Egg "Muffins" and Guac

Egg "Muffins"

These little gems are great to make on a Sunday night or Monday morning, and then you can easily warm them up when needed as a grab-n-go breakfast. PS there are hundreds of recipes for these on Pinterest if you don't like mine.

This is a pretty loose recipe for ingredients. The ingredients used below are those that I tend to have laying around at any given time OR whatever leftovers I have from dinner night before. Whenever I make chopped veggies, I cut extra to throw in eggs or salads at another time, and store the in plastic baggies in fridge so they are ready to go for the next meal.

Egg "Muffins"
Makes 12 small "muffins"

10 eggs, beaten -OR- 8 eggs plus 1/2 cup of "milk"
* coconut, almond, soy, skim, 2%, whole, heavy cream...it all works!
3/4 cup pre-cooked chicken sausage, finely chopped
* can substitute cooked chicken, steak, whatever meat you have leftover from dinner night before
3/4 cup Veggies, finely chopped, and sautéed
* typically used: onion, bell peppers, mushrooms
6-8 grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced into 2-3 pieces
shredded cheese or crumbled goat cheese (optional)
1/2 sweet potato, cubed, and cooked (optional)
* I add this if I have left over from dinner night before
Fresh salsa or guacamole (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In small fry pan, add 1 Tbl olive oil over medium-ow heat, and then add veggies and sauté for 3-4 minutes (skip this step if using leftover veggies like broccoli or asparagus or whatever from dinner night before). Grease muffin tin. In each muffin compartment, add some cooked meat, veggies, and potatoes (if using). Add in beaten egg or egg/milk combo, filling each compartment to about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Add a couple chopped tomatoes, and then stir each cup to mix ingredients into eggs. Top with a little cheese (optional). Put into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes up clear when stick it in middle of egg muffin. Let cool a little before trying to take out of tin. Recommended serving with salsa or guacamole.


Fresh Guacamole
2 servings

1 avocado, chopped
1/2 lime
Cilantro
Salt/Pepper

Slice avocado in half, remove pit, slice inside length and cross wise, and scoop out avocado with spoon into bowl. Squeeze 1/2 lime worth of juice into bowl, add some chopped fresh cilantro, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust lime/salt/pepper if necessary, and serve immediately.


I love this dish because you can make it gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, paleo, etc very easily to fit your diet. But definitely grease the muffin tin before adding anything. Otherwise you will be throwing this tin away.

And I'm Back!

I'm back. To blogging recipes that is. And I have a new found love of yoga and health food. Not cardboard tasting health food, but amazing tasting, clean, homemade everything food. We've had a lifestyle change (for the better) in this house with working out, clean eats, and cooking and my new recipes reflect it.

I really started this blog so that I have a virtual cookbook of my recipes. So it's not so refined or for the masses. But it's me.

There is no general classification of my cooking these days. It's part Paleo, part Whole30, part Atkins, part farm-to-table, part gluten-free....but overall as clean and as fresh as possible. Check ingredients and make smart substitutions where necessary to make it work for you. For example: I eat wheat and flour sometimes. And recently I wanted tortillas, so I made my own. This way, I know exactly what ingredients are going in my body, and I am the one who chooses them. But you could use lettuce wraps, or gluten-free tortillas, or whatever works for you!

I'm going to keep the Cheese For Me Please title of the blog for now since, even though I eat much less cheese now, it was my love for cheese that starting my love for cooking. So there it is. For now.

I seriously welcome any feedback or modifications you have made and liked so that I can try them too!

xoxo

Not Yo Mama's Breakfast Burrito

Breakfast or Dinner Burrito

This is not yo mama's breakfast burrito. And it seems to be confused on whether it's for breakfast or for dinner (we had it for both), so you choose. I handmade tortillas for this, but they weren't my favorite so I will post that recipe separate once I perfect it.

(Not the best picture, but I was so hungry I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished product before I ate it. So here is the burrito mixture pre-cheese and eggs.)

Burrito

Serves 4 hungry people

4 large burrito tortillas or 8 large taco tortillas (flour, wheat, gluten-free, whatever)

1 large sweet potato (white or orange), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 yellow or sweet onion, finely chopped

3 garlic gloves, minced

2 carrots, peeled, chopped

olive oil

Salt/Pepper

* Spices

0.75-0.85 lbs ground beef (85% lean if possible)

6 eggs

2 handfulls of spinach/kale mix, loosely chopped

1/2 cup monterrey jack shredded cheese (optional)

1 avocado

Pico de gallo or salsa

* Try to find a multi-spice that has cumin and cayenne in it. I used Oh My Spice: Sweet and Savory flavor. If you can't find a good one, make your own mix of cayenne, cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a little bowl. It will keep in a little tupperware with lid for a while too!

