Breakfast Sandwiches

Mike is always looking for a healthy on-the-go breakfast that he can grab in the morning on his way out the door. He's always eyeing the little egg breakfast sandwiches in the freezer section of the grocery store but they are all either too unhealthy or coated in cheese and that just won't do. Finally, in a moment of boredom and probably insanity today, I figured it out. I'll just make little breakfast sandwiches and drop two in a bag, put them in the fridge, and he can grab them on his rush out the door in the morning. Brilliant!

Breakfast Sandwiches

6 eggs
6 English Muffins
6 pieces of turkey bacon
1/4 - 1/2 fresh spinach
salt and pepper
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 6 cups of muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Place a few spinach leaves in the bottom of each muffin tin. Top each spinach pile with an egg (either the full egg or I just used the whites). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about 10 minutes.
3. Cook turkey bacon. Split English Muffins and toast. Top muffin with a piece of bacon and a cooked egg cup which will pop right out of the tray when done.

AEM

Tiny Taco Cups

I had some wonton wrappers left over from the crab rangoons and I had some ground bison leftover from burgers and I had an avocado that needed a home so I decided to try out some tiny taco cups for a snack before dinner one night. I enjoyed them but Mike wasn't a huge fan of the wonton wrappers, claiming they hurt the top of his mouth...

Tiny Taco Cups

12 wonton wrappers

1/3 lb ground meat, cooked (I crumbled up a left over bison burger patty)

1/4 cup salsa

1/4 - 1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 avocado

1 teaspoon lime juice

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350. Put wonton wrappers into the cups of a muffin tin.

2. Peel and mash avocado. Season with lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 

3. Divide meat between wonton cups. Top with salsa and shredded cheese. 

4. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted. 

5. Remove from oven and top with avocado mixture. 

AEM

Eggs Benedict

Sometimes, when all else fails, the best thing to do is just make breakfast for dinner. I was having one of those days where NOTHING sounded appealing and I just wanted something comfortable and tasty but not totally disgustingly unhealthy. Ah yes, breakfast for dinner, that'll work! And what could be better than some Eggs Benedict, the way my dad taught me! I also made some mini-cini rolls because I just couldn't resist the idea of something sweet but not deadly!

Eggs Benedict

Eggs (we used 5)
English Muffins (each benedict gets one half)
Canadian Bacon
Hollandaise Sauce Packet
Paprika
Sliced  Olives (optional)

1. Bring pot of water to rolling boil. Drop cracked eggs into water, cover, remove from heat and set aside for about 8-10 minutes. I did all 5 eggs for about 10 minutes and the yolks were a smidge runny.
2. Split and toast English Muffins. Top each half with Canadian Bacon.
3. Prepare Hollandaise Sauce as directed on package. Take care to whisk constantly, chunky or burnt sauce is a no-go. I prepared mine using only water, no butter as suggested on the package.
4. Remove eggs with slotted spoon and place on bacon-topped-muffins. Spoon on Hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with paprika and an olive slice if desired.

AEM

Kahlua & Cubes

Why not spice up the after-dinner world with a nice mix of Kahlua and coffee cubes? It's fun and delicious!

Kahlua & Cubes

1 cup of coffee
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup fat free half-and-half
2 shots Kahlua (or as your heart desires)

1. Freeze coffee in ice cube tray
2. Add coffee cubes to each glass. Add half the milk, half-and-half and Kahlua to each glass.
3. Enjoy!

As a side note, we tried it a second time with about 1/4 cup skim milk and equal parts Kahlua, Creme de Cocoa, and Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur. Also delicious.

AEM

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

We love strawberries with cool whip in the summer so when I stumbled upon a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake cookies I just couldn't resist (recipe link below). Of course I had to try my best to ruin them by making cutting the recipe in half and making them fat free. The result was delicious (Mike ate 5 of them within 20 mins of them coming out of the oven) though the texture was definitely not the same as the original. Here's how I did it...

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

1 cup strawberries, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup fat free half-and-half

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat.
2. Mix strawberries, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of sugar and set aside.
3. In large bowl, combine lemon zest, vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar in bowl with hands. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir. Stir in applesauce. Add half-and-half and stir. Fold in strawberries.
4. Drop rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets. Bake about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Original recipe: http://www.bakedperfection.com/search?updated-max=2011-08-14T21%3A08%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=3


AEM

The Scoop: "Cherry Garcia"

My dad is a huge fan of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. While floating around online the other day I found a recipe for a Cherry Bourbon ice cream. It sounded delicious and I knew I had to try it. I'm not a big whiskey/scotch/bourbon girl but a splash of it in this recipe really makes the ice cream amazing.

Cherry Garcia

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups skim milk
1 cup fat free half-and-half
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can pitted cherries in heavy syrup, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/4 - 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in large saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and half-and-half. Warm over medium heat, stirring constantly about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk egg yolk. Gradually whisk in about 1 cup of the milk mixture. Add yolk/milk mixture into saucepan with remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in vanilla.
3. Pour mixture through fine wire mesh strainer into a bowl. Throw away any chunks collected in strainer. Cool about 1 hour, stirring occassionally. Place plastic wrap directly on cream mixture and chill in refrigerator for 8-24 hours.
4. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. About halfway through add cherries and bourbon. In the last few minutes add chocolate chips. For my KitchenAid mixer attachment, I let it mix/freeze about 10 minutes, added the cherries and bourbon, let that go for another 5 minutes or so, and then added in the chocolate chips for the last 3-5 minutes.
5. Store in air-tight container in freezer. Let stand at room temperature about 5 minutes to help with scooping before serving.

original recipe featured on Southern Living: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cherry-bourbon-ice-cream-50400000113396/

AEM

Poached Pear and Fig Pizza

It's time for another pizza experiment. This one makes dinner taste like dessert! The pears make the house smell like Christmas. The tart pears, sweet figs, and salty onions all compliment each other really well.

Red Wine Poached Pear and Fig Pizza

1-2 pears, peeled and sliced
3/4 cups red wine (I used Merlot)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 figs, thinly sliced (keep in fridge until ready to use)
1/2 medium onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2-1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 pizza crust (We like the Boboli thin wheat)

1. Preheat oven as directed by pizza crust.
2. Combine wine, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and vanilla in small saucepan. Heat until boiling. Reduce to simmer and add pears.
3. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pears are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork. Remove from heat, scoop out pears and put on plate to dry out a little.
4. Simmer remaining sauce until reduced in half. Save for pizza "sauce".
4. Meanwhile, thinly slice onion and sauté on medium heat with olive oil until caramelized. Set aside.
5. Spread/drizzle a little bit of the left over pear sauce on the pizza crust. Layer pears, thinly sliced figs, onions, and cheese onto pizza crust. I also topped with just a smallest sprinkling of parmesan cheese
6. Bake according to pizza crust directions.

AEM