Archive for the ‘Breakfast’ Category

In a couple of weeks I’m attending The Big Summer Potluck at the home of Pam Anderson. It will be a day full of good food, fun, foodie friends, and hopefully some learnin’ too. Last week finally allowed for some time to sit down and check out one of Pam’s cookbooks I recently picked up, The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great.

By the way, Pam has a new book, Perfect One-Dish Dinners: All You Need for Easy Get-Togethers that will be available late September this year. Sounds like the perfect cookbook to have on hand for the holidays. Back to The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great...

As someone who’s had more than just a couple of pounds to lose at any given time, I thought I would find another cookbook touting some kind of absurd food combining, or phases to work through, along with a list of “yes” foods, and “no” foods. But I was happily surprised. As I read, I began to realize that Pam was not only telling her story about struggling with a healthy weight, but she was speaking to me, directly to me. She may as well have been sitting across the table from me, over a cup of coffee saying, “Okay Amy, this is what I know, and this is what I did.”

It was the spark of encouragement that I needed to hear. Real common sense advice, and no crazy foods or unrealistic exercise regimen. You’ll have to get the book to read it all for yourself. It’s full of tasty recipes that are simple, and, most importantly, tested and perfected by Pam. And when it comes to testing and perfecting recipes, Pam’s the bomb.

What I like about Pam’s recipes is how she gives you the recipe base and technique to use, along with a list of suggested ingredient options and combinations. Of course Pam encourages you to get creative and come up with your own combos, and that’s just what I did with the first recipe I tried from The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great, the Open Faced Omelet.

I’m terrible about eating a regular breakfast, so that’s where I wanted to start. The Open Faced Omelet sounded too easy and tasty not to try. And it seriously takes only 10-15 minutes to prepare and cook. I decided on a black bean, with a low fat Colby and Monterey Jack cheeses, with fresh cilantro combo. It was tasty and perfect not only for breakfast, but lunch or supper too.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started: an egg, egg whites, chili powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, black beans, cheese, and fresh cilantro.

Begin by heating oil in an 8-9″ skillet over low heat. (Pam’s recipe calls for a nonstick pan, but I used an iron skillet). While the pan is heating, beat the egg, egg whites, chili powder, salt and pepper together.

Warm up the beans in a microwave safe dish for 30-45 seconds. When ready to cook, increase temperature for skillet to medium–high. As soon as the pan is ready (Pam says you will see “wisps of smoke”), make sure the bottom of pan is completely coated with the oil.

Next, pour in the beaten egg mixture to evenly coat the pan. Gently pull the edge of the eggs that have set away from the side of the pan with a plastic spatula, and tilt the pan allowing the uncooked egg to flood the bottom of the pan.

Continue the tilt and flood process until top of omelet is wet, but not runny.

Top the omelet with the warmed black beans, cheese and cilantro, turn heat to low, then cover and cook for about two minutes or until cheese melts.

When done, with a spatula delicately loosen omelet around edges and plate “open faced.” My omelet extraction leaves a little to be desired, but regardless of how it looks, it tastes mighty fine.

Black Bean, Cheese and Cilantro Open Faced Omelet
(serves 1)
adapted from Pam Anderson’s The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great

Ingredients:

1/4 cup egg whites

1 egg

1/8 teaspoon ancho chili powder (or favorite chili powder)

1/8 salt

1/8 pepper

1 teaspoon oil (I used olive oil)

1/4 black beans, drained

1/3 cup shredded cheese (I used a low fat Colby/Monterey Jack combo)

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, rough chopped

Instructions:

Begin by heating oil in an 8-9″ skillet over low heat. (Pam’s recipe calls for a nonstick pan, but I used an iron skillet).

While the pan is heating, beat the egg, egg whites, chili powder, salt and pepper together.

Warm up the beans in a microwave safe dish for 30-45 seconds.

When ready to cook, increase temperature for skillet to medium–high. When pan is ready (Pam says you will see “wisps of smoke”), make sure the bottom of pan is completely coated with the oil. Next, pour in the beaten egg mixture to evenly coat the pan. Gently pull the edge of the eggs that have set away from the side of the pan with a plastic spatula, and tilt the pan allowing the uncooked egg to flood the bottom of the pan. Continue the tilt and flood process until top of omelet is wet, but not runny.

Top the omelet with the warmed black beans, cheese and cilantro, turn heat to low, then cover and cook for about two minutes or until cheese melts.

Enjoy!

