Oeufs en cocotte (Baked eggs)

Oeufs en Cocotte
from Julia Child

Per ramekin:

1/2 teaspoon butter
1 ramekin 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter and about 1 1/2 inches high
2 tablespoons whipping cream
A pan containing 3/4 inch of simmering water
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter ramekin/s. Break an egg into the ramekin. Pour in a spoonful of cream over the egg and top with a dot of butter.

2. Place in middle level of preheated oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes. The eggs are done when they are just set but still tremble slightly in the ramekins. They will set a little more when the ramekins are removed, so they should not be overcooked.

3. Season with salt and pepper and serve. The ramekins may remain in the hot water, out of the oven, for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. To prevent overcooking, remove eggs from oven when slightly underdone.

Savory oatmeal with fried eggs

I have always hated oatmeal. Don't most people? In the past I have taught myself to like certain foods because of their nutritional values. Skim milk...tomatoes...salad. But oatmeal...no matter how hard I tried to like it, I just couldn't. Even when I tried steel-cut oats, even when I mixed in cinnamon and honey, even when I put peanut butter and chocolate chips in it - I still felt like I had to force it down my throat.

But now...I have found an oatmeal I like.

The other day I saw a post (I can't remember where now) about savory oatmeal, with olive oil and herbs mixed in. Intriguing! I'd never heard of such a thing. Not the saccharine-sweet, brown sugar, milky cream oatmeal, but SAVORY! I finally tried it for myself last week and I was pleasantly surprised. A few nights later, as I was drifting off to sleep, I found myself CRAVING this oatmeal and scheming how I would make it again. I would spread the oatmeal out on a plate, then top it off with fried eggs.

And that's exactly what I did.

And it was good!

As far as how I made it: I used Quaker Instant oats and prepared one serving (half cup of dry oats) according to the package directions. It's better not to get it too soupy, so don't add too much water. A medium thickness makes it seem almost like risotto, which is perfect. Once it's hot, add in 1/2 TB of extra virgin olive oil, and salt and cracked black pepper to taste. (I love a lot of pepper). That's it! I haven't tried it with herbs yet but I'm sure it'd work great.

Blueberry crumb cake

To Die For Blueberry Muffins from Allrecipes


Sorry guys, don't feel like being descriptive today. I haven't been much into cooking lately. I think I need a little break from all the foodie stuff. Anyone else ever feel that way?

To keep it simple, this recipe is absolutely divine. I used brown sugar for the topping instead of white, and I doubled the recipe and baked it in a large pan instead of making muffins. Definitely recommend it. It's very sweet but very good.

Greek yogurt with toasted pecans and honey

I am in love with Greek yogurt. My mom bought a big container at Whole Foods last week and I've been eating it every chance I get. Actually...I just had some with blueberries. Yum!

But the best way to eat Greek yogurt is with toasted nuts. I'm sure any nut would work, but the pecans are really delicious. Just spread the nuts out on a baking pan and stick it under the broiler for a few minutes. Mix it with a tablespoon of honey, and you really feel like you're eating a big bowl of ice cream. Plus, it's packed with protein and much more satisfying than ice cream!

I mean, just look at the picture, it speaks for itself. MMMM!

Honey-nut biscotti

Nut and Seed Biscotti from 101 Cookbooks
approx. 26 pieces, with 130 calories and 2.5g protein a piece


Biscotti takes practice. Let me tell you. I don't think I baked it long enough before cutting, so the loaf wasn't hard enough, and it was crumbling. Then I thought it was ruined because the thick pieces weren't getting crispy. But in the end, they crisped up fairly well and they tasted good. Slightly sweet, crunchy, and nutty.

I made the following variations to the recipe:
I used a mixture of sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, and poppy seeds. Instead of natural cane sugar, I used 1/3 c honey and 1/3 c granulated sugar. The calories listed above are based on these variations.

Good Morning muffins

Good Morning Muffins from Recipezaar
144 calories each when you make a batch of 17

The batter for these muffins smelled.....so good. Heavenly. Yum. They smelled really good when they were baking too. Now, my last attempt at muffins wasn't that great. Actually, it was really disappointing. So I was hoping for the best.



The verdict: they are good! Hallelujah. My sister said they taste like Christmas. That's because of the yummy spices in them. I would also compare them to a little carrot cake in muffin form. Except better, since I don't like carrot cake. I did use white-wheat flour in these, so they are extra healthy, don't worry. ;)

I had a heck of a time trying to photograph these. I think I finally got some decent pictures. Oh! One more tidbit...from my experience the last time I made fruit-y muffins, you should probably keep them refrigerated (if you have leftovers).

Homemade granola bars

I found a bag of marshmallows in the pantry today, along with a big box of rice cereal. I was so tempted to make rice krispie treats, but instead I made some healthy homemade granola bars.

Here's what I threw into mine....however you can play around with ingredients, this is just what I had in the house. To make it even healthier, you could omit the butter and use Kashi or another healthier cereal instead of the rice krispies. Any kind of nut would also be a good addition.

