Hide the Salmon

I found this recipe on the The Lean Green Bean.  It is one of those recipes that you immediately know was put there, just for you.  No ego here….

It has so much of what I like, salmon, spinach, eggs, tomato and feta cheese.  How could I not think, it was just for me?  It is perfect and actually, after making some changes that meet my family’s needs, it was perfect.  If you have a moment go over there and see the original recipe.  I do want to make it that way but I took a shorter route which is what I mean by my family’s needs.

I presented my husband with the plate which is a colorful presentation and he happily was eating.  I wondered out loud, if I should have put the salmon on the bottom or the spinach.  His head popped up and he said, “Did you say salmon?  Is there salmon in this?”  He prodded the vegetables and sure enough, he found the salmon.  He asked, “Why did you hide the salmon?”

Hide the Salmon  (adapted)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red pepper, chopped

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 cup frozen spinach

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 piece of salmon, cooked

3 – 4 eggs

4 slices tomato

1/2 cup Feta cheese

Heat  the olive oil in a large skillet over medium hear. Saute the pepper and onion  for  8 minutes.  Add the spinach (Defrosted) and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Push the vegetables aside and drop the eggs in the free side of the pan and let them cook to your liking.  I turned ours over but either way is going to be delicious.

I, also put the cooked salmon slice in the pan to heat up.  Yes, I used a very  large skillet.

Now is the creative part but I am not creative so do as follows:

I used a square soup bowl which may work better than a round one.  These are the layers.

Salmon on the bottom

Spinach, onions and bell pepper on top of salmon

Cooked eggs on top of spinach layer

Sliced tomatoes with feta on the very top.

This is a delicious combination.  My husband commented on the many flavors.

Thanks to the Lean Green Bean.

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Too Hot To Cook Omelet

 

The hot weather almost prohibits cooking.  I locked myself in our bedroom, closed the door, turned on the air conditioner and lay down.  I don’t think, I moved for  30 minutes.  It was still hot, oppressively hot, but I was pretty sure, I would throw together something simple so we would have dinner.  Who could eat that much, anyway?

An omelet was what I had in mind but the new me automatically thinks vegetables so my omelet had to have eggs.  This is where the mandolin came into play.  What a difference.  It is not that chopping vegetables is hard work but the mandolin makes them fly from its blade into the skillet.  I took anything, I could find that was already cut or that I had an abundance of.  Yellow squash, green pepper, tomato, carrots, onion, all fell into the pan which had a little vegetable broth in it, enough to cover the bottom.  While they cooked, I made a smoothie to go with it.  Funny, how a smoothie fills me up. 

Both of us were full, after the combo omelet-smoothie dinner.  I guess hot weather is made for dieters.

Veggie Omelet

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable broth, no salt

5 eggs, beaten

1/4 onion sliced thin

1/4 green pepper, sliced thin

1 yellow squash, sliced thin

1 tomato, mushed up to get the juice into the pan to mix with the broth

1 carrot, thin sliced

1/2 cup broccoli florets, broken into smaller pieces

1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese

Procedure

Heat 1/2 cup broth in medium skillet.  Keep on low flame until you are ready to add vegetable.

Slice vegetables into broth and raise heat to medium.

Add the rest of broth as the original liquid evaporates.

Cook 3 – 4  minutes.  The rest of the broth will evaporate in that time.

Add the eggs and cook slowly for about 3 minutes.  Top with cheese, pushing gently down so it is inside slightly.  Cook until top is firm and flip.  Cook other side of omelet for two minutes or until slightly browned.

Broccoli Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

I don’t like making pie crusts for two reasons.  I am not good at it and I get frustrated.  I think twice before using so much fat in a dish.  I do like pies, though and keep discovering ways to make them, with alternative crusts.  This is one of the best because the crispy potato crust brings added flavor to the quiche.

I started the process, shredding the potatoes but as time went by, my hand began to tell me, I was foolish and I took out the mini processor and finished up, in the machine.  How quickly that goes.  For the next step I threw the onions and cheese in also, and everything speedily blended and I had the makings of my filling.

