Quick, Colorful Breakfast / Potato Cakes with Bell Pepper Eggs

     A quick breakfast this morning. We go through eggs often but this time we wanted to make it a bit different and colorful to brighten the day. We had left over mashed potatoes from the other night so we turned those into potato cakes and added a little bit of mozzarella cheese and a few snips of green onions. 

     On the left we have two fried (well) eggs. To add some color and taste Jordan threw some some diced green, yellow and red bell peppers. I was a bit apprehensive about eating bell peppers on my eggs but in the end I gobbled it right up. 

     Overall, it was a quick meal and simple, we just wanted something different than just eggs and say... toast. 

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

A great low-carb snack.

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.

Italian fried eggs on garlic bread

Fried Egg with Tomato & Mozzarella from Ginger Rose

I first made a version of this after I saw Giada DeLaurentiis make it on her show. When I saw Ginger's post, I knew it was time to make it again.

I love the combination of eggs and tomato sauce! I often make egg pizzas in the morning or actually...any time of the day. This version served on top of french bread is delicious and savory...definitely a satisfying and easy meal!

Tomato quiche majig

It looks horrible and calorie-ridden, doesn't it?

Not so!!! I found this recipe in a book called Country Cooking, which is filled with all kinds of amalgamations of butter and grease and lard. This is an example of how to take a fatty recipe and use replacements to make it healthy. I don't have the recipe to share with you, but these are just suggestions you can use to healthify a country-fied greasy quiche or omelette.

Instead of heavy cream (gasp!) I used plain fat-free yogurt. Instead of a pie crust, I used a thin layer of frozen hashbrowns. Instead of the layer of shredded cheddar, I used a couple slices of Muenster cheese, and sprinkled just a little of the shredded cheese on top. I also added some extra veggies to the filling.

After all that, it was about 300 calories for a fourth - a FOURTH - of that casserole dish. Mind-boggling! :)

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. ;)

Purple frittata

A Tasty Frittata - from 101 Cookbooks

I have been so excited to make this ever since I found both purple potatoes and purple cauliflower at Whole Foods. Heidi suggests pink potatoes to make it colorful, but purple?? Even better!

I made only half the recipe and it still made this big old panful. It's got a cilantro chile lime sauce to drizzle over it which is a good addition. Definitely will make this again.

Sauteeing the purple stuff...

Look at all the pretty colors!

So pretty!

Fried couscous

This is another dish inspired by 101 Cookbooks. This time it's a fried couscous bowl, which is a variation of Heidi's Wild Fried Rice.

Jill was over today and she wanted couscous. I had made some stuffed bell peppers the other day with couscous and cannellini beans, which were really good together. We still had a can in the pantry, so we decided to toss those in, along with some garlic, white onion, tomato, spinach, parmesan cheese, fried egg, and lots of red pepper flakes and/or tabasco. I am starting to love spicy food, which is really weird for me.

This is a good dish to get in all your nutrients; it's full of whole grains, protein, and veggies. Use a 1/2 TB of olive oil to fry your egg, then remove it from the pan and add another 1/2 TB to fry your couscous. It's also pretty versatile...just add in whatever you've got laying around: beans, carrots, peas, bell peppers, pretty much anything. Just remember not to add in any beans or tomatoes until the end, or they'll get mushed up.

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!

Picnic with Veggie Sandwiches

It was such a pretty day that we decided to pack a picnic. I made a Cobb salad based on the Cheesecake Factory's California Salad, and my sister made a variation of Pioneer Woman's Veggie Bagel.


On the salad: romaine lettuce, hardboiled eggs, craisins, bleu cheese, red onions, soy bac'n bits - 200 calories.
On the sandwich: whitewheat bread, neufchatel with chives, cucumber, red onion, sprouts, cheddar cheese - 310 calories.

This sandwich....is delicious. If you look at PW's recipe...our version has considerably less calories, since we used bread instead of the giant bagel, and we left out the avocado. I also left out the muenster cheese....the reason the picture has two slices of cheese is because I photographed my sisters instead of mine. So there you go.


We didn't want to actually bake anything, so we cheated and bought a berry pie from Tom Thumb. It was pretty good. The only thing I feel bad about (diet-wise) is that I drank a glass of Dr. Pepper (GASP). I never drink Coke (soda). I mean never. But I stupidly forgot my water bottle and there was nothing else to drink. So I regret using up calories for that.

Then I intended to have a light dinner, since we had such a big lunch.....until we up and went to Ikea. We always buy a box of double chocolate crisps when we go, and I couldn't resist....I had FOUR of them while walking through the store! At 94 calories a piece, that's 376 calories on cookies alone. Curse those delicious cookies!

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!