Peanut Butter Oat Bars
based on this recipe from suite101.com

3 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
3 c quick-cooking oats
3 oz raisins
1/4 c toasted pumpkin seeds
1/4 c craisins
1/2 c almond butter
1/2 c peanut butter
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c honey
2 TB butter

Spray a 13 x 9 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix puffed rice cereal, oats, raisins, craisins, and pumpkin seeds. Heat peanut butter, maple syrup, honey and butter on medium-low heat for a few minutes, until melted. Stir. Pour over cereal mixture. Stir to coat. Press mixture into prepared pan using your hands. Freeze 30 minutes. Cut into bars. Keep refrigerated.

Makes 16 bars, 235 calories each.

Breakfast Pita pocket

This is kind of a homemade version of a breakfast lean pocket, if you've ever tried one. I used to make these at the dorm cafeteria all the time, and it's really easy. Actually, I feel a little silly even explaining it, it's that easy.


Take half a pita and line it with the cheese.
Scramble an egg and heat up the sausage
(You can also use turkey bacon instead of sausage.
You can make this vegetarian by using veggie sausage links,
doubling the cheese or using veggies...potatoes, onions
and/or tomatoes come to mind.)
Put the egg in the pita.
Chop up the sausage.
Put it in the pita.
EASY.

I also grilled mine on the George Foreman to make it extra crispy.

Pepper and goat cheese frittata

I decided to make another frittata using this for general instructions. As you can tell, this frittata isn't quite as purple as the other one. ;)

This time I used sauteed onions and green bell pepper, green chiles, red pepper flakes, roasted cherry tomatoes, and a "spring" mixture of lettuces (romaine, swiss chard, etc).


I also added more goat cheese than last time (a hard, "drunken" goat cheese, and also a soft, pepper goat cheese).


Topped it with some toasted pine nuts and it was done.

This is a great recipe to experiment with. The egg base is easy to make, and you can add whatever toppings you're in the mood for.

Camping - migas and sausage

Here is the result of my first attempt at using a camp stove by myself. I felt like such a wilderness woman, cooking eggs up in the middle of the woods. I was entirely thrilled that nothing exploded.

To make migas, we added fried corn tortillas, a can of Rotel, and some American cheese to scrambled eggs.


We also grilled up some sausage links.


615 calories total.

Not bad for a hearty wilderness meal, huh?
We went on a hike afterward. ;)

Ricotta scramble with black beans

Ricotta Scramble with Spinach and Black Beans
(370 calories; 28 g protein; serves 1)

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c ricotta cheese
3/4 c fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 c sprouts, chopped
1/4 c onion, chopped
1/2 c black beans
1/2 tsp sea salt
Cayenne or red pepper flakes (optional)
Salsa verde (optional)

Season eggs with salt and cayenne or red pepper to taste. Heat pan to low heat. Spray with no-calorie cooking spray. Cook spinach until wilted. Increase heat to medium-low heat. Add onions and cook another minute. Make a well in the center, and add another dose of cooking spray. Add eggs, stir, and spread mixture out around the pan. Add the ricotta evenly across the eggs. Add sprouts. Stir and cook about another minute. Remove from pan. Heat black beans in microwave for 30 seconds. Place on plate with eggs. Top with salsa verde and eat.

Breakfast Burritos & Pineapple-corn salad

Ok, dinner last night....I woke up craving potato breakfast burritos but I didn't have the willpower to make them for breakfast. So I made them for dinner instead.

I based these off of this recipe, however, I made a lot of changes. The original recipe has a whopping 887 calories per serving. I took out the chorizo to make it vegetarian, used only 1 TB of olive oil, used only 3/4 package of neufchatel, and used corn tortillas instead of flour. I cut up the potatoes and baked them to make them softer, and I also added some yellow onion to the mix. After all the changes, we end up with 420 calories for 2 burritos, or 210 a piece. Not too bad.

The corn salad came about because I wanted to use up some crushed pineapple we had in the pantry. So I searched for some recipes and this one was incredibly simple and easy. Ironically, I am infamous for hating corn. But I decided to give it a try. In actuality, I do like cream corn occasionally, fried corn, corn nuggets.....basically whenever corn has sugar and fat added to it - THEN I'll eat it. Haha.
But this corn salad isn't bad at all. It's about 100 calories for a half cup serving. Actually, probably a little less than that, since I used light mayonnaise.


Mm look at that!
Forgot to mention we used a green salsa that has tequila in it!

Egg pizza

This is my version of the Hungry Girl Breakfast Pizza. I used real eggs instead of egg-beaters, so mine had more calories.
Eggs, pasta sauce, turkey pepperoni, Sargento string cheese, onions and baby spinach: 252 calories. It was pretty good!

Apple-oat Muesli

Apple-oat muesli I accidentally put too much water in, so it was a little soupy...basically the consistency of apple sauce. I think I'll try it again some other day.