I chose broccoli but there are many other good choices for a filling.  A spinach quiche is good…..mushroom and onion , fried is even better.  Sour cream in the filling makes it creamier as does a bit of cream cheese.  Gouda is a good sub for the cheese.  This is a recipe to be creative with.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded hash brown potatoes (I used three potatoes to get the necessary amount)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup  broccoli, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup smoked cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Press hash browns onto the bottom and sides of a pie plate or shallow baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake  for 20 minutes, or until beginning to brown.  (The rim browned first.)

3. In a small bowl, combine broccoli, onion and shredded cheese and put aside

4.  In another bowl,combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper .   Add broccoli and cheese and mix together.

5. Spread broccoli mixture on the crust and return to oven, lowering it to 350 degrees F.

6.  Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until filling is  golden brown.

This is linked to Cast Party Wednesday           Inspire Me Monday

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Scrumptious Sunday Link Party 

Inspire me Monday

Lunch on Passover

I find, one of the biggest challenges of Passover is lunch.  The food in the house is different and what I normally would throw together is not available.  I usually resort to eggs since we have lots of them.  When, I went to take out the eggs, I spotted a small container of shredded carrots and a small bag of potato cubes (cooked) and a piece of raw onion.  No challenge here, I would put them into the egg but that is so mundane.

Instead, I pulled out the mini processor and threw everything in, plus some garlic, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and blended it together.  I cooked it in a skillet and presto, I had breakfast.  The carrots shined through and gave a slightly sweet tinge to the egg mixture.  I liked it a lot and would like to play around with this, using different vegetable and different amounts.

Ingredients: (These are approximate amounts. )

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup potato chunks

1 medium onion chunked

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 eggs

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

cooking spray

Procedure

In a blender or food  processor, put all ingredients, except parsley and blend until you have a smooth mixture.

Grease a medium-sized skillet and pour in mixture.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Cook on one side until it is a light brown.  I cooked on low for about 3 minutes.  Turn and cook other side for another 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve and enjoy.

This is linked to  Real Food Wednesdays   Pennywise Platter Thursdays

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs – Ina Garten

I received Ina’s book, Barefoot Contessa – how easy is that, a few months ago and found many recipes that said, “make me.”  I have made a few but the book got put away.  It is definitely time to get back to it.  I was glancing through the pages and got stopped, early in the book (page 40) when I spotted the deviled egg recipe.  Really, it was the smoked salmon blended into the egg yolks that did it.  I figured, it would give a nice tang to the eggs as well as some color.

It is easy to make since you use a mini food processor to blend it together.  Usually, I mash eggs with a fork but I wanted the lox to be in tiny pieces so I used the machine.  I cut this in half and left out the sour cream because I had none.  I added another tablespoon of mayo.

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs (adapted from Ina Garten)

Ingredients

• 5 extra-large eggs
• 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons good mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
• 4 ounces good smoked salmon, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the eggs in a pot large enough to hold them in a single layer. Cover the eggs with cold water and bring to a full boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the eggs stand for 15 minutes. Drain the eggs and fill the pot with cold water. Set aside until the eggs are cool.

Peel the eggs and then slice them in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks carefully. Place the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and arrange the whites on a platter in a single layer with the cut sides up and sprinkle with salt.

To the egg yolks, add the sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives, salmon, salt, and pepper. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. With a small spoon, fill the egg whites with the egg yolk mixture. Cover loosely with plastic wrap (and refrigerate for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.

This is linked to Foodie Friday     Friday Food    Frugal Food Thursday       Savory Sunday

Mexican Egg Cups

I love egg dishes made in separate serving pieces.  I spend time, experimenting with different combinations.  One of my favorites is with potatoes and a white cheese.  I have made these with other than eggs such as mac and cheese.  Everything seems to taste better in small packages.

