)

Scrambled eggs with veggies (I use a lot of different combinations depending on my mood, my favorite combo is zucchini, tomato, onion and either spinach or kale) – sauté up the veggies to soften a bit then beat a couple of eggs with an egg white and put into the pan, cook until the eggs are done to your liking.

To get some variety you can change up the veggies or add in any kind of meat, bacon, sausage, ham, and chorizo.  For those that still eat dairy, play with the different cheeses; Swiss goes great with ham, zucchini and mushroom, cheddar is good with just about anything, I have even mixed a little parmesan into the eggs before cooking, this is a good combo with oven roasted tomatoes.

Breakfast Tacos – this is a variation on the scrambled eggs with veggies, you can prepare the eggs the same way, warm up some refried beans and corn tortillas, top it all off with a fresh salsa (pico de gallo) and you have one of my favorite breakfasts.

Egg Quinoa Cups – This is good to eat right out of the oven but I like it best for make-ahead and warm up later breakfast.  These freeze really well and are very easy to make. I have a lot of different flavor versions on this recipe, you can find it here.  Let me know what you do with yours, I’m always looking for different ways to change up the flavorings. 

Hashbrown Cups – you can lightly line a muffin tin with shredded hashbrowns, drop an egg into each one and top off with some veggies or cheese.  I like to cook them to be medium and serve with a piece of GF toast, yum!

Ham and Egg Cups – a variation on the hashbrown cups, this time lining the muffin tin with thin sliced ham or prosciutto, really good stuff!

Breakfast Strata – this is something I haven’t tried yet, but I saw a recipe using Udi’s GF bread that looks wonderful, you can find a good base recipe here (check out the site while you are there too!) I plan on trying it eventually, I will be cutting it in half because we would be eating it for a week if I made a big one!

Shepherd's Pie - Southwest Version and Ham & Egg Cups

It’s beautiful here in Middle TN this week, the warm weather they were having out west finally got here.  I had dinner on the back patio last night, LOVE it when it’s warm and not humid; this is definitely my favorite time of the year here.

So, I’m continuing the recipe posting from the weekend cooking-a-thon, I have a couple more.  This first one is my take on a Shepherd’s Pie, one of my husband’s all-time favorites.  I make it a little different every time, the southwest inspired one seems to be his favorite.  It looks like a lot of work because the ingredients list is long (continuing on my quest to fit a lot of veggies in one dish) but it really doesn’t take very long to get it all together.

Shepherd’s Pie – Jen’s Southwest Inspired Version

Serves at least 8, likely more

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil (or whatever oil you like for cooking)

1 medium sweet onion, chopped small

2 carrots, chopped small

2 celery stalks, chopped small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium zucchini, chopped small

8 oz mushrooms, chopped small

1 lb. very lean ground beef (I used 95/5)

3 T tomato paste

½ T ground cumin

1 tsp chipotle chili powder (do this to taste, I use more, we like things spicy)

½ T chili powder

1 large can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 C corn (I prefer frozen, less sodium), thawed

Salt and pepper to taste

3 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped into chunks

¾ large head of cauliflower, chopped into large chunks

3 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

3 T butter

¼-1/2 C skim milk (or whatever milk you have in the fridge)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

¾ C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. For the bottom portion of the pie:
3. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet
4. Drop in the onion through the mushrooms and sauté for two minutes, allowing veggies to soften slightly
5. Add in the ground beef and break it up into the veggies as it is browning
6. Once the meat is browned add in the tomato paste and spices, cook for another minute giving everything a chance to meld and the paste a chance to really wake up
7. Add in the tomatoes, beans and corn, stirring everything together well
8. Turn down the heat, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes, then remove the lid and simmer another 15 minutes to reduce the amount of liquid
9. Add the potatoes and cauliflower to a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until tender
10. Drain potatoes and cauliflower then put back into the pot, add in the cream cheese, butter, milk, salt and pepper, and use an electric mixer to combine everything until smooth (you are looking for a thick but smooth consistency)
11. At this point check the meat mixture for salt/pepper needs along with spices.  I find when using canned beans and veggies I often don’t need to add salt.  If you add salt let it cook for a couple of minutes before moving on to the next step
12. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray, add in the meat mixture and spread to an even layer, add the potato/cauliflower mixture on top
13. If you are baking the dish now, add the cheese and place in the oven.  It should only take about 20-25 minutes because everything is already hot
14. If you are going to put it in the refrigerator for later in the week, allow it to cool then cover and refrigerate, when you take it out to bake allow to sit on the counter for a few minutes then cover with foil before putting it in the oven, bake for 30 minutes covered, remove the cover, add the cheese then bake until the cheese is melted.