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper Picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

How did Peter pick pickled peppers? The peppers wouldn’t have been pickled yet if he was just picking them, right? Who writes these tongue twisters anyway? And who the heck is Peter Piper? And why would his mom name him that? That’s just mean.

I digress… transgress… regress…

When we arrived home after a few weeks of travel, I picked at least a peck of peppers, possibly a pair of pecks – a profusion of peppers were picked at their peak. Among green, holey moley, habanero, banana peppers, and pimentos, I had a bunch of jalapenos waiting for use.

Right away I started looking for ways to use them, and stumbled across a recipe for “Firecracker Pie” in my Aunt Carole’s cookbook.

I made a few additions and adaptations, ’cause I like to play in the kitchen. Similar to a quiche, this crustless pie is a cinch to make. Let’s get started.

You’ll need jalapeños, a little bit of olive oil, sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses (feel free to substitute your favorite cheeses or whatever you have on hand), eggs, fresh cilantro, salt and pepper. I began by roasting my jalapeños.

As I said, when we arrived home our peppers were prime for picking. Some had ripened to red, which is totally okay to use. When they get to the red stage, the flavor and heat will be a little stronger, and they tend to spoil quicker. Plus they’re not as crunchy, but for this purpose they’re fine.

Also, you may notice the cracking, or lines on some of these peppers. That’s called “corking.” I can’t tell you how many peppers I’ve tossed in the past with corking. But don’t toss ‘em! Corking isn’t going to harm anyone, anybody, or anything. It’s just a little stretching of the skin, stress lines if you will. They’re perfectly okay to use. They may not look as purty as the others, but nowadays, I’m accepting all things wrinkled with my arms wide open.

So, where were we…oh, yes, roasting the jalapeños. Chop the ends off the jalapeños, cut length wise and de-seed.

Be sure to wash your hands with hot soapy water after handling the jalapeños or you may be in for a rude awakening.

Toss the jalapeños with a tad bit of olive oil (maybe 1-2 teaspoons).

Place the jalapeños on a baking sheet, cut side down and bake in a 400°F oven for about 15 minutes.

While the peppers are roasting, shred your cheeses.

Prep the cilantro, by rinsing and giving it a quick rough chop.

Next, crack 4 eggs into a small bowl.

Add salt and pepper.

Beat all well to combine.

When the jalapeños have finished roasting, they’ll look like this.

Let them cool slightly, then peel the skins off.

They should easily peel off, if not cover with a kitchen towel, bowl or aluminum foil and let steam for another few minutes. Once the jalapeños are peeled, stack ‘em up…

And chop ‘em up.

Next, spread the jalapeños in a single layer in a greased pie plate. Now, here’s what I’d change next time…I only used 6 jalapeños, but next time I’d use at least 8, maybe more, in order to totally cover the bottom of the pie plate.

Next layer the shredded cheeses over the jalapeño.

Sprinkle the cilantro over the cheeses.

Last goes, the beaten eggs with salt and pepper.

Bake in 325°F for about 40 minutes. Be sure to serve while still warm.

You’ll notice, when cooked in a 9″ pie plate, this pie isn’t that thick, which is fine. But if you want to bake it in another size dish for a thicker pie, you’ll need to adjust cooking time just a tad.

This Jalapeño Pie recipe is not only great for breakfast, but served alongside a fresh salad, it would make a delightful lunch or dinner.

Enjoy!

Jalapeño Pie Recipe
(makes 8-10 servings)
adapted from Carole Radford’s “At Home for the Holidays”

Ingredients:

6-8 (or even 10) jalapeños

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

4 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

Begin by preheating the oven to 400°F.

Chop the ends off the jalapeños, cut length wise, de-seed and toss with a little olive oil (maybe 1-2 teaspoons), place on a baking sheet, cut side down and bake in a 400°F oven for about 15 minutes.

While the peppers are roasting, shred your cheeses.

Prep the cilantro, by rinsing and giving it a quick rough chop.

Next beat the eggs together along with the salt and pepper.

When the jalapeños are finished roasting, reduce oven to 325°F, and let the jalapeños cool slightly.

When cool enough to handle, peel the skins off of the jalapeños. They should easily peel off, if not cover with a kitchen towel, bowl or aluminum foil and let steam for another few minutes. Once the jalapeños are peeled, chop them up.

Place the chopped jalapeños in a single layer in the bottom of a greased pie plate, followed by the shredded cheeses, then the cilantro, and finally the beaten eggs with salt and pepper.

Bake in 325°F for about 40 minutes. Serve warm.