In large frying pan over medium heat, add about 2 Tbl olive oil. Then add garlic, onion, and carrots. Saute for about 3-5 minutes or until onion gets slightly translucent (make sure not to burn garlic). Add potatoes, and season entire mixture with 1 Tbl of spice mixture and 1/2 tsp of sea salt. Add more olive oil if needed). Saute for about 7-10 minutes, or until potatoes are soft/cooked through. While potatoes cooking, in a separate bowl, beat 6 eggs together and set bowl aside. Add ground beef to potato mix in pan, season with 1/2 more Tbl of spice mixture and additional 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Mix well and cook, stirring often, until ground beef is browned (do not drain, as the fat is needed to keep mixture together). Add in chopped spinach/kale mix, and stir, cooking until spinach/kale sautéed. Add cheese (optional), and mix in. Move beef/potato/veggie mix to one side of pan. On other half of pan, slowly add beaten eggs to scramble, while slowly mixing in the beef/potato/veggies to the eggs, until all the eggs and all the beef/potato/veggies are mixed together. Continue to stir and flip until eggs are fully cooked (it's kind of hard to tell so eyeball it and just try to see if no longer slimey). Turn off heat.

Wrap up mixture into burrito tortillas, or serve as tacos. Top with chopped avocado and pico de gallo or salsa.

Clean eats burritos. Bomb digity. 

Sauteed Spinach Medley

I swear my best cooking is when I think I have nothing to eat in the fridge. This was one of those concoctions and it turned out so good that I will make it on purpose again!


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2

Sauteed Spinach Medley
Serves 2
1 package (4-5 oz) baby spinach
10 grape tomatoes, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
extra virgin olive oil
salt/pepper
2 slices of red onion, cut in half
1/2 package of baby bella or button mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbl butter

In large saute pan, heat 1 Tbl olive oil. Saute garlic until softened and slightly translucent. Add butter, spinach, red onion, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until mushrooms cooked through and spinach and onions softened. Add tomatoes, mix well, and turn off heat. Serve immediately.


Let me reiterate that you should use a large saute pan because although it cooks down to a serving size, putting a whole package of spinach in a pan with other stuff takes up a lot of space.

OMG Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin

Yes, I just combined scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin. And I did it on a whim. And the risk was WELL worth the reward. These potatoes are not for the faint of heart. But they are truly delicious. And rich. And succulent. And they might be some of the best potatoes I have ever had, let alone cooked myself. You can thank me later. I accept cash and alcohol.

Also, I made these in little individual sized trays for presentation sake, and they turned out really cool. So that's how I am posting them here. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 9.5

Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 5

Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 6.5

Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin

6 redskin potatoes, thinly sliced

1 pint heavy whipping cream

4 oz gruyere cheese, shredded

4.5 Tbl flour

salt

3 Tbl butter, cubed

4 mini loaf pans (disposable works great for cleanup)

nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 deg. Spray each loaf pan with nonstick spray. Spread layer of potatoes into bottom of pan. Salt potatoes, then sprinkle with four, a few cubes of butter, and some shredded cheese. Repeat 2 more times, then end with a final layer of potatoes, and season with a little salt. Pour 1/4 of the heavy cream into each tray. Put in over for about 5-10 minutes, until milk starts to boil, then reduce heat in oven to 375 deg and cook for remaining 45 min- 1 hour. 

Turkey and Spinach Meatballs

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 3
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 5

Turkey and Spinach Meatballs
1.25lb ground turkey
3 Tbl fine bread crumbs
3 Tbl grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup chopped spinach (fresh or baby)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
splash of milk
1 egg
Your favorite tomato sauce or olive oil for cooking

Combine all ingredients (except tomato sauce or olive oil) in large mixing bowl and mix well. Form into meatballs (size is your preference, but I make mine a little larger than a golf ball).

Option 1 for cooking:
Heat tomato sauce in large skillet. Put in meatballs and bring to simmer. Cook meatballs in tomato sauce, turning and rotating often, for 20 minutes or until meat no longer pink in middle.

Option 2 for cooking:
Heat 3-4 Tbl olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Put meatballs in skillet and cook, turning often, for 10-15 minutes or until browned on outside and cooked all the way through (no longer pink).


Don't ask me why turkey meat comes in 1.25lb packages instead of 1 lb like other normal meats. Drives me nuts!

Quick Dulce de Leche with Crepes

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1

Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 7

Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 7

Quick Dulce de Leche with Crepes
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, 14 oz each
Pot of boiling water
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp melted butter
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

For dulce de leche: place unopened can of condensed milk in a pot of boiling water. Turn can every 30 minutes for a total of 2 hours. Let can cool for 30 minutes before opening. 

For crepes: combine eggs, milk, flour, water, butter, salt, and vanilla in a blender and process until smooth. Let batter rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Pulse quickly in blender again before using. Heat 8-inch saute pan. Add small amount of butter, let melt and bubble. Pour in enough batter to create a thin layer on bottom of pan. Roll pan around to coat surface. Cook until the edges start to crisp and turn brown and top surface is set. Turn the crepe over and cook briefly. Remove crepe from pan and transfer to baking sheet. Add more butter to pan and repeat. Hold crepes in 200 deg oven if need to keep warm. 

Serve crepes with dulce de leche and vanilla ice cream.