Today I decided to use spinach in my ‘concoction’.  Only a few ingredients are necessary.  I called this Mexican because I used a combination of cheese that is titled Mexican.

Ingredients

Spray olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup frozen spinach, drained and squeezed to get out water

4 eggs 

1/2 cup sour cream minus 1 tablespoon or plain yogurt

1/2 cup Mexican cheese.

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray 4 ramekins.

In a medium bowl, ( used a 4 cup measuring cup), whisk eggs and sour cream.

Stir in cheese and spinach.

Season.

Pour egg mixture into greased ramekins. and Bake for 30 minutes.  Mine doubled in size but that didn’t last long.

Related articles

• Baked Eggy Broccoli Cuties (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Cheese Puffs (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Mashed Potato Timbales (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• “pint-size” spinach souffles (cooking-spree.com)

Baked Eggy Broccoli Cuties

 

Yep, I adore little servings and search for ways to make something in a muffin tin or ramekin.  Usually, it includes cheese, potatoes, eggs and vegetables, in different ways.  What I am finding, is that almost anything cooks into a dish, if you  have a sense of what is necessary to make something blend together.

 

My dish was the result of finding a few bags of frozen broccoli, hiding in my freezer, behind sundry other items.  It has to be used and not as a side dish.  There is plenty of time to add broccoli to a meal.  I thought about a custard type dish with the broccoli and a mashed potato dish with small pieces of broccoli and red pepper mixed in.  Finally, I took some ingredients out and decided to put them together to make a meal.

 

Baked Eggy Broccoli Cuties  (I know it is a silly name.)

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 a bag of frozen broccoli, chopped into rather small pieces

6 eggs

4 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup gouda

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

 

Procedure:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 3 ramekins with spray olive oil.

Microwave broccoli for 1 minute.  Put aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and add cheese and seasoning.

Cover bottom of ramekins with broccoli pieces (use about a third of the total.)

Mix another third in the cheese mixture and pour on top of broccoli in ramekins.

Top with remaining broccoli.  Push down a little since you want it to become part of the baked eggs.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until top is set and nicely browned (light brown).

 

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Southwestern Hash – Ellie Krieger

I love Ellie Krieger and have made numerous dishes from her cookbooks.  I should make a lot  more.

  This is one, I made a long time ago and hope to make again soon.  Another meatless wonder…..  This is a hearty recipe and nice and warming in cold weather which is now.  Ellie is known for her healthy cooking and it is healthy but healthy is proven not to mean boring in these dishes.  She simply cooks well so we can also do a good job in our kitchens.

Tonight, we had Ellie’s hash which fortunately for me, had lots of potatoes and I love potatoes.

It called for black beans but I only had Aduki beans.  It called for green pepper; I only had red.  It called for fresh cilantro; I had parsley.  Yep, I substituted.

It called for 1 tablespoon oil in the entire recipe plus a spray of the pan.  I used one pan, as suggested for three different acts, just wiping it down, before changing.  It went well.  It tasted better.  I thought the beans would take away from the whole but they didn’t.  Every ingredient blended with the others.  The egg on top was the right finishing touch.

This was an Ellie success.

Southwestern Hash    2007, Ellie Krieger, 

Ingredients

• 1 pound small red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 red pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon  chili powder 
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 can no-salt-added adzuki beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 4 eggs
• Hot pepper sauce, for serving

Directions

Place the potatoes in a large non-stick skillet. Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set potatoes aside.

Dry the skillet with a paper towel. Add the oil and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook until vegetables have softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the potatoes,  cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Add the tomatoes and beans and simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley.

Transfer the hash onto serving plates. With the heat off, wipe out the pan again. Spray it withcooking spray, turn heat on to medium-low and cook the eggs, sunny-side up, or over-easy. Put an egg on top of each mound of hash. Serve with hot sauce.

Ingredients

Chop onions

Chop red pepper.

Potatoes cooking in boiling water in electric Skillet.

This is linked to Recipe of the Week      Five Dollar Dinners       This week’s Cravings