Breakfast Cups

Breakfast Cups

These remind me of Eggs Benedict, however much easier than making the hollandaise sauce for the real thing. 

Serves 12

12 slices of ham

12 eggs

4 laughing cow cheese wedges or ¼ block of cream cheese

¼ c. plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

1 T. stone ground mustard

2 tsp. Mexican spices or Italian spices

¼ c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese if you used Mexican spices or ¼ c. Italian blend cheeses

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Optional additions:

1 sliced scallion

1 green pepper, minced

1/2 c. spinach, cut relatively thinly 

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin pan. Put one slice of ham in each muffin holder (add any additions on the bottom of the cup on the ham). In a small bowl whisk together laughing cow cheese, yogurt, mustard and cheese. Place one dollop of sauce in the bottom of the cup about 1 tsp. On top of the cheese mixture, crack one egg (unbeaten). Sprinkle eggs with salt and fresh ground pepper to your liking. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until whites are set and yellows are still gooey. Run a knife around the outside and serve on an English muffin or a slice of toast to soak up the egg yolk.

Popovers

Popovers

Serves 6-12 depending on the pan

3 eggs

1 c. milk

1 c. flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 T. vegetable oil or melted butter

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tin or popover pan. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until well combined. Pour mixture into pan ¾ full. Bake unchecked for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 3-5 minutes then they will pop right out of the pan. Best when served warm with butter and honey!

Sloppy Joe’s

Sloppy Joe’s 

 Serves 8

This is my mother’s recipe with a little bit of a twist from me (since I am always tweaking a recipe).  My mom used to make this for her card club. It is one of the best!

2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, minced

2 stalks celery, minced

1 green pepper, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper (if you like a little heat)

1 can tomato soup

1 tbs. pickle relish

1 tbs. yellow mustard or stone ground whichever you have on hand

3 tbs. brown sugar

1 tbs. flour

1 c. ketchup

1 package of 8 fresh buns

Directions: In a large hot skillet add onion, pepper, celery, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes. Add beef to veggies and stir frequently until all meat is browned. Drain grease from the meat. In a separate bowl mix together soup, relish, mustard, brown sugar, flour and ketchup then add to the meat and let simmer for 30 minutes (stirring every five minutes) before serving on fresh buns. You may need to add a little water (no more than three tablespoons) during the simmering process as you want it to be sloppy!

Spicy Roasted Shrimp

Spicy Roasted Shrimp
Serves 2

1 lb. frozen shrimp, defrost in cold water for 6 minutes (change water out once)
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 ts. kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes or smoked paprika, or your favorite seasoning

Directions: preheat broiler to low, drain and dry shrimp, place shrimp on a foil lined sheet pan, drizzle with oil, stir shrimp, and then sprinkle on seasonings. Broil the shrimp for no more than 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve on a bed of fresh spinach.

Lemon Crunch Green Beans

Lemon Crunch Green Beans

 Serves 4

1 lb. green beans (I used frozen, but you can also use fresh)

2 tsp. olive oil

pinch of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

½ freshly grated lemon peel

½ tsp. Fine Herbs by Penzye (or a few shakes of Italian herbs or any favorite- fresh parsley is also great!)

¼ c. sliced almonds, toasted (place in a dry pan on the stove top and stir frequently until fragrant and light brown then let cool)

2 or 3 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 425. On a sheet pan lined with foil toss green beans with olive oil, salt and pepper. In a medium size bowl mix together, lemon peel, Parmesan, cooled almonds and herbs. Bake green beans for 20 minutes until heated through. Toss beans in bowl combining all ingredients.

Monster Cookies

Monster Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

1 c. butter, soft

2 c. sugar

2 c. brown sugar

6 eggs

1 T. vanilla extract

2 T. light corn syrup

2 cups chunky peanut butter

4 tsp. baking soda

4 c. whole wheat flour (trust me on this one the nutty flavor is GREAT)

5 c. oatmeal

1 bag semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

1 bag butterscotch chips

½ lb. bag of plain m & m’s 

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Mix butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, corn syrup and peanut butter. In a separate bowl, mix baking soda, flour and oatmeal then add to the wet ingredients. Last mix in chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and m&m’s.  Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup mold cookies into balls and press down slightly. Bake for 11 minutes and then let cool for 5 on the sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.

Chili

Chili

Serves 8

5 cans of beans (kidney, black beans, navy beans, butter beans, blacked), rinsed and drained

1 lg. can of chili beans with sauce

2 lbs. browned ground beef

4 strips of bacon diced and browned with beef

2 quarts stewed diced tomatoes

¼ diced jalapenos

1 green onion, diced

1 bag frozen corn

2 chipotles in adobo sauce, diced

4 c. beef broth

1 package sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), diced and added to beef hot beef broth to rehydrate

1/3 c. Chili 900 by Penzeys – or Chili seasoning mix of your choice 

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T. soy sauce

4 drops of hickory smoke

2 limes juiced

Directions: Put all ingredients in a crockpot and place on low for 6 hours to 8 hours.

Eggs Florentine

Eggs Florentine

On the weekend I enjoy making poached eggs.  My father would make me poached eggs on buttered toast when I would come home starving after a basketball game. Here is a healthy version that still brings back the positive memories.

 2 eggs

1 tsp. vinegar

2 c. water

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 whole wheat English muffin, toasted

¼ c. fresh spinach

1 T. avocado spread (see Chipotle Chicken Philly recipe)

Directions: In a sauce pan bring two cups water, salt and vinegar to a boil. Slice your English muffin and put into the toaster.  Start toasting the muffin when you add the eggs to the boiling water.  Carefully break two eggs into the boiling water. When the muffins pop up remove to a plate and drain eggs then top muffins. Sprinkle eggs with a little salt and pepper.  In the warm water add fresh spinach and let wilts (30 seconds) remove with slotted spoon and top eggs. Place a dollop of avocado spread on top of spinach.

Amazing Chipotle Chicken Philly

Amazing Chipotle Chicken Philly

I made these up tonight and both Andrew and I loved them! 

Serves: 2 Adults

2 whole wheat hoagies, sliced length wise

Avocado spread:

1 avocado

1 lime, juiced

¼ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

Place the avocado spread ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced half moons

1 green pepper, thinly sliced strips

1 slice bacon, cut into bits

In a non-stick skillet sauté place onions, green pepper and bacon on medium until translucent. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove veggies to a bowl and set aside.

½ pound chipotle chicken, sliced thin from the lunch meat counter (warm in skillet when done with veggies)

4 slices provolone cheese

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro minced

Place the oven to low broil and line a sheet pan with foil. Place buns on sheet pan. Spread a thin layer of Avocado spread followed by warmed chicken then peppers and onions, topped with cheese. Broil until light brown spots appear and cheese is bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with cilantro.