The second recipe was for breakfast this week, the husband is trying to work out in the morning and he’s usually the breakfast cook during the week.  We have done quinoa cups a lot so I decided to go a little different and do ham and egg cups.  I have seen different versions over and over across the web, this was just what I came up with after seeing a bunch and deciding how to do it my way (loading up with veggies).

Ham and Egg Cups

Serves 6-12 depending on hunger levels

Ingredients:

12 slices of deli ham (make sure it’s GF and are the right size to line the cup on a regular size muffin tin with a little extra room)

½ red bell pepper

4 oz. mushrooms, quartered

½ medium zucchini, chopped

3 green onions, cut into quarters

6 large eggs

2 oz sharp cheddar, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray regular size 12-count muffin tin (or two 6-count tins) liberally with cooking spray
3. Place one slice of ham in each cup, pushing it down so that you can fill it with your egg mixture
4. Put all of the remaining ingredients in a blender in the order shown on the list (just a hint, I have learned through trial and error)
5. Start the blender out on a low setting and move up as things start to get chopped up, you are looking for everything to be well-blended
6. Pour the egg mixture into the ham cups, filling all about 2/3 of the way, if you have extra when you are done just top off some that look a little less full than others
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, check around 15 minutes to test doneness, egg should be set and not runny
8. Serve right away or let cool and store in a container in the refrigerator, they warm up really easily and quickly!

Happy Wednesday everyone..!

Mini Quinoa Quiches - Mexican Style

I moved offices at work today, I finally have a door!  No, you don’t understand, in my office that’s a good thing, I work with some loud people (that I have to admit, I will miss hearing).  I love where I work, the good and the bad, it really is a great place to work.  I’m excited about what to put up on the walls in my new home, I have only ever had cubicle walls to work with.  I’m going to try to come up with something good this weekend.

 

I haven’t cooked the last couple of days which is unusual.  Our dinners have been leftovers out of the freezer.  I was thinking tonight about what I should write about in here and thought maybe I would share some recipes I have discovered on the internet that make great make-ahead breakfasts.  For me breakfast is really my most important meal.  I always wake up hungry and if I don’t have a substantial breakfast then hunger is a problem for the rest of the day.  The recipes below are takeoffs of ones that I have found during my internet searches, there are some great blogs and websites out there that have tasty GF recipes.  I encourage you to go out and look, you will find some good stuff.  Oh, and sign up for Pinterest if you haven’t already, you can collect all of the ones you want to try in one place (have I mentioned I’m a Pinterest addict?)

If you haven’t already been to her site, I recommend you visit Iowa Girl Eats.  She has lots and lots of great recipes.  This isn’t a GF specific website but you can find some REALLY good recipes on here, I have even taken a few and made them GF very easily.  The recipe I love and have reinvented over and over again is the Mini Ham & Cheese Quinoa Cups.  These things are so good you will want to have them every day.  I have even done several variations on them with different flavors.  They freeze beautifully and warm up in the microwave easily for a quick breakfast.  Oh, and they are portable if you want to eat breakfast in the car on your way to work.  Here’s my take on the recipe (I recommend you check the original out on the website, it is accompanied by beautiful step-by-step photographs):

 

Mini Quinoa Quiches – The Mexican Version

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

2 cups cooked quinoa (about ¾ cup uncooked) – I cook it with either FF chicken broth or vegetable broth

2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup cooked chorizo
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped finely
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp hot sauce (I add more, but I like spicy food)
Salt and pepper (if you are a salt person, I don’t add any, the cheese and chorizo is enough for me)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until set and edges are slightly browned
4. Let cool before removing from the muffin tin
5. If you are making a batch to freeze just wrap up in some freezer plastic wrap, they will freeze really well.